Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 7, 2024 47 BY JACK SOBLE O n a boat in the western Mediterra- nean Sea, Matt Allocco judged the first annual Notre Dame men's basket- ball diving contest. "First up, we got [senior guard] Ju- lian Roper [II]," the Princeton graduate transfer guard said, holding an "Irish Access" camera. Roper did a semi-sideways flip, land- ing on his behind. "Just not a dive," Allocco said. "Just not a dive at all." In the end, an unimpressed Allocco ruled the contest a tie between Lehigh graduate transfer forward Burke Chebu- har, junior forward Kebba Njie and soph- omore guard Logan Imes. Not everyone participated, but the entire team hung out together off the coast of Cambrils, Spain, during the height of summer in Europe. The Irish valued that more than the three games they played on their three- city trip to Spain that began Aug. 5 and ended Aug. 15. "I think the most important thing for us is being together," Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said July 18, previewing the trip. "We do have a lot of guys back, but we've got a lot of new guys as well. So just being together dur- ing this time is really important." The trip took Notre Dame through three major cities in Spain: Valencia, Bar- celona and Madrid. Shrewsberry's group checked every box it could think of, from eating a tapas dinner to relaxing on the beaches in Valencia to touring the Atlético de Madrid locker room to trying paella. "It's solid," freshman guard Sir Mo- hammed said. "Tomato-y. I like paella. I give it a seven [out of 10]." Team bonding was the point of the trip. Shrewsberry had talked in June about be- ing more intentional about establishing a close-knit group. But the Irish did get a chance to show off what they'd been working on throughout summer practice against other teams, too. Notre Dame went 3-0 in its three games, winning 89-65, 78-60 and 76-74 against patchwork "All-Star" squads from Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, respectively. In the final matchup, junior forward Tae Davis made a put-back la- yup to take the lead with one second left. The star of the trip, of course, was sophomore guard Markus Burton. The Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn graduate led the Irish in scoring each game, averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.7 steals per contest. His best scoring output was a 22-point game against Barcelona on 9-of-14 shooting, includ- ing a trio of made three-pointers. Burton has improved his long-range shooting this offseason, and an im- proved supporting cast should help him cut down on turnovers (he led the At- lantic Coast Conference with 3.7 per game last season). Despite being listed at a generous 5-foot-11, there is no ceil- ing for what Burton can accomplish this season and in two more at Notre Dame. "Late at night — I know I'm not sup- posed to be here [at Rolfs Athletics Hall] late at night in summers, but I don't have any hobbies — a lot of times when I was leaving, [Burton] was in here," Shrews- berry said. "He's spent a lot of time in this gym, and you see it in how he's playing. "He's getting better shots, and he's making those shots, too. His efficiency has been great for us." Other top performers for Notre Dame included Davis, who averaged 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game (everyone who traveled played, so the individual numbers aren't as high as they would be in a normal game — which makes what Burton accomplished all the more impressive). Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry put up 10.7 points per out- ing, and he made 8 triples along the way. Njie stood out with his play above the rim, averaging 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Freshman forward Garrett Sundra's play was also notable, with 6.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Both publicly and internally, the Irish are confident they hit on Sundra as a three-star recruit out of Chantilly (Va.) Paul VI Catholic. While most believed the 6-foot-11 stretch four would need a year to develop, Shrewsberry and com- pany are not ruling out early minutes. "Garrett Sundra has actually gotten a lot of reps, because other guys had been out, which has been great," Shrewsberry said. "He's going to be a really good player for us. He is the ultimate glue guy. "But down the line, people are going to be talking about how good he is as a Notre Dame basketball player." The Irish returned to South Bend with 12 days to recuperate before the fall se- mester began Aug. 27. Now, they have two months until the season starts in early November. ✦ Spain Trip Serves As Valuable Team Bonding Experience While the Irish went 3-0 in three games during the trip, the connections made to establish a close-knit group of teammates could be even more important down the road. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L