Nov. 7, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior guard/forward Pat Connaughton has been named captain for the 2014-15 University of Notre Dame men’s basketball season. Connaughton served as one of four captains for the Irish a year ago and becomes the 22nd different Notre Dame men’s basketball player to serve as a captain in multiple seasons.
Since the 1985-86 campaign, only four other players have served as lone captains for their Irish teams– Ken Barlow (1985-86), Tim Singleton (1990-91), Ryan Hoover (1995-96) and Rob Kurz (2007-08).
“Pat’s our voice and our leader in the locker room,” Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey says. “We have all watched the development of Pat as a player on the court, but I’ve got to watch his emergence over the course of the past year as a leader. I love the kind of captain he has become for us.
“Pat is so respected by his teammates. He’s been a rock-solid guy for us every day in practice and in games. I don’t think that I’ve ever coached a player who is steadier and lower maintenance than Pat. I know that he is excited to lead our team this year and help with the development of our younger players.”
The 6-5, 218-pound Arlington, Massachusetts native joined former Irish point guard Atkins (2010-14) as the only two players who started all 32 games for Notre Dame a year ago. An honorable mention all-ACC selection, he averaged career bests of 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in overall contests and averaged 13.9 points and 7.1 boards in conference play. Connaughton netted double figures in a team-high 25 contests last season and 48 games overall during his career. He scored 20-plus points in four games, including a season-high 22 points against Miami on Feb. 19.
Connaughton also recorded five double-doubles and grabbed 10-plus rebounds in seven games a year ago. He pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in a 63-61 loss at North Carolina on March 3 and also finished with 17 points. Connaughton ranked second on the team in minutes played at 37.2 per game. He led the team with 76 three-pointers and shot 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. Against the Hurricanes, he made a season-best six treys in the contest.
Connaughton has never missed a game during his Notre Dame career and has played in 101 contests and earned starts in 85 of those games, including 82 consecutive games started.
A two-sport standout, he played three seasons for the Irish baseball team and finished his career with an 11-11 record and 3.03 ERA. Connaughton was drafted in June 2014 Major League Baseball Draft in the fourth round (121st pick overall) by the Baltimore Orioles and played during the months of June and July with the Aberdeen Ironbirds.