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Five Questions On Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Future

College basketball’s abrupt and incomplete conclusion to the 2019-20 season left the Notre Dame men’s program in middle ground standing.

• It finished 10-10 in the ACC, and seventh in the 15-team league.

• There was a marked upgrade from last year’s 3-15 conference mark and last-place finish — but not enough to halt a school-record 21-game losing streak versus ranked opponents (the last such victory was versus No. 6 Wichita State on Nov. 22, 2017).

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Notre Dame men's basketball guard Dane Goodwin with head coach Mike Brey
Dane Goodwin (right) is among five juniors who will be vital to Notre Dame's NCAA Tournament hopes the next two years. (USA TODAY Sports)

• Each of the top six players improved statistically and developmentally from a year earlier — but three of them now depart: first-team All-ACC double-double machine John Mooney, guard T.J. Gibbs, one of seven players in school history to play more than 4,000 minutes, and wing Rex Pflueger, the mortar-between-the-bricks figure whose 141 games were the most ever in the program's annals.

Thus, here are some of the most-asked questions about 2020-21:

Will Mike Brey return for a 21st season as the head coach?

Nothing cuts to the crux more regarding the future of the program — other than maybe the lack of recruiting buzz most of the past two cycles, which somewhat go hand-in-hand.

Back in December following the home loss to Boston College, I felt Brey and his program were coming to a crossroads. That stemmed mainly from a response he gave the day before that BC game in which he was asked if the 72-51 loss to Maryland in the previous outing gave him cause for alarm.

“I am too far into my career to really worry about it,” Brey replied. "If I were young, I would. I think this group will develop.”

A sense of urgency appeared to be absent, and it showed in the loss to BC. When that comes from the top it tends to have a trickle-down effect.

Where Brey has to be candid with himself and with director of athletics Jack Swarbrick, is whether the juice in the head and fire in the belly are still there as he celebrates his 61st birthday this Sunday.

My gut tells me he’s had one eye toward retirement — but also another eye toward wanting to see the recently completed five-man sophomore class through the next two years depart with NCAA Tournament success.

Plus, in the midst of a national health calamity, this would seem an extremely awkward time to step down, and unlikely in the manner in which the season ended.

Still, the last three highly frustrating seasons have visibly taken a toll on him emotionally and physically, which brings us to …


Is it imperative for Notre Dame to make the NCAA Tournament next season?

Missing two straight trips to the Big Dance begins to make the natives restless.

Notre Dame actually was briefly in for the 2018 tourney, until an upset by Davidson over Rhode Island made the Irish the “first team out.” There was a legitimate alibi there with All-American forward Bonzie Colson missing nearly two months with an injury.

Last year was a rebuild, which provided a mulligan.

This year as the the entered the ACC Tournament, the chances were slim to earn an NCAA Tournament bid without getting to the finals of the tourney — yet one can’t say for sure that Brey and Co. were “denied” a bid. In an odd and unfortunate manner, it was sort of like getting “saved by the bell” in that one can’t say “Notre Dame did not get invited three straight years.”

Particularly frustrating is it was a down year for the ACC, meaning the Irish must be even better next season while the rest of the conference also attempts an upturn.

Without NCAA Tournament participation next year, the groundswell of doubt and discontent would significantly expand.

What will be the starting lineup next year?

That is easy, mainly because of the shortage of bodies.

Juniors Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin and Stanford transfer Cormac Ryan — will handle the point and off-guard roles.

• Point guard Hubb was fifth in the ACC in assists (5.1 per game) and had the seventh-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) while improving his shooting (fifth in ACC in three-pointers made per game with 2.4) and averaging 12.1 points per contest.

• Goodwin was one of the league’s premier sixth men with a 10.8 scoring average. The next step as a junior will be better consistency on the road.

• Ryan had to sit out this past season as a transfer, but averaged 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists as a Stanford freshman, although the 33.3 field goal percentage, hardly unusual for a first-year guard seeing major action, will need to improve. He provides huge value in that he can help at the point while also supplying 6-5 height to aid the rebounding as a guard.

The front court will be manned by 6-11 fifth-year senior Juwan Durham (7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds per game) and 6-10 junior Nate Laszewski (7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds), who had nearly identical stats.

With Mooney gone, the rebounding slack in particular must be allayed by those two, with a 7.0 average by each a realistic benchmark.

Laszewski demonstrated progress in the post, taking his man off the dribble, and converting several clutch threes to save victories. If he takes the “Junior Jump” that Brey’s big men have a long, positive history of (most recently Mooney), he too could be in for some all-conference accolades before his college career concludes. Continued health and staying out of foul trouble will be pivotal for Durham.

Seldom does one see a Notre Dame starting lineup with five players who were all among Rivals’ top 110 recruits in their respective class years. Yet next season's group will be: Durham (47), Laszewski (56), Ryan (79), Hubb (99, despite not playing as a senior with a torn ACL), and Goodwin (110).

That doesn’t even include yet another junior in guard Robby Carmody (91), who was shelved in early to mid-December each of the past two seasons with season-ending injuries to the shoulder and ACL.

That brings us to …


What is the depth going to be like?

This is especially crucial because Durham has had a history with knee injuries, while Carmody, who plays at a relentless, break-neck pace, has had two major surgeries in two seasons.

Wing Nik Djogo would be welcomed by for a fifth season, and Brey has indicated in the past that the Canadian native would like to enroll in the advanced business program Pflueger was this past year. But he saw limited action even as a senior and was 3 of 24 (12.5 percent) from the floor.

Freshmen big men Elijah Taylor and Matt Zona will provide options up front, but neither arrives with much fanfare. Plus, most big men under Brey have taken at least a couple of years to develop, including Mooney, who averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in the 12 games he appeared in as a 2016-17 freshman.

Adding at least one more player via the graduate transfer route or otherwise will be essential, which brings us to …


Who is on the radar to possibly add to the 2020-21 roster?

Two ideal figures to add would include either 2020 reclassified 6-7, 195-pound wing William Jeffress, or 6-9, 205-pound Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner.

Neither would fall into merely the “another warm body” category that really doesn’t appreciably elevate a program that is at this Power Five level.

From Erie, Pa., Jeffress is Rivals’ No. 75 recruit in this class and, in addition to the Irish, has recent national champions Virginia and Villanova, among his final 10 schools.

All-Ivy League pick Bruner is looking into the pros, but superpowers Duke and Kansas also are among the schools interested in having him for one more year in the collegiate ranks.

It is these type of figures who could help restore some buzz in the recruiting efforts.

Beyond that, entering any season with nine scholarship players would not be ideal, so at least one more addition who would fit well into the structure would appear to be mandatory.

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