NCAA Basketball: Top 25 impact freshmen classes for 2022-23 season

17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last season, the Irish got major contributions from former top-30 prospect and freshman guard Blake Wesley. He led the team in scoring, helped improve the roster to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a few years, and was a first-round NBA Draft pick. They’re hoping to get similar results from J.J. Starling, another top-30 guard prospect for the program.

Wesley and Starling are very similar in that they’re quality scorers from the perimeter. The one difference between them is that Starling is more comfortable running an offense and being the de facto point guard if need be. And that’s incredibly important with Prentiss Hubb also now gone.

Notre Dame has a ton of shooting guards and scoring wings on the roster, as well as Niagara combo guard transfer Marcus Hammond joining. But there’s a good chance that Starling will have the ball in his hands most next season. That may not be a bad thing at all but the Irish will need for there to be as little a transition to NCAA Basketball for him in order to remain a postseason contender.

Two other newcomers that could easily be in the rotation are incoming forwards, Dominick Campbell and Ven-Allen Lubin. Lubin has grown in the past few months into a top-100 prospect and could very well start alongside 5th-year senior Nate Laszewski in the frontcourt. And Campbell, a true center at 6’9 and over 250 pounds, gives real size against the bigger teams in the ACC next season.

It’s a strong chance that the Irish is one of the oldest teams in the country, while still able to play three freshmen meaningful minutes in 2022-23.