Notre Dame Basketball: 3 bold predictions for 2022-23 season

Notre Dame Basketball looks to have a big season, led by a number of seniors. What are some bold predictions to make for the Irish?

The Notre Dame basketball program bounced back last year in a huge way in 2021-2022. It did not start off the best, but the Irish finished the year with a record of 24-11. Plus a second-place finish in the ACC going 15-5.

Last year was the first time that Notre Dame got back to NCAA Tournament since 2017. They were able to make some noise by winning a classic game against Rutgers in the First Four matchup.

Mike Brey and the Irish then upset the 6th-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. The run ended for Notre Dame in a close loss against Texas Tech in the round of 32.

After the season the Irish lost their playmaking freshman guard in Blake Wesley who took his talents to the NBA. Wesley is the first ever one and done Notre Dame player to be selected in the first round. Guard Prentiss Hubb and graduate transfer Paul Atkinson Jr. have moved on from the program as well.

Notre Dame did lose some key pieces from last year’s roster but have some really good players returning this season. The Irish will have key contributors in Dane Goodwin, Nate Laszewski, Cormac Ryan, and Trey Wertz back for one final ride in South Bend.

For years now Brey has always said he likes his rosters to be old and to stay old. This is exactly what he has in store for the 2022-2023 season. They have plenty of returning talent, but they also have some really impressive young new faces joining the program too.

Brey and the rest of the coaching staff brought in an impressive recruiting class featuring guard JJ Starling, and forwards Ven-Allen Lubin and Dom Campbell. They also went into the transfer portal to get some ball-handling help bringing in Marcus Hammond from Niagara as a graduate transfer.

Here are three bold predictions for the upcoming season for the Irish.

3. Notre Dame finishes in top 4 of ACC

The ACC is very top heavy with North Carolina and Duke at the top. After that, it really is up for grabs. Notre Dame finished last year tied for second place with a record of 15-5. Most people said that the ACC had a down year last year overall, but at the same time winning 15 league games is not an easy thing to do.

Notre Dame does lose Wesley, Atkinson Jr., and Hubb from last year, but that is it. Everybody else is back from a team that won a few games in the NCAA Tournament last year. Throw in a good recruiting class led by five-star guard in JJ Starling and this team should have success again in the ACC.

The Irish are seen as a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC preseason standings, but there is no reason why the Irish cannot find themselves in the top four of the ACC. Will they win the league? Most likely not, but the talent is there on the roster to earn a double bye heading into the ACC Tournament.

2. JJ Starling wins ACC Freshman of Year

All eyes seem to be on great freshman players on the likes of Duke, and North Carolina, among others. One freshman who should be getting more credit than he is getting is Irish guard JJ Starling.

Starling comes into Notre Dame as the highest recruit ever in the Coach Brey era. Starling should slide right in for former Irish guard Blake Wesley in the starting lineup.

Brey has mentioned multiple times that Starling is one of the best pure shooters he has coached. Notre Dame has had some really good shooters, so that says a lot that Brey already considers him to be one of the best.

This veteran Notre Dame team will need Starling this year to be productive. Truly believe he will be right there at the end of the year to win ACC Freshman of the Year. If Starling has a successful year it could very well be two years in a row with a Notre Dame freshman being drafted into the NBA.

1. Irish make it to the Sweet Sixteen

As mentioned earlier, Notre Dame had a nice little run in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Irish won their first game in one of the more exciting games of the tournament in the first four against Rutgers. Then followed it out by beating the 6th-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round.

The Irish followed it up by taking a tough Texas Tech squad all the way to the end before falling short. This Irish team brings back veterans in Goodwin, Laszewski, and Ryan who have tasted March Madness and want more of it. That feeling of losing against Texas Tech is still most likely very much on their minds.

This is those super-seniors final rides and they want to have a deep run. The shooters on this Notre Dame team will be able to score with anybody they play. If they are able to compete on the glass and play solid defense this team has what it takes for a deep run come March.