The inaugural season for Notre Dame in the ACC did not go as planned. It started off a little slow, then losing star guard Jerian Grant to academic suspension turned things from bad to worse for the Fighting Irish. They never seemed to recover, stumbling to a 15 win season, and a 6-12 record in the ACC. With Grant back, the expectation is for Notre Dame to be better this season.
Backcourt
Grant averaged 19.0 points and 6.2 assists per game, while shooting over 40% from threes before being suspended in December. He also averaged over 35 minutes per game. Those numbers will likely be equaled this year. Also coming back is swingman Pat Connaughton. The senior was second on the team in rebounding, and was third on the team in scoring. Also in the backcourt is sophomore Demetrius Jackson, who showed promise as a freshman, averaging six points per game while shooting nearly 42% from three point range, and sophomore Steve Vasturia is back as well. He has the capability of shooting it from long range, but shot just 33% from there last season. That will need to be improved this year.
Frontcourt
The big question for the frontcourt is how will the Irish replace Garrick Sherman's production. The big man did a lot for the Irish around the basket offensively and defensively. The first person that will get that opportunity is junior Zach Auguste. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while only playing 16 minutes per game. Given the chance to play more, he could be a 15 point, eight rebound per game guy. Helping fill the void will be two incoming freshman in Bonzie Colson Jr. and Martin Geben. While only 6-5, Colson plays a lot taller. He can rebound well for his height, as well as score against pretty much anybody. Geben is a Lithuanian product who, like most players from Europe, can shoot it from anywhere, and play physically inside. At 6-9 and 230 pounds, he is ready to play right away. Contributing as well will be junior Austin Burgett, a 6-9 junior who averaged about 15 minutes for the Irish last season.
| Projected Starters |
|---|
| Jerian Grant |
| Demetrius Jackson |
| Pat Connaughton |
| Austin Burgett |
| Zach Auguste |
Schedule
Aside from matchups against UMass and Providence in the Naismith Memorial Tip Off, Michigan State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and a home game against Purdue, the non conference schedule is pretty light. The conference season begins in mid December with a game against Florida State, before picking back up in January, where the Irish will have back to back games at UNC and against Virginia at home. They will have a home and home with Duke, get Syracuse at home, and go to Louisville during ACC play.
Prediction
Getting Jerian Grant back is a huge step in getting the Irish back towards the top of the ACC. The backcourt will be strong, with Grant being joined by Connaughton and Jackson. The questions are all up front. Zach Auguste did a lot with the little time he was given, but can he keep producing those type of numbers with more minutes given to him? The schedule for the Irish is fairly light, so they can't afford many bad losses this year. Mike Brey has won 300 games in his Notre Dame career, so he knows what he is doing. He will get the most out of these players. Expect Notre Dame to be a middle of the pack ACC team this year, with a shot at being in the NCAA Tournament.
by Will Ojanen @WillsWorldMN
Fantasy Player to Watch
Jerian Grant was as good as anyone in the ACC last year prior to his academic suspension. Keep in mind though that Grant's 19 pts and 6 assists per game were put up against Notre Dame's weak-ish non-conference schedule. That said, Grant will be the top fantasy performer for Notre Dame. If you can get Grant late in the first round or early second, consider it a steal.
Projected Statistics (Returning Players Only)
Explanation of Statistic Projections
| Name | Pts | Asts | Rbds | Stls | Blks | TOs | % Correct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerian Grant | 19.3 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 88 |
| Pat Connaughton | 8.5 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 83 |
| Demetrius Jackson | 7.9 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 92 |
| Austin Burgett | 6.5 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 92 |
| Steve Vasturia | 6.3 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 92 |
| Zach Auguste | 5.7 | 0.7 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 90 |
| Eric Katenda | 4.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 100 |
| VJ Beachem | 3.9 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 96 |
| Austin Torres | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 100 |
Last Year's Player Statistics
| Notre Dame | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | GP | Mins | Pts | Asts | Rbds | Stls | Blks | TOs | FG% | 3P% | FT% | |
| Eric Atkins | 32 | 37.8 | 13.9 | 4.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 42.4 | 37.0 | 67.7 | |
| Pat Connaughton | 32 | 37.2 | 13.7 | 2.9 | 7.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 45.2 | 37.8 | 81.5 | |
| Garrick Sherman | 31 | 28.6 | 13.6 | 0.9 | 7.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 50.6 | 37.5 | 70.1 | |
| Jerian Grant | 12 | 35.6 | 19.0 | 6.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 51.8 | 40.8 | 86.5 | |
| Zach Auguste | 30 | 16.3 | 6.7 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 50.9 | 0.0 | 48.3 | |
| Demetrius Jackson | 30 | 22.2 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 42.0 | 41.7 | 78.0 | |
| Steve Vasturia | 27 | 23.1 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 35.0 | 32.9 | 68.4 | |
| Tom Knight | 27 | 14.2 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 53.6 | 0.0 | 68.2 | |
| Austin Burgett | 28 | 14.8 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 42.6 | 21.6 | 77.3 | |
| VJ Beachem | 27 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 31.9 | 26.2 | 70.0 | |
| Eric Katenda | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Patrick Crowley | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
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