ACC Basketball: Top 20 impact transfers for 2021-22 season

5. Paul Atkinson | 6’10 Forward | Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish could really use a gamechanger on offense in 2021-22 and Paul Atkinson might be that name after joining the team from Yale. Atkinson is a name that should turn heads in THE rotation in 2021-22. He’s a sizable big man with a high IQ for scoring and rebounding the ball.

He was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2019-20, putting up 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting an efficient 63 percent from the field. Atkinson posted 12 games of 20 points or more in his last season of action while using his length to his advantage.

He’s a scoring menace in the paint area that was unable to play in 2020-21 due to the Ivy League shutting down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his three seasons at Yale, he’s grown as quite the presence around the rim on the offensive end. During his freshman season, he averaged just 9.3 points per game on 3.6 shots per contest. In 2019-20, he averaged 17.6 points on 6.9 makes per game.

He should certainly boost the Notre Dame frontcourt with his size and presence on both ends. It’s also worth noting he finished sixth in the Ivy League in steals (35) during his Ivy League POY performance. He’s another big man transfer to keep an eye on this season in the ACC.