The Notre Dame men's basketball program ended the 2020-21 season at one of the lowest points of the Brey era. With the way the season went things would normally look bleak, but there is reason for hope. The Irish will add three freshman (Konieczny, Wesley, Wade) and a Transfer (Paul Atkinson) to fill out an already deep roster. Here's a recap and some analysis of each of their final seasons.
Paul Atkinson
Last team: Yale Bulldogs
Stats and Accolades (2019-20 season):
17.6 Points Per Game
7.3 Rebounds Per Game
1.5 Assists Per Game
.8 Blocks Per Game
1.2 Steals Per Game
63% shooting from the field
4-13 from three (30%)
Scored in double figures every game
Co-Ivy League player of the year
Ivy League First Team (Unanimous Selection)
Team USA selection
Paul Atkinson is the only new addition to the Irish that has proven himself at the college level. Not only has the big man proven himself at the college level, he has proven himself at the power 6 level. In four games against power 5 opponents (UNC, Clemson, Oklahoma State, and Penn State) the 6'10 forward averaged 14 points, 7.25 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting a little over 56% from the field.
Although he hasn't proven that he can stretch the floor like some of Notre Dame's other bigs, Atkinson showed off his wide array of post moves, touch around the basket, and ability out of ball screens in his final season at Yale. The Notre Dame signee was able to be a safety net for Yale because of his ability to create out of post ups. The forward also learned how to play with other talented big men in his time at Yale because he shared the frontcourt with now Alabama forward Jordan Bruner. On the defensive end, the Co-ivy league player of the year moves well for his size and can switch on to guards if need be unlike some of the top bigs in the country like Luka Garza and Hunter Dickinson. Atkinson isn't the shot blocker that Juwan Durham was, but he definitely won't need to be hidden on the defensive end. Part of Notre Dame's struggles on that end involve giving up offensive rebounds which was apparent in their blowout loss to North Carolina, Atkinson hasn't shown that he is anywhere near John Mooney's level as a rebounder, but based on his tape and numbers at Yale he will be an upgrade over Juwan Durham in that aspect which the Irish will desperately need (it's worth noting that his numbers on the boards were limited because of Jordan Bruner).
There's a reason that Atkinson was the Ivy League player of the year and one of the most highly regarded transfers in the portal and that reason was clear to see in his tape. If the 6'10 forward can get near his production from the 2019-20 season, he will likely be the best player on Notre Dame's roster.
JR Konieczny
Stats:
28.6 Points Per Game
7.8 Rebounds Per Game
3.5 Assists Per Game
2.4 Steals Per Game
.5 Blocks Per Game
3.5 Turnovers Per Game
57% from the field
35% from three
75% from the free throw line
Accolades:
Northern Indiana Conference sectional champion
Northern Indiana Conference MVP
Northern Indiana Conference first team
Set the ST Joe High School single season scoring record
All time Leading scorer in St Joe High School history
All time leading scorer in St Joe County history
Mcdonald's all american nominee
7th leading scorer in Indiana
Indystar Mr. Basketball nominee
Featured on the All-State Supreme 15
Typically you can't put too much into a player's high school career when he plays in a league like the NIC because it's such a big jump to the college level, but if you do it's hard to find someone who had a better four years than JR Konieczny. The Notre Dame signee has earned nearly every possible accolade in high school and even made a deep playoff run over the last few weeks.
In his time at South Bend St. Joe the Notre Dame signee starred in a point forward role for the Indians. While this likely won't be his position at Notre Dame, being a ballhandler has allowed Konieczny to show off his "guard skills" that Mike Brey has praised over the past few months. Konieczny showed that with these skills he has the potential to take over games, it wasn't uncommon to see the Notre Dame signee go for 40 with ease because of the variety of ways he can score. Notre Dame has struggled at times in past seasons with living and dying off the three ball, but the 6'7 forward can help with that. Konieczny can hit threes, but he has also shown that he can put the ball on the floor and finish at the basket, create good looks for his teammates, or even work a mismatch in the post. The NIC MVP attempted more shots than he likely ever will at Notre Dame (19.7 a game) and he wasn't facing many other D1 players, but the way he was able to score in bunches is impressive at any level .
On the defensive end the class of 2021 recruit used his long wingspan at the top of St Joe's 1-3-1 zone to routinely force turnovers. Mike Brey likes to put Nate Laszewski in that spot now because of his length, with JR's mobility and experience in that role he will likely take Laszewski's place at the top of the zone at some point. When the Indians came out in man Konieczny routinely guarded the other team's best guard or wing. While he may need to put on some more muscle to guard big men in the ACC, the 6'7 forward's length and athleticism give him a high ceiling on that end, especially when he is guarding 1-3.
Moving from the NIC to the ACC will be a big jump but the way Konieczny was able to produce this season should generate a lot of excitement from the Notre Dame fanbase.
Blake Wesley
Stats:
27.8 Points Per Game
5.9 Rebounds Per Game
2 Assists Per Game
2.3 Steals Per Game
.4 Blocks Per Game
2.4 Turnovers per game
50% from the field
30% from three
79% from the free throw line
Accolades:
Northern Indiana Conference sectional champion
Northern Indiana Conference first team
Mcdonald's all american nominee
8th leading scorer in Indiana
Rivals Top 100 Recruit
Indystar Mr. Basketball nominee
Featured on the All-State Supreme 15
While Wesley doesn't have the same amount of accolades to show for his senior season as his classmate JR Konieczny, he had just as good of a campaign. Not only did the Notre Dame signee have a successful season at Riley High School ,where he won the region, he had an impressive Summer with the Indy Heat where he showed his ability to coexist with other D1 talents. Adjusting to playing with other D1 players will be extremely important for Wesley and Konieczny who were both the stars of their high school teams (Konieczny also played with top talent over the summer).
As for his high school season, the 6'4 guard showed off his ability to go downhill and attack the rim which allowed him to keep scoring even when his jump shot wasn't falling, this is a skill that has been hard to come by at Notre Dame recently in the absence of Robby Carmody. As a result of this ability Wesley has gotten better at finding his teammates in drive and kick scenarios and in transition. Speaking of transition, there aren't many players out there who can stop him on the break and a few of the ones that attempted to have ended up on a poster. Wesley isn't quite as explosive as Robby Carmody was in high school, but like the Mars, PA native, Wesley is at his best when he's out running. In the half court, the South Bend native improved his shot selection and was able to consistently create looks for himself off the dribble which is what makes him such an important piece for Notre Dame in the future.
Another thing that's been hard to come by at Notre Dame and something that's been lost in all of his highlight plays is the way the guard has been able to defend. Wesley definitely improved on the defensive end as the years went on and by his Senior year it was a common occurance to see the athletic guard fly through a passing lane then have a flashy finish on the other end. The South Bend native also routinely slowed down the opposing team's best player which included JR Konieczny in their matchup. With long-athletic wings and combo guards like Cormac Ryan, Trey Wertz, Wesley, Konieczny, and Tony Sanders JR. all over the roster, the Irish could turn into one of the better defending teams in the ACC in the coming years.
Wesley will have to adjust to playing with other talented players like he did in the summer of 2020 and will have to be more efficient from beyond the arc, but just like Konieczny he had about as good of a high school Senior year as you can ask for.
Alex Wade
Stats:
10.5 Points Per Game
7 Assists Per Game
3.5 Steals Per Game
Accolades:
Cathedral Catholic Career Assists Leader
CIF All-Defensive First Team
3 Year Captain
Alex Wade is the biggest unknown in Notre Dame's 2021 class. During his Junior season, the walk on played well against the top competition in the State of California including 5 star recruits Jaden Hardy, Amari Bailey, BJ Boston, and Bronny James. The Notre Dame commit was looking to build on his solid Junior season until his Senior season was cancelled due to COVID. As a result of missing his Senior season, Wade's numbers and accolades aren't quite as impressive as Wesley and Konieczny's, but in his tape it is clear why Brey and the staff took an interest in the walk-on.
The 6'0 guard is a methodical, hard nosed guard who seems to always make the right play. In their game against top prep school Sierra Canyon, Wade was able to dissect their press to get easy baskets, a good amount of guards facing a press with that kind of athleticism would've been overwhelmed and turned the ball over, but the Notre Dame commit kept his cool and made the right plays. The Cathedral Catholic guard is about as much of a true point guard as you can find which is reminiscent of former Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell who Mike Brey compared the walk on to.
Although Wade's ability as a floor general and playmaker is a nice skillset to have on the roster, his ability on the defensive end is equally as important. Despite his height, the guard is able to be a huge pest to opposing ball handlers. As a result, Wade was able to average 3.5 steals a game at the top of Cathedral Catholic's matchup zone. When the log jam at guard clears up, Wade could end up carving out minutes because of his defensive ability, just like Elijah Morgan did this season.
Wade's numbers may not be as impressive as the two other high school commits but he showed in his Junior year that he can be a stabilizing force on the offensive end who can create for his teammates and on the defensive end he can make things difficult for other guards and he's proven this against top competition, the Cathedral Catholic guard had played his Senior Season he likely would've landed more offers and would've had more impressive stats. The Notre Dame staff likely went largely off of Wade's Junior season when they decided to bring him so his performances against top competition definitely made for a good resume.
Even though Notre Dame had a rough season this year, these new additions along with Robby Carmody and Elijah Taylor are just a few of the reasons they could turn it around.
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