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Notre Dame basketball: Men’s preview for the 2021-22 college season

By Brad Weiss

Jan 4, 2020; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) and forward Nate Laszewski (14) react after their game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2020; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Prentiss Hubb (3) and forward Nate Laszewski (14) react after their game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 4, 2020; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) shoots the ball as Syracuse Orange guard Howard Washington (10) defends during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2020; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nate Laszewski (14) shoots the ball as Syracuse Orange guard Howard Washington (10) defends during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame basketball: Men’s preview for the 2021-22 college season

Looking at the frontcourt

This is where it gets interesting, as the Irish lost a big part of their frontcourt this offseason, as Juwan Durham had some big moments for the Irish last season. He will be replaced by a player with more talent in Paul Atkinson Jr., a transfer from Yale who was once a co-Player of the Year for the Ivy League Conference.

Joining Atkinson in the frontcourt will be Nate Laszewski, a long forward who was one of the biggest breakout stars in the ACC last season. Laszewski showed on a nightly basis that he could score with the best of them, and based on the size of these two scoring big-men, the Irish should have no issues getting buckets down low.

In 2020-21, we got to see a little bit of Matt Zona, who goes into his second season with the program, but still retained freshman eligibility. This is a kid who was one of the best players in the state of New Jersey coming out of Bergen Catholic, and he will definitely fill a depth role in the frontcourt this season after getting solid experience in Year 1, including a start.