ACC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season

Mar 27, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels pose for a photo after the Tar Heels defeated the St. Peters Peacocks in the finals of the East regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

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ACC Basketball Notre Dame Fighting Irish Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Just about everyone on the main rotation for Notre Dame had a decision to make this offseason since most were seniors and had an extra year of eligibility to work with. Two of them opted to leave in big man Paul Atkinson, Jr. and point guard Prentiss Hubb.

But the biggest loss to the Fighting Irish was freshman star Blake Wesley, who led the team with 14.4 ppg. He’s off to the NBA Draft and you could argue that he literally turned this program around with his play, as the team had the same core of players that failed to get out of the bottom of the ACC before he arrived.

The hope is that the core of now super-senior players can continue winning next season, led by forward Nate Laszewski and guards Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan. Trey Wertz and Niagara transfer Marcus Hammond (18.1 ppg) fill out the backcourt and if he can replace Wesley’s production as a lead guard, Notre Dame might not miss a beat. There’s also top-30 freshman guard JJ Starling that should get major minutes as well.

Replacing Atkinson in the frontcourt will be the key question. If incoming three-star freshmen Dominick Campbell and Ven-Allen Lubin can become impact newcomers, they’ll be fine. If not, the defensive concerns could derail them and make the team take a step back in the standings.