SOUTH BEND – Nobody gave buckets or grabbed key rebounds. There weren’t any assists handed out, no turnovers forced, no ties or lead changes, or last-second scenarios that took fans in the stands to the edge of their seats.
Nothing happened on the court Tuesday, but Notre Dame basketball won a game in a way.
The transfer portal game. Kind of. For now.
College basketball players wishing to find new homes in time for the 2025-26 season had until 11:59 p.m., Tuesday to enter the transfer portal. On Wednesday morning, verbalcommits.com tallied 2,499 players in the portal.
That’s enough to fill out complete 13-man rosters of 192 teams of the 355 in Division I.
Following Notre Dame’s 15-18 season that saw too few ups and too many downs, many wondered if as many as half a dozen Irish would explore the transfer portal. Certainly, leading scorer/local guy Markus Burton would seek a change of scenery. He likely wouldn’t be the only main guy/starter to bounce. Maybe an upperclassman who hasn’t delivered. Maybe a sophomore or a freshman. Anybody could/should seek a fresh start when the portal officially opened for basketball business on March 24.
In this era of ultimate player empowerment, everyone can leave, and so many do. Five Atlantic Coast Conference programs saw their rosters shredded. Virginia sent 13 to the portal. Cal had 11. Miami (Fla.), Florida State, and North Carolina State, which went to the 2024 Final Four, all had 10. All but Cal brought in new coaches.
And to think Irish fans freaked when Notre Dame lost four to the portal when its coaching change happened in 2023. It’s a razor-thin line for teams to keep everyone or no one.
How thin? Players feel it necessary to announce they’re returning to school. It’s a thing. Burton did it on April 4. Each of his seven returning teammates did the same on the days that followed. In addition to I’m done, it’s I’m back.
It’s exhausting.
When the portal closed Tuesday night, only two Irish left. After two seasons in South Bend, Tae Davis sought a fresh start in the Southeastern Conference at Oklahoma (good luck) if his NBA dream (yeah, sure) doesn’t develop this spring. After four seasons in South Bend, guard J.R. Konieczny believed it best to reset on the final year of his college eligibility. He has yet to announce his new home.
Neither transfer was a surprise. A Davis return was a tough ask once Notre Dame signed McDonald’s All-American Jalen Haralson, who slides into that Davis small forward starting spot from the jump. Konieczny, for myriad reasons, never fit into Shrewsberry’s plans.
Among the 79 teams in Power Five conferences – Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC – only 10 had two or fewer enter the transfer portal. Notre Dame, 28-38 overall and 15-25 in the ACC since the portal thing became a thing, was one of the 10.
Duke had no portal players. Houston, Kentucky and Tennessee each had one. Notre Dame was one of six schools – Louisville, Marquette, Nebraska, Stanford, Texas – with two. That’s a Top 10 that Notre Dame can be in. That it must be in.
Now two years in, head coach Micah Shrewsberry seems set on a path back for a program that has staggered through three consecutive losing seasons and remains in search of its first NCAA Tournament trip since a near-Sweet 16 taste in 2021-22. That team won a school record 15 league games. In three seasons since, Notre Dame has won 18 league games.
Shrewsberry believes Notre Dame must do it through recruiting, player development, and roster retention, which limits portal defections. Two years in, so far so good. The Irish have lost three players – Davis and Konieczny this spring, and former power forward Carey Booth last spring.
Booth’s exit, like with Davis and Konieczny, wasn’t a surprise. He was unhappy with his role and his playing time before landing at Illinois, where his role and his playing time each drastically decreased. His search continues. He’s since transferred to Colorado State.
One transfer tracking site had 115 players from the ACC’s 18 teams portalled this spring. That’s an average of 6.3 players per team. That only two left Notre Dame offers this program something that’s been scarce.
Hope.
Hope that better seasons next season and beyond are possible thanks to that roster continuity. Hope that the coaching staff is recruiting the right fits who want to be at Notre Dame for the right reasons (i.e., for more than just a paycheck). Hope that the staff knows what works at Notre Dame. Hope that this program can survive what college basketball has become – professional basketball.
Hope this spring that next winter offers optimism. Real, not perceived.
While Tuesday was the deadline to go into the portal, players still in it have time to find new homes. Last season, Notre Dame added three graduate transfers and didn’t have its roster set until the middle of May.
Notre Dame has added one transfer – former Northern Arizona University power forward Carson Towt. It might add one more to the 2025-26 roster. It might not. Notre Dame isn’t going to get good/get better overnight leaning heavily on the portal. It’s had the opportunity to do that and hasn’t done that.
It doesn’t much matter. If the subtractions remain at a minimum year to year, Notre Dame may have something moving forward.
A chance.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
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