Notre Dame Basketball: Early roster breakdown for 2022-23 season

Notre Dame Basketball had a rather successful turnaround year in 2021-22. The Irish were predicted to finish in eighth place in the ACC but exceeded those expectations finishing tied for second with 15 league wins, and an overall record of 24-11. They also returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

The Fighting Irish made their presence known during March Madness knocking off Rutgers in one of the more exciting games of the NCAA Tournament in the First Four, and then followed that up by upsetting the sixth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in San Diego in the first round. Notre Dame gave Texas Tech all they had but fell short the last few minutes in a loss to the Red Raiders in the second round.

It was announced within the last few weeks that graduate transfer Paul Atkinson Jr. would not try to appeal for a sixth season with the NCAA and will now move on to a professional career most likely overseas.

Freshman star Blake Wesley also announced that he will be declaring for the NBA Draft and will not be returning to Notre Dame for his sophomore season. It was only one year, but this Irish team would not have been as successful without Wesley in the rotation this past season for Notre Dame.

Senior forward Nate Laszewski is also testing the NBA waters by seeing where his value would be after this latest season for the Irish. If I were a betting man I would expect Nate Laszewski to come back to college for one more season to improve on his game at the college level before moving on to a professional career in some capacity. Mike Brey would love to have the 6’10 stretch forward in the starting lineup next season every night.