Biggest Name for Notre Dame Basketball in 2015-2016

Fans know the season may have just ended but it’s never too early to start looking ahead to what the Irish can do next year. With Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton’s phenomenal careers as Irish players officially over, we look on to who will be the biggest name for the Notre Dame basketball team in the 2015-2016 season.

Next years Notre Dame basketball team will look pretty identical to this season as far as where the Irish struggle. Even with the recruiting class that Mike Brey has landed, ND will still be a short team. The 2015 commits (Rex Pflueger, SG 6-5; Matt Ryan, SF, 6-7; and Elijah Burns, PF, 6-8) might be pretty talented but size will still be a problem. If you didn’t notice, ND didn’t really bring in anyone to help Zach Auguste.

So if the Irish are playing the same game style, whose going to flourish? If he didn’t prove enough people wrong this year, Steve Vasturia is going to be able to do it all season long in 2015-2016.

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With the type of offense Brey ran this season we got to really see what kind of player Vasturia is. He is a defenders nightmare! If he wanted to, Vasturia could stand behind the arc all game and just wait for an open shot. From his freshman year to this season, Vasturia was able to improve his three-point percentage from 32% to 41%. This season alone, 47% of Vasturia’s points came from behind the arc.

Vasturia also added an element to his game that we didn’t see his freshman season. He started driving the ball and was strong with it. Vasturia’s overall field goal percentage was at 49% and it wasn’t all from his silky smooth jumper. At 6-5 207 lbs, I think everyone was surprised at how he finished after contact and got to the line. This was extremely beneficial for the Irish this season as not only would Vasturia get the shot to fall after contact, but also he couldn’t miss from the charity stripe. Vasturia was 84% from behind the line this season, only missing 9 free throws all year.

Other places that Vasturia showed great improvement on, rebounds, assist, and steals. Vasturia wasn’t a great rebounder for the Irish but he was still capable of pulling quite a few away with his never give up attitude.

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As far as assists, this is an area where Vasturia has shown improvement, but will be vital for him to increase on in the offseason. ND will probably have to move the ball even more then they did this season, which means everyone one the team will have to get better at passing. Remember, Jerian Grant’s beautiful passing skills are no longer able to help the Irish.

Vasturia had quick hands this season on defense, which was greatly appreciated. He was able to take the ball away 42 times this year. Vasturia was consistent with 1.1 steals per game and most of them came at turning points of the game.

The Irish are returning some great players for the 2015-2016 season, but Steve Vasturia might just be one of the most dreaded names for the rest of the nation.