Notre Dame Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Fighting Irish
By Joey Loose
Season Outlook
Last year, the Fighting Irish finished just 3-17 in conference play, good for 14th place in the ACC. Since that mark, there have been enormous changes to basketball at Notre Dame from top to bottom and this program frankly looks unrecognizable. We’ve already looked at the new faces in South Bend but what kind of difference will this make for Shrewsberry in year one?
All things considered, it’s likely going to be another long year for the Fighting Irish, but it’s not the end of the world. The roster is filled with freshmen and other inexperienced players and it’s really hard to predict how each of these players will develop. This is a roster that lacks experience and doesn’t exactly have a lot of backcourt depth.
Freshmen like Burton and Shrewsberry need to make immediate impact on both sides of the ball, especially with Shrewsberry already considered an outstanding shooter. There are so many question marks, especially behind the starting five; any possibility from this team will come with these young players developing and playing beyond their potential.
Question marks litter the rotation, but the combination of Booth, Davis, and Njie in the frontcourt does at least give Notre Dame something to be excited about. These are all young players with the athleticism and strength to become impactful for the Fighting Irish. Clearly, there are still question marks behind them, as the depth on this roster is very questionable, especially if injuries bite this team during the year.
Next. Preseason ACC power rankings for 2023-24 season. dark
There are just too many unknowns to expect Notre Dame to actually compete in the ACC. Yes, the young pieces all over the roster are full of potential and should be building blocks for Shrewsberry. If he can get them to stay, Notre Dame could be in fantastic shape in a year or two, but it’s not going to be easy this year. They’ll hope to keep Louisville beneath them in the conference standings, though who knows what happens in a few months when these players start to develop.