To say the Notre Dame men’s basketball team underperformed last season would be an understatement.
Going 13-18 on the season and missing the ACC tournament was still an embarrassing result, even with the loss of junior guard Markus Burton to injury in December. The program will be happy to turn the page, but many questions remain about who will and won’t be returning for the Irish.
The argument of the offseason, regardless of what decision the Notre Dame athletic department makes, will be whether or not Micah Shrewsberry should return as head coach. No matter who fills that role, Notre Dame will need to make a few moves in the transfer portal to elevate this team. It has already been confirmed that the program is losing sophomore forwards Sir Mohammed and Garrett Sundra, as well as freshman guard Ryder Frost — all of whom primarily served as rotational players and are likely seeking a chance at more playing time elsewhere. The one player confirmed to be returning is freshman Brady Koehler, who averaged 5.6 points and 16 minutes per game. He’ll be an important piece for next year’s team, and he will probably slot into the starting lineup next season.
What do these early announcements mean for the Irish? I believe there are two possible scenarios. One is that the players departing — Sundra, Mohammed and Frost — are disappointed with the state of Notre Dame basketball and are the first of many to announce they are departing for another place to play. Another is that these three (again, all bench players) believe their roles won’t increase next season, and they are looking for another school to see more minutes.
It is very possible Notre Dame will retain some of their high-impact players for next campaign. The ideal big three is Burton, freshman Jalen Haralson and sophomore Cole Certa. I think it’s possible the program retains at least two of them. One could argue that Shrewsberry isn’t the best in-game coach. However, he is a fantastic recruiter. He brought in the program’s most loaded freshman class ever last season, and two seasons ago, he kept four of his five starters from the 2023-2024 team — a remarkable achievement in the transfer portal era. While we’ll know more for sure once the portal opens on April 7, Shrewsberry is an exceptional recruiter and retainer of talent, and there is a real chance he has convinced some of the Irish stars to stick around for at least another year.
In terms of the transfer portal, the Irish will need to acquire a big man — preferably two. One key problem for the Irish last season was the lack of a scoring threat inside. Graduate forward Carson Towt was an exceptional rebounder, ranking No. 4 in the ACC in rebounds per game, just trailing lottery picks such as forwards Cameron Boozer of Duke and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina. With the way last year’s team was going to be guard-heavy, it made sense to find a big man whose primary skill was rebounding the ball. However, it didn’t work well in the end, as other teams didn’t have to worry much about an offensive Irish power in the paint. Defenses could sag off Towt and focus on the guards, which was especially harmful after Burton’s ailment.
The Irish also saw just how much not having a backup big man hurt last season when Kebba Njie went down with an injury, leaving Towt as the sole 5. The Irish need depth at the center position, not just talent. Finding a big man who can be a top-3 leading scorer on the team and complementing that with another efficient rebounder like Towt would help this Irish team exponentially next season.
Change will be needed for the Irish as they head into next season, but I don’t think as much will need to change as people think. The return of Burton could solve a lot of this team’s problems, and if the Irish are able to pair him and Haralson together, they could be a potential tournament threat. In short, this team is not far from being a tourney contender, and if it retains key pieces while bringing in one or two impactful players, it could be in a solid spot for next season.
