It’s not just the consistent, versatile production Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry must suddenly replace in departing forward Tae Davis.
It’s the perceptual damage of a player who bought into the Irish men’s head basketball coach’s vision of a rebuild two offseason ago, when he transferred in from Seton Hall, and now is set to return to the transfer portal on Monday’s reopening, presumably looking for something better to believe in.
Which leads to the question of who else might join the senior-to-be before the portal window closes on April 22?
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The 6-foot-9 Indianapolis product was Notre Dame’s second-leading scorer (15.1 ppg) and rebounder (5.3) this past season, one in which the Irish finished 15-18 overall and 8-12 in the ACC while showing a frustrating penchant for folding late in close games.
He shot .476 from the field, .302 from the 3-point arc and .721 from the free-throw line while averaging almost 31 minutes a game. He was one of ND’s best and most versatile defenders, and his 20 steals ranked second on the team.
The optimism, for now, is fueled by a roster with still plenty of promising returnees as well as the nation’s No. 12 recruiting class, per Rivals, signed in November. That four-player group is led by four-star forward Jalen Haralson, the nation’s No. 17 player overall and a 6-7, 205-pound senior at La Lumiere School in LaPorte, Ind.
Notre Dame’s top returnee is junior-to-be point guard Markus Burton, who averaged 21,3 points and earned All-ACC second-team honors.
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