Notre Dame takes the floor at Rolph's Athletic Hall today for their first official practice of the summer. It's a time for optimism and hope, a time to put an incredible amount of stock into Mike Brey's words, and a time to finally think about college basketball being back on the horizon. As per usual, Notre Dame has a veteran group for the most part, but a few underclassmen have a chance to really make their mark on the program this season. That opportunity starts now.
Here's What to look out for this summer.
JJ Starling
Even with the four returning seniors, an all league transfer, and four other returning players from a team that made a March Madness run, the face of the program label may have already been given to a freshman.
JJ Starling ended his senior year as Notre Dame's highest ranked recruit in the 247 sports era and their first five star recruit. Starling took the number one spot in the recruiting rankings from former Notre Dame standout and South Bend native, Demetrius Jackson, who was ranked as a four star recruit and the number 34 player in his class.
Starling played the latter half of his high school career at La Lumiere where he took the Lakers all the way to Geico Nationals. After the conclusion of the high school season, Starling was selected for some of the country's most prestigious all star games, Including the McDonald's All- American game. Demetrius Jackson was the last Irish commit selected to play in the game. Starling was unable to participate in these events though because of a nagging ankle injury.
The 6'4 combo guard is considered to be one of the most college ready freshman of the Mike Brey era due to the level of competition he faced at La Lumiere and how he handled it. Today is the start of his on floor journey at Notre Dame, this summer will give a good indication of how ready the freshman is to step in to a premier role for the Irish.
Notre Dame's Point Guard Situation
Mike Brey and his staff have recruited plenty of talented scorers and a few high level playmakers to star in the backcourt, but their plan at point guard is still a bit unknown.
Will it be Niagara transfer Marcus Hammond, who has shown flashes of playmaking but has typically been a score first guy, running the show? Will it be Starling, who's playmaking ability Mike Brey raved about even though he didn't play point guard at La Lumiere? Will Trey Wertz or Cormac Ryan, who played point guard at their previous schools, take a shot at a few reps?
The Irish point guard situation will likely run primarily by committee in the summer (and probably in the early part of the season as well) but to get the most out of this group's talent, they'll need an alpha to run their offense.
In 2021-22 Prentiss Hubb and Blake Wesley both turned into that which allowed Notre Dame to get into a consistent offensive groove in the 2nd half of conference play. To fully maximize players like Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski's skillsets they need someone to distribute consistently, this week is the start of the Irish staff seeing who can fit that bill.
Notre Dame's Frontcourt
Although point guard is a bit of a question mark for Notre Dame, there are plenty of options that can feasibly step into that role and eventually thrive. There is a little less certainty about Notre Dame's frontcourt.
The Irish staff currently has one constant that they can rely on, Nate Laszewski. The 6'10, fifth year senior is an incredibly important piece for Mike Brey's team because of his versatility. If Notre Dame needs a four, Laszewski can slot in as that, if Brey needs someone to slide over to the five, Laszewski can do that as well. The veteran sharpshooter allows Brey to adjust to the rest of his personnel.
If Junior big man Matt Zona or Freshman big man Dom Campbell show that they can be contributors that Brey is comfortable with then Laszewski can slide down to the four for two big lineups. If neither prove that they can contribute and one or two of JR Konieczny, Ven Allen Lubin, or Tony Sanders JR does, then Laszewski can shift to the five to cater to small ball lineups.
Notre Dame likely can't rely fully on small ball lineups, they need a Matt Zona or a Dom Campbell to step up this summer along with this season and show that they can play the five in the ACC. In 2021-22 it was easy to see how much having a true low post threat in Paul Atkinson helped to give the Irish another dimension offensively, and how much having two playable bigs helped defensivley. If Notre Dame has to constantly play small ball and can't consistently play two bigs on the floor, it could be a recipe for disaster.
This summer it will become apparently clear in where the direction of Notre Dame's frontcourt is heading. Will they still try to add a transfer like Michael Wang to sure things up down low? Are they confident in what is currently on the roster? Will they have to rely on small ball? We will likely get a look into Mike Brey's answers this summer.
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