ACC Basketball: Updated preseason rankings for 2018-19

Now we start getting to the four teams that are talented but are expected to have rebuilding seasons, and of those teams, I have the least amount of confidence in Notre Dame.

I know I’m just asking to look like a fool by having a Mike Brey team this low in the standings, but no other program is losing as important players as the Irish. Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell are gone and, last year, we saw how terrible the Irish were when both of them were injured (1-4).

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, they don’t have the firepower to replace those two stars immediately.

T.J. Gibbs (15.3 ppg, 3.0 apg) is a very good player but there’s very little around him. Rex Pflueger – a member of the hallowed “how is he still in college?” team – is a very good role player yet doesn’t have the skill set to become a go-to guy. Brey needs both D.J. Harvey and John Mooney to become major impact players and, even then, the Irish lack reliable depth.

The folks in South Bend may be in for a long rebuilding year.