While Notre Dame typically struggles to recruit with the top programs in college basketball, Mike Brey and his staff have used the transfer portal to get even with the powerhouses of the ACC. Throughout his career at Notre Dame, Brey has landed plenty of impact players through the transfer portal and former Yale forward Paul Atkinson could be the next in line.
A few weeks ago, Notre Dame along with Miami, NC State, Iowa, and Texas made the cut for Atkinson when he trimmed his list to five schools. When the 6'10 forward first entered the portal, he was reportedly in contact with some of the top programs in the country such as Duke and Gonzaga, neither of these schools were included in his top 5 for one reason or another, but their interest in him goes to show the kind of player he is.
So far there is no reported front runner to land Atkinson and it is hard to get a feel for where and when Atkinson will commit, but based on what we do know Notre Dame could definitely be a contender to land Atkinson.
From a basketball perspective, Notre Dame needs the grad transfer and for that reason he would have a huge role should he decide to come on board.
In addition to his fit on the court, it also seems that Atkinson fits the mold of a Notre Dame student athlete off the court as well. The big man will have graduated from one of the best academic schools in the country by the time he gets to his new school and in a rare occurrence Notre Dame would arguably be a downgrade academically from a recruits' previous school. There isn't much doubt that Atkinson could handle school at Notre Dame and fit in off the court with the team.
In his final season at Yale Atkinson made a big jump statistically compared to his previous two seasons which led to him being one of the most highly recruited transfers on the market. The co- ivy league player of the year averaged 17.6 Points per game while shooting 63% from the field and 30% from three (only took 14). The 6'10 forward also contributed on the glass with 7.3 rebounds per game which the Irish could really use considering their struggles on the boards against big teams like Purdue. The highly touted transfer also performed with impressive consistency as he scored in double figures in every game he appeared in last season including seven double doubles.
Unlike most of the big men that will be on Notre Dame's roster next season, Atkinson doesn't seem like he will be able to stretch the floor with his shooting ability, but he will be able to provide value in other ways offensively. The 220 lb big man is an old school big man who does most of his work out of the low post and pick and rolls. It isn't far fetched to say that the transfer would be the best low post threat on the team if he was added to Notre Dame's roster today. Atkinson was primarily used as a power forward in his time at Yale due to sharing the frontcourt with Jordan Brunner, but he has proven can play both the four and the five at the college level. This versatility will likely make him extremely valuable in Brey's scheme as he will likely be utilized as the one guy down low in Brey's four out one in offense. Atkinson's ability out of the pick and role and in the low post could provide some stability down low that Notre Dame doesn't have right now.
Early on this season Notre Dame has had some glaring weaknesses and a lot of them stem from the front court. The Irish have proven they can hang with some of the top teams in the country, but they have consistently fallen behind due to long scoring droughts. This is partly on the guards getting cold, but it is also due to the Irish not having a guy in the low post like John Mooney who they can rely on to go get a basket when they need it. Atkinson is a huge threat down low and could alleviate some of the big scoring droughts the Irish often face.
The Notre Dame staff pursuing Atkinson could also mean the end of the Juwan Durham era at Notre Dame. Durham is eligible to return for the 2021-22 season but with Durham's rough start, Notre Dame's young big men waiting in the wings, and their pursuit of Atkinson it looks like Durham will likely leave the program after this season. If Durham decides to move on (or the staff decides to move on from him) the Irish will lose arguably their best defender on the entire roster along with one of their only threats in the post. If Durham and the program part ways and Atkinson goes elsewhere, they will likely struggle down low all season long and be forced to run a five out offense for long stretches because of their projected lack of scoring down low.
There have been conflicting reports on whether Atkinson will be able to play this season or if he will have to wait until 2021-2022, but whenever he becomes eligible, the team he chooses will likely get a huge boost in front court production.
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