Over the past few days there has been tons of negativity surrounding the Notre Dame basketball program. Monday it was Ryan Ayers' eerie departure from the program. Then Tuesday it was announced that injury prone guard Robby Carmody would be undergoing surgery on a broken kneecap that will sideline him for the first few months of the season. And then Wednesday when we thought things couldn't get much worse the Irish were left out of top 50 recruit Daron Holmes' top 4 schools list. At this point, no news is good news in regards to the Notre Dame basketball program, as it seems they are one or two pieces of bad news away from being in serious trouble. It seems like many are down on the program right now so here are three reasons for optimism and why the Irish can still have a big season.
Cormac Ryan is finally eligible.
After a year of anticipation, transfer guard Cormac Ryan will finally be injected into the Notre Dame starting lineup. In his freshman year at Stanford the guard averaged 8.7 points, 1.9 assists, and 3.5 Rebounds per game while shooting 33.1% from the field and 31.6% from three. Obviously this stat-line doesn't necessarily blow anyone away, but it should be noted that the New York native was a true freshman at the time and was hindered by a sports hernia injury. In his year off Ryan said he was able to focus on academics, bulking up, gaining his love for basketball back, and building relationships within the program. We should notice a big difference in 0 In the spring. Mike Brey described the top 100 recruit as the "consumate all around guard" he also described him as "the total package you look for in a player in terms of skills, basketball IQ and competitiveness." Brey also compared him to former Notre Dame and NBA guard Ben Hansbrough. The former Middlesex Magic guard is able to effect the game in many different ways and he should be able to give the Irish a much needed boost in scoring and energy. Cormac will be a huge factor in the team's success this season. Here is a link to a full article on Cormac Ryan (https://www.breakingdownbreysboys.com/post/why-cormac-ryan-will-make-a-huge-impact-on-notre-dame-basketball-this-year).
The Offense could be much Improved.
In 2019-2020 The Irish ranked 5th in scoring per game in the ACC which was better than expected, but at times it was apparent they were offensively somewhat limited. As good as TJ Gibbs and Rex Pflueger were in all aspects of the game, there were times when they weren't able to provide what the team needed on the offensive end, for example in the Duke and Maryland game when they were both held scoreless. Notre Dame will miss their defense and leadership but they arguably get upgrades at both of their positions offensively in Cormac Ryan and Dane Goodwin which will give them a boost in scoring especially late in games. Nate Laszewski cracking the starting lineup also allows the Irish to stretch the floor and play at a faster pace than they did with John Mooney who was more suited for the low post and a half court offense. With this new lineup the Irish should be able to run Mike Brey's 4 out 1 in offense perfectly because of their abundance of shot creators and ability to stretch the floor with Nate Laszewski at the 4 or 5.
The Starting 5 is intact and they are Really, Really Good.
Although the bench is a big question mark with Robby Carmody and things look even more bleak for the second unit without him, the Irish have a starting lineup that is arguably their best in years. For the first time in years the starting lineup consists of all top 100 recruits. With a backcourt of Prentiss Hubb and Cormac Ryan, the Irish have two guards that can create their own shot and even potentially take over games like Hubb did against Florida State and North Carolina last season. To round out the backcourt the Irish have Dane Goodwin who will be starting for the first time this season and although his defense still needs improvement he can be a great complement to Hubb and Ryan because of his shooting ability. As for the big men, junior Nate Laszewski and senior Juwan Durham are both poised to make big leaps this year statistically and in other aspects. It isn't a huge stretch to say that all 5 starters have potential to be double digit scorers whereas in years past they could not say that. Another thing that is very underrated about this years lineup is that 4 of the 5 starters (Hubb, Goodwin, Laszewski, and Durham) have been playing signifiant minutes together for two seasons so they will have a connection that most ACC starting lineups do not have. This chemistry should provide the Irish with a big advantage considering the shortened offseason most teams had to face with young teams who have not played with each other yet.
Even with all of the bad news the Irish had last week, there are still reasons to believe that they can have a big season because of their starting lineup. When Robby Carmody returns, this team could be a team you don't want to see in the ACC. Even with all the negativity surrounding the program right now it is easy to forget how bleak the outlook was on the program less than a year ago. After the Maryland game last season you were crazy to think that they would win 10 ACC games (I know because I was called crazy) so this is a team that we shouldn't give up on regardless of what happens early on.
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