Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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58 JUNE/JULY 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY PATRICK ENGEL I n an offseason of un- p re c e d e n t e d p l a y e r movement in college basketball, Notre Dame is a rarity with its continuity. There are about 1,500 play- ers in the NCAA transfer por- tal. The number of players declaring for the NBA Draft with eligibility remaining has soared in recent years. It's all a bit much to keep track of year to year in a sport already known for its transient ways. At Notre Dame, though? Only one player has entered the transfer portal and just one incoming transfer has joined the program. It might add a second, though head coach Mike Brey and staff aren't itching to join the theme of the year. All told, the Irish have 12 scholarship players, with room to add one more. Nine of last year's 11 scholarship players are back. The additions are two freshmen ranked in the 2021 Rivals150 and Yale graduate trans- fer Paul Atkinson Jr., the 2019-20 Ivy League Co-Player of the Year. Atkinson chose Notre Dame in January before the transfer portal reached optimal ma- nia. He was available only because the Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season. The one player who did leave the program, meanwhile, is a unique case. In any other year before this one, Nikola Djogo would be out of eligi- bility. He redshirted in 2016-17 and then played the next four seasons. But when the NCAA gave every 2020-21 basketball player an extra year of eligi- bility, he suddenly had a path to play- ing in 2021-22 if he wanted to take it. So did classmate and two-year starting center Juwan Durham, whose eligibil- ity was also set to expire after this year. Brey met with both during the sea- son, and a decision was made that 2020-21 would be their last season at Notre Dame. They were graduating, with Djogo set to receive his MBA from the accelerated program in the Mendoza College of Business. Dur- ham decided to start his search for a pro team. Djogo decided he wanted one more season of college basket- ball. He entered the transfer portal and found a home at Northeastern. In some ways, it's a mild surprise no one else left. Notre Dame signed three freshmen last year, and the two healthy ones had no impact on last season. Forward Matt Zona and wing Tony Sanders Jr., each a three-star recruit, averaged 5.1 and 5.4 minutes per game, respectively. Neither played in more than 15 contests or averaged more than 1.0 point per game. The players who started ahead of them are back, or in Durham's case, re- placed by surefire starting center At- kinson. In fact, their path to minutes may be even more crowded. In the frontcourt, Atkinson and sophomore-to-be Elijah Taylor join the mix. The latter is healthy after missing last season due to injury. Sanders' route may be even busier. Notre Dame's incoming freshmen — Indiana All-Stars Blake Wesley and JR Konieczny — are backcourt players. Senior-to-be guard Robby Carmody will enter the picture if he's healthy. No one would've blamed either Zona or Sanders for seeking a fresh start after anonymous freshman sea- sons or looking for a place that might be more condu- cive to a bump in playing time as sophomores. But two months after the end of the season, each is still around. Continuity is generally good in a vacuum. So is being led by seniors. The thing is, this is continuity of a team still seeking its first extended stretch of success. It hasn't been close to the NCAA Tournament picture since 2018. If the minutes distribution and rotation look anything like last year, it'll be a senior-heavy unit with the same cast of char- acters in major roles. "When you look at the five guys coming back, they've played a lot of basketball, and Paul Atkinson gives you six guys who have played a lot," Brey said af- ter Notre Dame's final game. "Then it's a matter of who joins the party." The senior class, though, is 20-36 in the ACC the last three years with two losing seasons. Notre Dame's last game — a 101-59 loss to North Carolina — didn't help generate ex- citement about bringing largely the same team back for another year. Of- ten times in college basketball, up- perclassman-heavy teams that bring back most of their contributors don't see massive jumps. Does this group have another level it can reach? Will its continuity help it get there? One way or another, Brey knows he has to make the an- swer to both questions yes. When nearly everyone chose to come back, this offseason became more about ex- tracting more from the current group than overhauling the roster ahead of a high-pressure season. "I think a lot of those guys got better [this year]," Brey said. "Now, it wasn't good enough to earn an NCAA bid. The challenge is how do we react and grow from it? A year from [Selection] Sunday, we need to show up in that bracket. Plain and simple." ✦ Head coach Mike Brey's roster will feature seven seniors in 2021-22. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Running it Back Can Notre Dame make its roster continuity a positive?