Complete masochism following Notre Dame basketball this closely, but I am on a life long mission to elevate the following of the team even as the head coach works against me.
Paul Atkinson: A- He's been as advertised. He's smaller and skinnier than I thought, but he's tougher and has provided tough post play on both ends of the court. He's been very good around the room shooting 64% from the field, and is a good post defender with active hands. His rebounding rate of 9 per 40 is low, and he's been a bit sloppy with the ball with 3.4 turnovers per 40. He frees up ND's shooters (who still manage to miss open 3's). The best should be yet to come.
Dane Goodwin: B Goodwin seems to get a little better every year. He's averaging 18 per 40 minutes of play and is shooting an impressive 52% from the field and 46% from three. Most of his damage has come against weaker teams though. He's also doing a solid job on the boards at 7 rebounds per 40. He continues to be a defensive liability, but he's the one player on the team who seems to be able to hit an open three.
Blake Wesley A- The kid is way better than advertised. First NBA level athlete ND has had since Demetrius Jackson and Pat C. He's easily the team's best defender, and is leading the team in scoring at 23 pts per 40 while shooting 57% on two's and a respectable 38% on threes. He's only playing a mind boggling 19 minutes a game. While probably only 6'4 he's got the wing span of a 6'6 player. He's a good passer who can throw it over the press and go by players on the drive. ND won't be any good until he's playing 30 minutes a game. They need to rip throttle of this kid and just play him until he's good. He's going to make mistakes, but he's already better than ND's athletically challenged seniors.
Cormac Ryan: C- Brey calls him a defensive stopper but the reality is he's an average ACC defender on a team with below average defenders. He's shooting the ball better from two's with an impressive 62% clip, but is still struggling from 3 at 31%. Most importantly he as not delivered in the clutch. ND has a problem that it's vocal leaders don't play well in the clutch. He has taken good care of the ball at only 1.4 turnovers per 40. For ND to be good Ryan as to be a 40% three point shooter, and they are not getting that to date. Averaging only 11.4 per 40. He's there but he's not impacting games.
Trey Wertz: C- Wertz is a head scratcher because you know it's there, but he as not played to his potential yet. At 6'4 he's shown the ability to penetrate to the basket but his finishing has been really poor with only 38% on two's. He's got a silky smooth jump shoot but is only hitting 31% from three. Last year he shot over 40%. He's leading the team in assist rate at 5.2 per 40 and is a much better passer than Hubb. Defensively, he's athletic enough but he's pretty soft. He's not nearly as physical a defender as he should be. Even with his mediocre play he's been much better than Hubb and should be our starting point guard.
Nat Laz: D He should be the team's star, but he's just too timid and not a confident enough player to date. It looked like he got over the hump last year but his shooting has slumped to 47% on two's down from over 60% and he's only hitting 31% from three. Most surprisingly is the number of shots he passes up. His rebounding has improved at an impressive 14.4 rebounds per 40. But it includes two 15 rebound games against weak competition. His defense is an ongoing problem. He, Goodwin and Hubb have all struggled defensively.
Prentiss Hubb: F You just can't play any worse than Hubb has. He is shooting 38% on two's and 15% from threes. He's always taken bad shots, but this year can't hit the good ones either. He's leading the team in turnovers at 3.8 per game including a remarkable 8 against TAM. There is no other play in Brey's era that would be on the court after an 8 turnover game, but he remains a fixture in the lineup. His playing time has been reduced to 31 minutes a game whereas in previous season he rarely left the court. He holds the ball too long on offense, still has the incredibly annoying habit of dribbling out the shot clock and doesn't play very good defense to boot. It's going to be hard to win if his role remains the same on this team.
Coaching: D The defense and rebounding have clearly improved. Realistically they have gone from terrible to "average". There are flashes of being a really productive team. But the inability for a Brey team to handle a press is head scratching with all of the veteran guards on the team. Part of the issue is pure athleticism. Coaches have realized that if you press ND, they don't have the athleticism to make you you pay. They can dribble buy you and you can still catch them before they score. Blake Wesley is the one "solution" to the pressing issue and he isn't playing enough. But the biggest issue with the team is the lack of confidence among the team's shooters. Brey has a reputation for instilling confidence in his shooters, and for whatever reason it has not worked with this group. Naz Laz was the best shooter in the country coming out of high school and still lacks confidence to shoot the ball. Cormac Ryan was considered an elite shooter and has never shot the ball well for Brey. Dane Goodwin was considered an elite shooter, but has missed more than his share of open threes. Wertz showed the ability to shoot at a high level for Santa Clara but has struggled finishing in the lane since joining ND. He shot over 55% on two's at Santa Clara and is under 40% since coming to ND. The seniors on the team still don't believe in themselves when pressured, and Brey has not gotten them over that mental block. And lastly, the substitution patterns for the recent 3 day tournament were mind boggling. There is not anybody who understands anything about sports who is doing anything other than shaking their heads. In addition to not getting the best players on the court, the 7 man rotation is just too lean. ND keeps losing second halves in games. And in today's transfer happy world, the odds of keeping a team together with that rotation is not high. It's an anachronistic concept. I still think Brey will right this ship and have a good year. But he has not put them in a position to win in the first handful of games.
Paul Atkinson: A- He's been as advertised. He's smaller and skinnier than I thought, but he's tougher and has provided tough post play on both ends of the court. He's been very good around the room shooting 64% from the field, and is a good post defender with active hands. His rebounding rate of 9 per 40 is low, and he's been a bit sloppy with the ball with 3.4 turnovers per 40. He frees up ND's shooters (who still manage to miss open 3's). The best should be yet to come.
Dane Goodwin: B Goodwin seems to get a little better every year. He's averaging 18 per 40 minutes of play and is shooting an impressive 52% from the field and 46% from three. Most of his damage has come against weaker teams though. He's also doing a solid job on the boards at 7 rebounds per 40. He continues to be a defensive liability, but he's the one player on the team who seems to be able to hit an open three.
Blake Wesley A- The kid is way better than advertised. First NBA level athlete ND has had since Demetrius Jackson and Pat C. He's easily the team's best defender, and is leading the team in scoring at 23 pts per 40 while shooting 57% on two's and a respectable 38% on threes. He's only playing a mind boggling 19 minutes a game. While probably only 6'4 he's got the wing span of a 6'6 player. He's a good passer who can throw it over the press and go by players on the drive. ND won't be any good until he's playing 30 minutes a game. They need to rip throttle of this kid and just play him until he's good. He's going to make mistakes, but he's already better than ND's athletically challenged seniors.
Cormac Ryan: C- Brey calls him a defensive stopper but the reality is he's an average ACC defender on a team with below average defenders. He's shooting the ball better from two's with an impressive 62% clip, but is still struggling from 3 at 31%. Most importantly he as not delivered in the clutch. ND has a problem that it's vocal leaders don't play well in the clutch. He has taken good care of the ball at only 1.4 turnovers per 40. For ND to be good Ryan as to be a 40% three point shooter, and they are not getting that to date. Averaging only 11.4 per 40. He's there but he's not impacting games.
Trey Wertz: C- Wertz is a head scratcher because you know it's there, but he as not played to his potential yet. At 6'4 he's shown the ability to penetrate to the basket but his finishing has been really poor with only 38% on two's. He's got a silky smooth jump shoot but is only hitting 31% from three. Last year he shot over 40%. He's leading the team in assist rate at 5.2 per 40 and is a much better passer than Hubb. Defensively, he's athletic enough but he's pretty soft. He's not nearly as physical a defender as he should be. Even with his mediocre play he's been much better than Hubb and should be our starting point guard.
Nat Laz: D He should be the team's star, but he's just too timid and not a confident enough player to date. It looked like he got over the hump last year but his shooting has slumped to 47% on two's down from over 60% and he's only hitting 31% from three. Most surprisingly is the number of shots he passes up. His rebounding has improved at an impressive 14.4 rebounds per 40. But it includes two 15 rebound games against weak competition. His defense is an ongoing problem. He, Goodwin and Hubb have all struggled defensively.
Prentiss Hubb: F You just can't play any worse than Hubb has. He is shooting 38% on two's and 15% from threes. He's always taken bad shots, but this year can't hit the good ones either. He's leading the team in turnovers at 3.8 per game including a remarkable 8 against TAM. There is no other play in Brey's era that would be on the court after an 8 turnover game, but he remains a fixture in the lineup. His playing time has been reduced to 31 minutes a game whereas in previous season he rarely left the court. He holds the ball too long on offense, still has the incredibly annoying habit of dribbling out the shot clock and doesn't play very good defense to boot. It's going to be hard to win if his role remains the same on this team.
Coaching: D The defense and rebounding have clearly improved. Realistically they have gone from terrible to "average". There are flashes of being a really productive team. But the inability for a Brey team to handle a press is head scratching with all of the veteran guards on the team. Part of the issue is pure athleticism. Coaches have realized that if you press ND, they don't have the athleticism to make you you pay. They can dribble buy you and you can still catch them before they score. Blake Wesley is the one "solution" to the pressing issue and he isn't playing enough. But the biggest issue with the team is the lack of confidence among the team's shooters. Brey has a reputation for instilling confidence in his shooters, and for whatever reason it has not worked with this group. Naz Laz was the best shooter in the country coming out of high school and still lacks confidence to shoot the ball. Cormac Ryan was considered an elite shooter and has never shot the ball well for Brey. Dane Goodwin was considered an elite shooter, but has missed more than his share of open threes. Wertz showed the ability to shoot at a high level for Santa Clara but has struggled finishing in the lane since joining ND. He shot over 55% on two's at Santa Clara and is under 40% since coming to ND. The seniors on the team still don't believe in themselves when pressured, and Brey has not gotten them over that mental block. And lastly, the substitution patterns for the recent 3 day tournament were mind boggling. There is not anybody who understands anything about sports who is doing anything other than shaking their heads. In addition to not getting the best players on the court, the 7 man rotation is just too lean. ND keeps losing second halves in games. And in today's transfer happy world, the odds of keeping a team together with that rotation is not high. It's an anachronistic concept. I still think Brey will right this ship and have a good year. But he has not put them in a position to win in the first handful of games.
