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Notre Dame Basketball: Why Chris Doherty Leaving Could Be A Big Deal

By Mychal Hunter

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish claps during the first half against the Princeton Tigers during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 16: Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish claps during the first half against the Princeton Tigers during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 16, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Doherty’s departure leaves the Notre Dame basketball front court a little thin.

According to an article released earlier in the week, freshman power forward Chris Doherty has temporarily left the Notre Dame basketball program.

Doherty — a 6-8, 225 post player from Marlboro Mass. — was a three star recruit and the No. 53 ranked power forward in the country.

A true post player, Doherty had a shot at legit minutes as a freshman and reserve big man. Notre Dame basketball Coach Mike Brey is notorious for having a deep bench and playing lots of different combinations. Last season, there were ten players who averaged 10 minutes per game or more for the Irish. While that could be be attributed to an injury plagued roster, the season prior there were nine players who averaged seven minutes or more.

The point being, Doherty should see the floor this season.

This departure leaves the Irish with a fairly serious issue in regard their front court depth. Currently, Juwan Durham (history of knee problems), John Mooney (primarily a stretch four)  and Elijah Burns (nice bit player) are the bigs on the roster. There is certainly nothing wrong with any of those players, but Doherty has the skill set and reputation as a banger, a rebounder and vicious screen setter.

The big men mentioned above don’t really fit that description.

Word on the street is that Doherty was a little homesick. I can tell you as a fellow Northeast boy, that happens to us. It has happened to me. I chased some money to Oklahoma City once. If you ever get the opportunity to visit that city, do yourself a favor and pass.

In any event, it will be interesting to see what Coach Brey and the Irish staff do with the newly open scholarship if it were to indeed remain open. While the big time recruiting market for class of 2018 high school players is a somewhat shallow pond — especially for big men — there is always the grad transfer market.

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If I were take a wild guess, I would look for the Golden Domers to go that route. If anything, graduate transfers help you in practice a great deal.