Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 16, 2024 47 BY JACK SOBLE M icah Shrewsberry sat alone in the locker room after Notre Dame's season-opening win over Stonehill, de- jected. He reflected on the previous two hours, and he wasn't happy, "Man, we gotta be better," he thought. "That's the worst thing about coach- ing, is you're always the eternal pessi- mist," Shrewsberry said. "I didn't think we played that well." Then, someone handed him a box score. He read it, and his mood began to improve. Notre Dame won 89-60, scoring what would have been its highest output of the 2023-24 season. It shot 50 percent from the field and totaled 14 assists. Stonehill made six two-point baskets the entire game — if you're counting the first basket of the year at Purcell Pavilion in which ju- nior Irish forward Tae Davis accidentally tipped the ball into his own basket. Among the few blemishes on the stat sheet, Shrewsberry started to see silver linings. "They made 11 threes, but some of that is game plan-specific for how we guard," Shrewsberry said. "And, you know, every big guy turns into [Boston Celtics center Kristaps] Porzingis when they walk in here. Thought we fouled too much, but that happens sometimes, right? "It's a start. You don't want to be per- fect on Night 1." Notre Dame was not perfect. It can't and won't draw sweeping conclusions from a win over Stonehill, which fin- ished dead last in the lowly Northeast Conference. But it was noticeably better than last season in multiple ways. Three-point shooting is one. Six dif- ferent Irish knocked down shots from beyond the arc, led by four from sopho- more guard Braeden Shrewsberry. A team that finished 297th in college basketball a year ago with a three-point percentage of 31.8 shot 47.8 percent from downtown. "They're shooting different threes," Shrewsberry said. "They're shooting catch-and-shoot threes instead of tougher shots. I thought we had to take tough shots last year. Now, we're getting two people on the ball and getting it out of our hands. Now we're throwing extra passes, and dudes are shooting practice shots." The frontcourt play was much better, too. Junior forward Kebba Njie admitted nerves got to him early, but he settled down in the second half and finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds. He made multiple jump-hook shots, which he was not making as a sophomore. With Njie and Monmouth graduate transfer Nikita Konstantynovskyi (4 points, 6 rebounds in 13 minutes), Notre Dame likes what it has at the five. "I've been working on my body, being able to play longer stretches and then being able to be more effective on the court," Njie said. "And then, just having a high motor every time I step on the court, wanting the ball every time." Notre Dame dealt with "jitters" as a whole early in the game, turning it over four times in the first five minutes and change. That's normal, Shrewsberry ex- plained, for the first game. The Irish were excited to play. Maybe a little too excited. However, there were times last season — even against the Niagaras and West- ern Carolinas of the world — when that would have sunk them, or at least drawn them into a closer-than-anticipated night. Not this time. "Once we got in the flow of things, we started to settle down on both ends, and at times, executed pretty well," gradu- ate student guard Matt Allocco said. "When we did, we got great shots." The addition of Allocco, a Princeton transfer, was a big part of that. Allocco gives Notre Dame the shooter, connector and veteran leader in the start- ing lineup that it did not have in Shrews- berry's first year. Shrewsberry half-joked that he needed Allocco to stop yelling at him in the middle of possessions. But he will take it over the alternative. "He's just a communicator," Shrews- berry said. "He's just got a nose and a knack for making a play when you need it. … Just a tough, solid, efficient leader. For a fifth-year guard, that's what you want." Allocco completes a three-man back- court of himself and sophomores Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry. Keep sleeping on them, Micah Shrewsberry said, as they combined for 46 points against Stonehill. He'd prefer it that way. Nobody is sleeping on Burton, who will also be better than he was on Night 1. He shot just 6 of 17 from the field, which will improve. When it does, and when the rest of the Irish continue to come into their own, watch out. "Do not peak on November 6, I can tell you that right now," Shrewsberry said. "We have a lot to work on. We have a lot of film that we can watch. We can get better from this, and we will." ✦ Despite Strong Opener, Irish Not Satisfied Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry made 4 of Notre Dame's 11 three-pointers en route to scoring 18 points in an 89-60 win over Stonehill Nov. 6. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L