Four games into the new season, Notre Dame has suffered a hit to its depth in the frontcourt.
On Tuesday morning, Notre Dame announced senior forward Elijah Burns had left the men's basketball program and would graduate at the end of the semester and seek a transfer.
“We fully support Elijah in his decision to move on from the University of Notre Dame following his graduation in December," head coach Mike Brey said in a statement. "We will provide any assistance he may need as he takes the next step in his academic and playing careers.
"It is always tough when one of our guys doesn’t end his career here, but we are proud that he will achieve the ultimate goal of any student-athlete that comes through our program - to leave Notre Dame with a degree from one of the top institutions in the country.”
It was a bit of a surprising move given his status as a captain, but playing time had decreased for the New York product after going for a career-high 15 points in a win over Illinois-Chicago. Burns played 12 minutes the following game against Radford in a start, but notched just three minutes last Saturday in a win over William & Mary.
Losing Burns will make what was an inexperienced Irish frontcourt even more so leaving juniors John Mooney and Juwan Durham and freshman Nate Laszewski as the lone frontcourt players with playing time this season.
Brey had been shaving the rotation down a bit after using a 10-man rotation the first two games of the season. Losing Burns will make the process a bit easier for the Irish staff in terms of determining who plays more each game, etc.
Freshman Chris Doherty was expected to redshirt this season, but he could potentially see some action to provide depth up front following the departure of Burns.
Burns will have one year of eligibility remaining. With him set to graduate in December, it is possible Burns could apply for immediate eligibility at his new home. But, that remains to be seen.
Notre Dame now will have three open scholarships at its disposal to use on potential transfers or during the late-signing period this spring. The early signing period ends on Wednesday (Nov. 21) with the very likelihood the Irish go empty-handed.
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