Notre Dame basketball: Will JJ Starling start for Blake Wesley right away?
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame basketball team has a star in Blake Wesley, but he could be one-and-done, opening up a spot for JJ Starling to start right away.
The Notre Dame basketball team has been on fire since Blake Wesley entered the starting lineup against Kentucky, playing their way to a possible single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, with their win on Saturday, they clinched a top-4 spot in the ACC Tournament, earning a spot in the quarterfinal automatically.
The 2021-22 team is built the way all NCAA Tournament teams should be, as they have great veteran talent, a bonafide star, and the ability to make shots beyond the arc. Every year, we see veteran teams knock off big-time programs with mostly one-and-dones in the lineup, and that could be the case for Notre Dame basketball this March.
However, the Irish may have a one-and-done on their roster as well, with Wesley currently being mocked as a first-round draft pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. If he does bolt, the Irish have a reinforcement coming in that could find himself in the first round of the NBA Draft next year.
That reinforcement is JJ Starling, a star combo guard from New York who is one of the bigger guard recruits for Mike Brey in some time. Starling is the kind of player that can change the fortunes of this program, and like Wesley, he will join a veteran lineup as he starts his collegiate journey.
The only difference is Starling may have to start from Day 1.
Notre Dame basketball loaded with talent at guard
While Wesley is the headliner, and rightfully so, as he could be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft, there is still a lot of talent coming back if he does not. In fact, all of the current guards on the roster will be back in 2022-23, including Dane Goodwin, who leads the Irish in points per game this season.
Point guard Prentiss Hubb is only a junior, and likely will return, giving the Irish their leader on the court once again next season. Hubb has proven to be clutch time and time again, and you can tell he has taken the younger Wesley under his wing this season.
Overall, Starling is entering the program at the right time, and I believe that based on his skill set, Brey is going to want to get him into the starting lineup immediately. He saw what Wesley did to this lineup, injecting pure talent and youth, and Starling should be able to give the Irish the same kind of punch if Wesley decides to go to the NBA this offseason.