It's time in this nascent 2024-25 Georgetown Basketball campaign, when the foes become big time. Nothing against Lehigh and Fairfield, the 2-0 Hoyas' victims, but neither is a BIG EAST level program.
Tomorrow's opponent, Notre Dame, is.
Standing 2-0 also, the Fighting Irish, coached by Micah Schrewsbury, face G'town tomorrow, 1p, in DC.
But what about the Domers?
Enter Tyler James, co-Publisher of InsideNDSports.com, one of Rivals.com's top sites. James received a few questions, providing feedback promptly. His work is below!
Shoutout to James and the insideNDSports.com crew!
1) This Burton guy seems to be the straw that stirs ND's drink. How has the 2nd year dynamo grown?
The hope for Notre Dame is that Markus Burton doesn’t have to be everything for Notre Dame’s offense, which was too often the case for the Irish in his freshman season. But a lot of the offense will still run through Burton, who can create shots for himself despite being undersized.
Burton hasn’t been an efficient scorer to start the season. He shot 14-of-38 (36.8%) from the field in the first two games, and his 3-point shot hasn’t been there (3-of-13). But Burton has improved in his decision-making as a passer. He’s taken care of the ball better and sets up his teammates for scoring opportunities. Notre Dame hopes his 13-4 assist-to-turnover to start the season is a sign of what’s to come.
2) Shrewsberry the player doesn't ingratiate himself to opposing fans. What kind of kid and player is he?
Braeden Shrewsberry plays with a lot of confidence and a belief that he can shoot from anywhere. Sometimes that needs to be reined in, but it’s what makes him such a scoring threat. Opposing fans might not like the confidence he plays with, but it’s a critical part of his success.
His off-court demeanor does not match his playing style. He’s pretty even-keeled and laid back.
3) How does Shrews the coach generate those 3 balls? Nd hunts them
It certainly helps when a defense has to be worried about Burton off the dribble. And Shrewsberry has plenty of designs with ball movement and off-ball screens to create 3-pointers. But it’s still to be seen if Notre Dame has enough 3-point shooting to take advantage of it all.
Braeden Shrewsberry is by far Notre Dame’s best 3-point shooter. Princeton graduate transfer Matt Allocco should be able to help from distance, but he didn’t even take a shot from the field in 31-plus minutes against Buffalo on Monday. And J.R. Konieczny, who comes of the bench, has an ability to hit 3s with consistency.
4) Unsung guy? Up and comer?
My answer for unsung guy would have been Tae Davis coming into the season, but he doesn’t feel as “unsung” after a career-high 27 points against Buffalo. Davis, a 6-foot-9 forward, has guard quickness that allows him to defend almost any position. He’s elite defensively, and his offensive game appears to be growing. He can get to the rack of the dribble and is a smart cutter.
Notre Dame all of a sudden feels like a veteran team, because it brought in three graduate transfers and its three returning freshman played a lot last season. For that reason, J.R. Konieczny, feels the most like an up-and-comer even though he’s a senior. He redshirted as a sophomore and averaged 22.7 minutes last season. But Konieczny is in position to be more of a spark off the bench for the Irish this season like when he had eight points, six rebounds and a monster dunk against Buffalo.
The freshman that Notre Dame would like to prove to be an up-and-comer is Sir Mohammed. Rivals ranked Mohammed, the son of former NBA player Nazr Mohammed, as the No. 62 overall prospect in the 2024 class. He’s averaged close to 13 minutes per game to start the season, but he’s 2-of-9 from the field and 0-of-5 from 3. Notre Dame can afford to be patient with him as he settles into the college game.
