As Notre Dame entered the first ever ‘Players Era Festival’ in Las Vegas, the excitement was high. Despite the loss to Elon on November 22, the opportunity to play in an invitational during ‘Feast Week’ made Thanksgiving even more electric.
Photo via The Irish Tribune
However, for the Irish, the mood changed from excitement to pure fear as reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Markus Burton sustained a knee injury early in the first half. While it has been announced as a “non-season-ending knee injury,” the Irish are now faced with an early challenge just eight games into the season; How will the Irish weather the storm without their star player?
“We are thankful that Markus will be back this season at full strength,” Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said following the game against Rutgers. While that is a great sign for the Irish faithful, Burton could very well be missing a few key games. Some of these include Georgia on the road and in-conference foe Syracuse for their first ACC matchup of the season on Dec. 7.
Senior guard Matt Allocco proved against Rutgers on Nov. 26 that he is more than capable of being the starting point guard in Burton’s absence. The 6’4” Hilliard, Ohio native finished with 24 points against the Scarlet Knights while going 6-9 from beyond the arc, with 10 rebounds and not stepping off the floor for the entire 45 minutes of play. Despite slower performances against the number six ranked Houston Cougars and the Creighton Blue Jays, Allocco showed that he can be the leader on the floor, with or without Burton.
Beyond his play on the floor, Allocco demonstrated his leadership by taking responsibility for the foul committed by freshman Cole Certa while tied with Rutgers, which ultimately gave the Scarlet Knights the win.
“I’m going to take it on me,” Allocco said, “If I’m going to fancy myself a leader, I’ve got to communicate right there that the game is tied.”
Allocco is now averaging 10.5 points per game, as well as 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 46.6% from the field.
Sophomore Braeden Shrewsberry has shown significant signs of improvement to start the 2024 season. For the Irish to see success during Burton’s absence, Shrewsberry being a consistent shooter is key. While Shrewsberry has been able to put together multiple good performances through the first eight games, he still lacks the consistency that Notre Dame will need.
Shrewsberry has been in double figures in six of the first eight, shooting 32.3% from three and averaging 15.4 points per game. His confidence from inside the three-point line has been promising as well, with Shrewsberry averaging five more shots per game from a season ago, shooting 41.8% from the field overall. While it’s still early, his improvements in his second season in South Bend have been noticeable.
Through the first seven games of the season, junior forward Tae Davis’ growth has been a pleasant surprise averaging 14.5 points per game on an impressive 50% shooting, along with 5.4 rebounds per game. His athleticism is second to none, which was a key factor in his 27-point performance against Buffalo back on Nov. 11, as well as averaging 18 points per game on 47.5% shooting in the Players Era Festival.
Davis is a scrappy defender who does not shy away from contact in the post and always chases after the loose ball. This scrappiness is something that Notre Dame needs, however, the Irish can’t afford any more losses on the floor, making it that much more important for Davis to stay out of foul trouble. Davis has picked up 15 fouls in his last four games, fouling out against Elon on Nov. 22, and collecting four fouls against Rutgers and Creighton.
The guard play from junior South Bend native J.R. Konieczny and sophomore Logan Imes must take a step forward. While both players are in their second seasons of seeing real minutes on the floor, they must begin contributing at a higher level. Early on, the two have combined for 29.7 minutes per game where they are averaging just 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and just 1.5 assists per game, which is not going to be enough with Burton out.
While Imes showed great promise against Rutgers, he has taken a step back in his last two games combining for just five points in 41 minutes. Konieczny on the other hand put together a solid game against Creighton, scoring eight points on 50% off of the bench.
Above all else, Micah Shrewsberry’s leadership is going to be put to the test in just his second season with Notre Dame. Without his best player, it is important, now more than ever, that he adjusts his offensive sets and lineups to cater to the new approach the Irish must have. Shrewsberry will certainly take this time to experiment with new lineups while Burton is healing. But don’t expect the Irish to lay down during this period, as Shrewsberry has already made it clear the standard isn’t changing.
“We might not be as talented as some of these teams out here, but we’re damn sure just as tough,” Shrewsberry said following the loss to Rutgers, “We compete, and we execute and we’re going to fight no matter who is putting this uniform on.”
After the loss to Creighton, the Irish will go on the road to take on the Georgia Bulldogs who have won seven of their first eight games. Notre Dame has a great chance to pick up a potential Quad-1 win just as December is getting underway, which would be huge for momentum with the Irish's first ACC matchup coming this Saturday against Syracuse.
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