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Notre Dame Basketball: 2021-22 season preview for the Fighting Irish

By Danny McCormick

SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 30: General view of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Purcell Pavillion seen during the game against the Duke Blue Devils on January 30, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 30: General view of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Purcell Pavillion seen during the game against the Duke Blue Devils on January 30, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Basketball Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame Basketball Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame did not have the season they wanted to have on the hardwood during the 2020-21 season. Coach Mike Brey was very aggressive in his non-conference scheduling last year loading up against some key high-caliber teams. But unfortunately for the Irish, they did not fare well in a lot of those games. The Irish will be returning almost every player from their roster last year, plus one new incoming graduate transfer who should thrive in a Notre Dame jersey.

Notre Dame finished the year at 11-15 overall and 7-11 in ACC play. The Irish did have four starters finish the year averaging double-figure in points, but the two main pieces were Prentiss Hubb, and Nate Laszewski. Both Hubb and Laszewski made huge strides in their games from 2019-2020 to the 2020-2021 season. They will be needed to be huge parts of the team on both ends of the floor this upcoming season again.

As mentioned earlier, Notre Dame is returning almost everybody from the roster minus two players in Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo. Durham has decided to forgo his option of returning to play an extra year at the college level and start his professional career overseas. While Djogo is taking advantage of the NCAA giving out an extra year of eligibility by transferring and will be finishing out his career at Northeastern.

Durham was a key part of the team, especially down low averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.5 rebs, and also was a huge shot-blocker around the rim. The good news is that head coach Mike Brey was able to land a very good player in the transfer portal to come play for the Irish. Graduate transfer forward Paul Atkinson formerly of Yale will be coming to play his final year of eligibility in South Bend this season. Coach Mike Brey also brought in two top 150 players in the 2021 recruiting class who should be part of the rotation as well.

What is the outlook for the Irish this year? Can these new players come in and help Notre Dame compete better in the ACC? More importantly, can Notre Dame get back to the NCAA Tournament overall? A place they have not been since 2017.

Let’s dive into looking more at the Irish roster, schedule, and a better outlook for the 2021-22 season.

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