Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534445
40 MAY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE N otre Dame men's basketball checked its first offseason box when it re‑ tained star point guard Markus Burton. It wasn't easy. As On3's Jamie Shaw reported, there was "very real smoke" around Burton entering the transfer portal, particularly after he hired Oc‑ tagon as his agency shortly after the 2024‑25 season. Financial hurdles aside, the Irish also had to sell Burton on their plan for on‑court success as his burning desire to win battles with his love for his hometown program. In the end, Burton stayed. Blue & Gold Illustrated reported on March 25 that the Mishawaka native — and the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer — was likely to stay. On April 4, he made it of‑ ficial (through his agents telling ESPN). Tae Davis, Notre Dame's second‑ leading scorer, did not. Neither did se‑ nior guard J.R. Konieczny. The rest of the roster, which includes three rising sophomores, two rising juniors and one rising senior, will remain intact. Konieczny's exit was anticipated. Davis was an extremely valuable defender who got votes for the ACC's Most Improved Player award, but there was a feeling that his offensive game would be too similar to top‑25 freshman Jalen Haralson's and negatively affect floor spacing. Retaining Burton was a larger priority, and in that sense, mission accomplished. However, the rest of the checklist re‑ mains unfilled. Notre Dame wants to add a big man to displace rising senior Kebba Njie in the starting lineup. This player would preferably give the Irish the ability to throw the ball into the paint and get a bucket, which would open up the rest of the offense. The addition would allow Njie to move to a valuable role off the bench, where he could focus on provid‑ ing defense and energy rather than his unpolished post game. The Irish also wanted to add a veteran combo guard, who would either back up Burton or start alongside him in a small but skilled lineup. They're working on the latter. They filled the former, but not with their top option. Notre Dame coveted Nevada transfer big man Nick Davidson, one of On3's top‑ranked centers in the transfer por‑ tal. The Irish made his top five, but he opted for Clemson. Davidson was seemingly a perfect fit — he comes from a Catholic family, grew up a Notre Dame fan and would fix many of the prob‑ lems that plagued the Irish last season — but the realities of the transfer portal quickly set in. Sometimes, decisions for the top players come down to dollars and cents. And when that's the case, Notre Dame can rarely compete. That's particularly true after the Irish kept Burton, who did not come cheap. Notre Dame did bring in Northern Ari‑ zona transfer forward Carson Towt to fill the big man role. A seventh‑year player with the redshirt trifecta (standard, medical and Covid exception), Towt was the nation's leading rebounder at 12.4 per game, and he passes very well out of the post with 3.4 assists per game. However, Towt is smaller than the Irish would like at 6‑foot‑8. He's also never made a three, and his career free throw percentage is 42.2 percent. Towt can be an asset in South Bend, but the Irish need other pieces, namely rising sophomore forward Garrett Sundra, to take big steps for him to make an impact offensively. Injuries certainly played a role in Notre Dame's 15‑18 (8‑12 ACC) finish. Most no‑ tably, Burton (knee) missed more than a month. Veteran guard Matt Allocco (wrist) missed seven of eight games in Febru‑ ary and early March. Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry (abdomen) was ruled out for the season in mid‑February. Freshman guard Sir Mohammed (knee) missed most of the summer and nearly all of nonconference play, which crippled a season of development before it began. But missing out on a top‑tier big man in the transfer portal hurt, too. The mis‑ sion to take pressure off Burton failed; his usage rate rose to the third‑highest in the entire country. Most surprisingly, the misguided idea that the Irish would be able to outrun and outscore teams led to a lack of emphasis on defense, which will not be easy to fix with Davis gone. Notre Dame is bringing in talent with the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation, led by Haralson. It is optimistic that its rising sophomores can take big steps in Year 2. But will that, alongside better injury luck, be enough to make tangible progress? To prove that the program is headed toward an NCAA Tournament berth while Burton is still there? It could be. It is more likely that a similar offseason will lead to a similar result. Notre Dame has to be more suc‑ cessful in the transfer portal than it was a year ago, or else the all‑too‑familiar question marks won't go away. ✦ Markus Burton Returns, But So Do Familiar Question Marks MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L NOTRE DAME PORTAL UPDATE As of April 14 Departures Jr. F Tae Davis (Oklahoma) Sr. G J.R. Konieczny (TBD) Additions Gr. F Carson Towt (Northern Arizona) Burton, the ACC's leading scorer in 2024-25 at 21.3 points per game, toyed with the idea of entering the transfer portal but ultimately decided to stay with the Irish for the 2025-26 season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER