Irish Face High Point Tuesday Night In Purcell

Notre Dame Game Notes vs. HighPoint

2021-22 FIGHTING IRISH – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team ends a two-game, season-opening homestand against High Point Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network. The Irish will then hit the road for five consecutive games, three at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (held in Las Vegas this season), then road trips to nationally-ranked Illinois and ACC opponent Boston College. Notre Dame will not play another home game until December 11 against Kentucky.

BACK COURT

PRENTISS HUBB – Ended the game scoreless in opener against CSUN for first time in 21 games (vs. Purdue in Indianapolis last season), but led the Irish with a game-high six assists • preseason All-ACC Second Team • leads all returning ACC players in career assists (451) • led the Irish in  scoring (14.6) and three-point field goals made (65) last season • one of five major conference players to reach 100 assists in league play last season.

CORMAC RYAN – Second on team with 34 minutes vs. CSUN, scored four points with four rebounds and two assists • started 16 of 25 games in his first year with the Irish last season • scored 21 points in the first half in the victory at Duke last year, eventually scoring career-best 28 points • shot .344 from 3FG range last season.

DANE GOODWIN – Posted career-high six 3FGM with 18 points in win over CSUN • has seen action in 92 career games, making 31 starts • posted career highs of 11.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg in 2020-21 • one of the best free throw shooters on the team, boasting a .821 career average from the stripe.

TREY WERTZ – Provides instant offense off the bench, grabbed four rebounds with five points vs. CSUN • planned to sit out 2020-21 season after transferring from Santa Clara until all underclassmen transfers were given immediate eligibility in December of 2020 • appeared in 21 games making 14 starts, shooting .429 from three-point range • hit the game-winning 3FG at the buzzer vs. WF in 2021 ACC tournament.

BLAKE WESLEY – First Mike Brey freshman to score 20 points in a career debut since Chris Thomas in 2001 • first South Bend, IN, public school MBB prospect to sign with Notre Dame since 1985 • consensus four-star prospect • athletic backcourt player expected to be an immediate key contributor.

J.R. KONIECZNY – (pronounced Ko-NEZZ-knee) Saw action in first career game vs. CSUN • all-time leading scorer in St. Joseph County history (1,996) • joins classmate Blake Wesley as the first Northern Indiana Conference players to sign with Notre Dame since 2012 (D. Jackson, A. Torres).

TONY SANDERS JR. – Logged nine minutes in two exhibition victories • athletic wing player who saw action in 14 games during his rookie season.

ROBBY CARMODY – Has suffered season-ending injuries in his first three seasons on the Irish roster • continues to push through rehab with no set date to return to the court • started his first two career games at ND before injuries.

ELIJAH MORGAN – Walk on member of the program has earned the staff’s trust to be inserted into the lineup at any time • has played in 22 career games with one start.

ALEX WADE – Saw first action at ND vs. Nazareth, two minutes with a steal • first-year walk on joined the Irish in the summer of 2021 • four-year varsity captain at Cathedral Catholic.

FRONT COURT

NATE LASZEWSKI – Off-shooting night vs. CSUN, but led all players with eight rebounds • posted 12 games with nine or more rebounds in 2020-21 • improved FG% 19 percent, 3FG% 11% and RPG by 3.1 last season • scored over 20 points four times last season and has five 20-point games in his career.

PAUL ATKINSON, JR. – Scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half of the victory over CSUN • 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year at Yale • did not participate in 2020-21, as the Ivy League cancelled all intercollegiate athletics • ranked by ESPN+ as the fourth-best transfer prospect in  2020-21 • boasts a .661 career field goal percentage – top for any returning NCAA Division I player this year – and led Ivy League in FG% all three seasons in which he competed.

MATT ZONA – Logged nine minutes in two exhibition games with six total rebounds • saw action in 14 games last season • developing into a key rebounder, screener on the Irish front line.

ELIJAH TAYLOR – Missed CSUN game as a precaution due to minor lower leg injury, will be a game-time decision for High Point • missed 2020-21 while recovering from ankle surgery • athletic front court player will provide depth on the Irish front line.

IRISH ITEMS – BY THE NUMBERS

WESLEY POSTS NOTEWORTHY NOTRE DAME DEBUT

Freshman Blake Wesley led all scorers with 21 points in the season-opening victory over CSUN last Saturday.

• It marks just the second time in the Mike Brey era that a freshman has scored 20-or-more point in his debut (24, Chris Thomas, 2001-02).
• He is the sixth freshman to reach double digit points in his career debut under Mike Brey – Chris Thomas, 2001-02, 24; Luke Harangody, 2006-07, 12; Nate Laszewski, 2018-19, 12; Robby Carmody, 2018-19, 11, Dane Goodwin, 2018-19, 10.

TRANSFER DEBUTS

Graduate student Paul Atkinson Jr. made his debut with the Irish on Saturday afternoon against CSUN. Of all the transfer players of the Mike Brey era, Atkinson’s career parallels Dan Miller the most, who played three years at Maryland before transferring to Notre Dame for his senior season of eligibility in 2002-03. Atkinson played three years at Yale and was the 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year.

Below are the debut games for all of the transfers into the program of the Brey era (* – game started):

ATKINSON JR. LEADS ALL RETURNING NCAA PLAYERS IN CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Graduate student Paul Atkinson Jr. not only brings over 1,000 career points and the 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year trophy to the Notre Dame roster, his amazing career field goal percentage ranks him at the top for all active NCAA players. Atkinson Jr. also is just the second active Division I player and only major conference player to average over .600 career field goal percentage entering the 2021-22 season.

DIVISION I ACTIVE CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADERS (heading into the season)

IRISH WELCOME BACK MOST EXPERIENCED TEAM OF THE BREY ERA

Notre Dame is in an unusual position this season and welcomes back, by far, its most experienced group of players since the Mike Brey era began in 2000-01. With the additions of Trey Wertz (two seasons at Santa Clara) and Cormac Ryan (one season at Stanford) last season, then adding Paul Atkinson Jr. (three seasons at Yale) the Irish boast a veteran group of players who have seen a significant amount of college basketball action.

As shown below, the Irish return the most career starts, minutes played, field goals, field goals attempted, three point field goals, three point field goals attempted, free throws, free throws attempted, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, assists and points of any team in the Brey era:

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTED BY 1,000 POINT SCORERS

Notre Dame has produced 65 1,000 point scorers throughout the history of the program with 24 of those players reaching that statistical milestone during the Mike Brey era (2000-01 – current). Of the 85 players who have suited up for Notre Dame under Mike Brey, 36 of them were recruited by the staff and exhausted their eligibility with the Irish – 20 of those players have scored more than 1,000 points in a career.

BREY-ERA TENETS SHOW THROUGH IN STATISTICAL RANKINGS

In his 22 years on the Notre Dame bench, Mike Brey’s teams have developed certain tenets they can be counted on to display – take care of the ball, defend without fouling, shot making and free throw percentage excellence. Those traits are reflected in Notre Dame’s statistical rankings, compared to all NCAA teams and the ACC, since the Brey era began in 2000-01.

A DECADE OF ‘NO FOUL’ CONTINUES

One of the mantras of Notre Dame basketball under Mike Brey has been to keep the amount of opponent foul shots down. Defend without fouling is a way of life for Irish basketball and the statistics bear out that trend.

In the last 12 years, Notre Dame has failed to finish among the top 10 in least amount of personal fouls committed just twice. They have also led the country in least amount of personal fouls three times.

The NCAA has been tracking the least amount of fouls committed in a season since 1993. Notre Dame is the only team since 1993 to lead the country in least amount of fouls more than twice and the Irish finished the 2020-21 season second in the NCAA.

NOTRE DAME FOULS PER GAME NATIONAL/CONFERENCE FINAL RANKING

IRISH INK NATIONALLY-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball program and Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey have announced that three prospective student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Notre Dame and compete for the Fighting Irish in 2022-23.

The three-member class is composed of forwards Dom Campbell and Ven-Allen Lubin, along with guard J.J. Starling. All three are consensus top-100 players and four-star prospects which provide the Irish the 15th-ranked recruiting class by 24/7 Sports (fifth-best in the ACC) and the 18th-rated (fourth-best in the ACC) group from Rivals.

“Our new staff started with a plan in June and I really like how we stayed focused and committed while being on the road in June and July, then followed through when the visits on campus took place,” Brey said.

“It was a fabulous team effort by our coaching staff to get a three man class that will be part of a bright future for Notre Dame basketball. Our fans will love to watch these guys play and grow as part of our program.”

Dom Campbell | Forward | 6-9, 265 | Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) | Scarborough, ME

“Dom is a gifted low post guy with great hands and footwork. He has the ability to carve out space and step out as well. He can make really good decisions with the ball in his hands.”

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 96th overall, 11th power forward

24/7 4 star – 120th overall, 17th power forward, 2nd state

Ven-Allen Lubin | Forward | 6-8, 220 | Orlando Christian Prep | Orlando, FL

“Ven-Allen is a position less basketball player. He has the ability to post up, face up, run and change ends. He also brings great length on the defensive end.”

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 63rd overall, 8th power forward

24/7 4 Star – 114th overall, 22nd power forward, 18th state

ESPN 4 star – 75th overall, 12th power forward, 14th state

J.J. Starling | Guard | 6-4, 195  | La Lumiere School (IN) | Baldwinsville, NY

“J.J. is an explosive guard. You can’t pigeonhole him as a point guard or a two man, he does a little bit of everything. The most infectious thing is his energy and charisma that he plays with. He really engages his teammates and leads on the floor.”

– Mike Brey

Rivals 4 Star – 40th overall, 8th point guard

24/7 – 33rd overall, 7th point guard, 1st state

ESPN – 27th overall, 6th point guard, 3rd state