2018-19 Men's Basketball Team Captains

Burns, Gibbs and Pflueger Named 2018-19 Captains

Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey has announced a trio of captains for the 2018-19 Notre Dame men’s basketball season. Seniors Rex Pflueger and Elijah Burns will be joined by junior T.J. Gibbs as the team-selected leaders for the year.

Pflueger was named a team captain during the 2017-18 season when the team suffered the loss of seniors Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell to lingering injuries. He responded with career-highs in minutes played (1153, 32.9 per game), points (281), assists (112) and steals (37).

“Rex is a winner, plain and simple,” Brey said about the Dana Point, California, native.

“He is our only fourth-year senior and he knows how our system works and what our program’s expectations are both on and off the court. With our mix of young and veteran talent, Rex’s role as an example to our freshman class will be invaluable this season.”

Gibbs, in similar fashion to Pflueger, was thrust into a leadership role last year and responded by leading the team in points (552, 15.3 per game) while dishing out 107 assists and shooting over 40-percent from three-point range.

“T.J. proved his mettle last year when we lost some key veteran players to injury,” Brey said about the shooting guard from Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

“He embraced his unexpected leadership role and turned in an all-league type of performance. T.J. is ready to take his game and his role as a leader on our team to an even higher levels this season.”

Burns is entering his fourth year with the Irish, but it will be just his third active year after recovering from a surgery performed before his freshman campaign and sitting out the 2015-16 season. Developing behind front-court graduated stand outs Bonzie Colson and Martinas Geben, Burns is poised to become another veteran in a long line of players who worked hard behind the scenes in the program and blossomed when turned to during their third and fourth years in Brey’s system.

“Elijah is a great example of the development model that our program prides itself on,” Brey said about the Troy, New York, native.  

“He is ready for a breakout season on the court and his leadership in the locker room carries over to his work as a part of the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Council and in our own Student-Athlete Welfare and Development Office.”

Notre Dame begins practice for the 2018-19 season on Monday, October 1, in Purcell Pavilion. The first opportunity to see the Irish in action will be Thursday, November 1, when they face Central State University in an exhibition game (7 p.m., Purcell Pavilion). The 2018-19 regular season begins Tuesday, November 6, at 7 p.m. against UIC in the first game of the 2018 Gotham Classic.

Season ticket packages are available now at und.com/buytickets.