While the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team is 4-0 and beat North Dakota 75-58, head coach Micah Shrewsberry wasn’t happy when the final buzzer sounded. In fact, when he addressed the media in his post-game press conference, he made it clear that he felt the team showed a great deal of “immaturity” despite the victory.
“I think we prepared the same way that we prepared for our last game, or other games that we've played this season. So, that's the most disappointing thing for me. For a team that played with so much maturity on Saturday , we played with a lot of immaturity today.”
At least part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach’s anger was based on the fact that his team didn’t show a ton of energy. Especially on the boards, where they were outrebounded 38-36. They were also beaten badly on the offensive rebound side of things with North Dakota holding a 14-7 edge.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach furious over effort in latest win
Shrewsberry, not particularly happy with the effort given by some of his regulars, turned to a relatively new face for a spark. Julian Roper II, a 6-4 senior who transferred in from Northwestern last season, had been limited to a total of 24 through the first three games, but he was on the floor for almost 22 on Tuesday.
While Roper had just 4 points, he also had 3 rebounds, a block and a whopping 5 steals. Part of his extra time may have been due to the loss of Sir Mohammed, the 6-6, 215-pound freshman who Rivals ranked as the country’s No. 20 shooting guard and 62nd player overall nationally in his class.
If there was a Notre Dame Fighting Irish star who did have a good game, it would be Markus Burton. The sophomore guard is poised for big numbers this season and he underlined that with 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting. He added 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.