In 2020-21 Notre Dame had two double digit scorers in their front court but lacked physicality and a low post threat at times. Graduate Transfer Paul Atkinson will likely fill those two needs and many more for the Irish.
Atkinson is a skilled big man who averaged 17.6 points per game on 63% shooting from the field and won Co-Ivy league player of the year in 2019-20. When talking to Mike Brey about the big man, Atkinson's former coach Joe Jones told the Notre Dame coach to "just throw it to him and he just figures out a way to score." Brey described his new big man as "tricky" and "crafty" in the post.
Throughout 2020-21 Notre Dame went into scoring droughts because they didn't have a go to scorer in the low post, now Notre Dame can "just throw it to" Atkinson down low to get easy baskets. The former Ivy league player of the year is exceptional with his back to the basket but has also reportedly tried to expand his game out to the perimeter this summer. The 6'10 big man only attempted fourteen threes in his three years at Yale, but in Notre Dame's fast paced offense Atkinson could finally see an opportunity to step out and show off his fundamentally sound jump shot.
The Florida native can be a guy who the Irish dump the ball down to in the low post, but he can also fit nicely into Mike Brey's free flowing, fast offense. In his meeting with the media, Brey described his new big man as a "rimrunner." Notre Dame won't always have to slow things down for Atkinson to be effective. The 6'10 big's ability to be effective in multiple situations will be important come March when the Irish don't have time to get him touches in the low post.
Outside of his all around scoring ability, Atkinson's best offensive attribute is his ability to create for his teammates. The former Ivy League player of the year can find cutters out of the high post and "if you help he's a very good passer kicking it out" (per Mike Brey). The veteran coach has the opportunity to utilize Atkinson's passing ability by making him a secondary playmaker in his free flowing offense.
Since Atkinson only averaged 1.5 assists per game in his final season at Yale it would be silly to expect the graduate student to set the world on fire with his passing but it does allow Notre Dame's offense to flow like Iowa's did with Luka Garza at times. There will likely be spurts where Atkinson catches the ball at the freethrow line or in the low post and finds teammates cutting or finds a shooter after drawing a double team. This would allow Notre Dame's guards, who struggled to create off the dribble at times last year, to get more open catch and shoot looks, something they had trouble getting last season without a true low post threat to draw attention and kick it out to them.
Paul Atkinson's ability as a passer and a low post threat will allow the Irish to find an identity outside of a run and gun three point centric offense (although there will still be a heavy dose of that). The amount of different ways Notre Dame will be scoring in this season should be exciting for Irish fans.
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