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John Mooney alone isn’t enough for Notre Dame basketball

By Daniel Morrison

COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 04: John Mooney #33 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish makes a move to the basket against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins in the first half at Xfinity Center on December 4, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 04: John Mooney #33 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish makes a move to the basket against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins in the first half at Xfinity Center on December 4, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame basketball has a legit star in John Mooney, but he needs help.

It’s been a slow start for Notre Dame basketball. They’re 1-4 in ACC play, which is tied for l

ast place. Their one conference win is over 9-7 Syracuse, and despite showing promise against Louisville, the Irish still couldn’t finish the job.

Notre Dame struggles to recruit the same caliber roster, and lacks the depth of other ACC programs. It’s tough to win in the best college basketball conference with a roster of three and borderline four star players.

That lack of natural talent has been showing itself. Coach Mike Brey rarely looks to go further than two deep off the bench. That’s not because playing only 7 guys is the best way to win, but because the end of the bench isn’t ready to compete at this level. It makes things difficult.

On defense, Notre Dame has persisted. That’s a sign of good effort and coaching. Hard work and a little thought will earn a basketball team good defense and rebounding. Notre Dame is 90th in the country (out of 350 teams), allowing only 65.5 points per game.

The offense has been fine. Scoring 74.9 points per game isn’t special, but it’s not bad. In ACC play, the Irish are scoring 71.4 points per game. Again, this won’t win games on its own, but it is respectable. Mix it with a good defense, and Notre Dame should be winning more.

The issue is they don’t have a finisher. Down by a bucket, Notre Dame doesn’t have anyone who can go get one. John Mooney can do a lot of things over the course of a game, but he’s not a pure outside shooter.

Meanwhile Rex Pflueger has been extremely disappointing this season. He’s averaging less than 5 points per game, while shooting only 28.9 percent from the field. He’s a senior leader, and an important part of the team, but his lack of production should land him on the bench to figure things out. He may not be mentally right after last season’s injury.

TJ Gibbs, another senior, is the team’s best shooter. Still, he’s come up small in the biggest moments. Gibbs disappeared against Indiana, and he went AWOL for the final possession against Louisville.

Frankly, where was the entire team for that final possession? They handed it off a couple of times and tried a lay-up down by three. Missed, got a lucky rebound, and tossed up an air ball. It was like they were happy to have kept it close.

In basketball, one superstar can take over a game. Notre Dame has begged John Mooney to be that superstar this season. He’s done his best, and is averaging a double-double from his forward position.

Mooney is great, but until he gets more help, Notre Dame will never even be good. Preferably, Pflueger will step up, and start scoring in double digits. If not Pflueger, someone needs to step up, and prove they have the killer instinct to win.

Next. Notre Dame All-Decade Team: Defensive Tackle. dark

Otherwise, making the NIT will be a stretch for this Notre Dame team.