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Notre Dame Basketball: Irish have a ton of minutes returning in 2021-22

By Brad Weiss

Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey talks to his players during a time out in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey talks to his players during a time out in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Notre Dame Basketball program has not made the Men’s Tournament in five years, but all of that could change in the 2021-22 season.

During the 2020-21 college basketball season, we saw a year like no other, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rip through the country. For the Notre Dame Basketball program, both the Men and Women failed to make the NCAA Tournament, something that will surely change this upcoming season.

For the Women, they are loaded with talent, as Maddy Westbeld was arguably the best freshman in the country last season. For the Men, the talent returning is a veteran group that is battle-tested, and one that will be looking to get to their first NCAA Tournament as a group.

This group has played together for years, and that should lead to a successful 2021-22 campaign.

Notre Dame Basketball has a ton of minutes returning

Ryan Humphrey, an assistant coach for the Irish tweeted out the list of teams with the most minutes returning, and in the list, the Irish actually have the fourth-most minutes coming back, as this veteran squad should be able to make something happen this upcoming season. Remember, the team only lost Nikola Djogo and Juwan Durham from last year’s team, and are adding two of the top high school players in the state of Indiana, as well as Yale star Paul Atkinson.

Prentiss Hubb proved to be one of the top point guards in the ACC this past season, and Nate Laszewski was one of the more efficient scorers in the country. Cormac Ryan should be better in his second season in the program, and it will be interesting to see how Matt Zona makes the jump after his true freshman season.

I believe that the Irish are going to in fact make the NCAA Tournament next season, as it is a veteran lineup that is adding more talent than they are losing. Notre Dame Basketball has been building up this roster for the past few seasons, and with all of their playmakers returning, they will certainly be dancing next year.