Written by John Brice
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Their returns came from different places in life, different points on a map, but they all converged in one spot: Notre Dame’s hallowed campus, where the basketball programs have their own rich histories.
Dane Goodwin, Nate Laszewski, Cormac Ryan and Trey Wertz together have donned a Fighting Irish basketball uniform for 366 career games.
The ‘Four Hoopsmen’ have signed on for one more season together.
As part of Mike Brey’s 22nd iteration in 2021-22, they added to the storied program’s benchmarks, with 15 wins in Atlantic Coast Conference play, a second consecutive in-season triumph against perennial blue-blood Kentucky, as well as home victories against eventual national runner-up North Carolina and erstwhile nemesis Syracuse.
“Look, I think building off of last year is key; I think it is time for us to focus entirely on this year and be laser-focused on where we’re headed,” said Ryan, the gritty New Yorker who began his collegiate career at Stanford but found home at Notre Dame. “We’ve got a new group, a talented group and I think, honestly, the sky is the limit.
“I think if we play the right way on both ends of the floor, there’s no reason why this team shouldn’t be a Final Four team, and I’ve said that. I believe that wholeheartedly. That’s obviously a lofty goal, but it’s attainable for us. I think keeping that grit and that fire focused on those goals is important for us. I think everyone in that locker realizes that and it’s time to go get it.”
Any one or all four individuals could have departed on the heels of a stirring NCAA tournament run that began with a gritty play-in victory in Dayton, Ohio, and was quelled in a second-round loss in San Diego against Texas Tech.
There were professional basketball options, internationally or in the NBA’s developmental league if not the sport’s top level; there were transfer options, and the Notre Dame brand – academics, athletics – travels.
On various levels, each player assessed the collective and individual potential of one last run together for the reenergized Brey and once-again-relevant Notre Dame program.
Quite simply, as Goodwin explained, they’ve all reupped for 30-plus additional games in an Irish uniform because, on some level, they all want three more minutes.
“There’s definitely an expectation coming off a year like last year,” said Goodwin, already with 1,341 career points and on track to break Rex Pflueger’s career-games-played mark of 141. “Honestly, I don’t think we really had a whole lot of expectations coming in (last year) because of the first three years. But now that we’ve been in that situation, we know what to expect and how to do it, there is an expectation. Coach Brey really pushes us that we’ve got to be consistent. I think we’re trying to lead by example but also talk to the young guys, talk to all the other players on the team and just make sure that we’re staying consistent throughout our practices, throughout our workouts and through our treatments. Everything that’s part of the team, part of the game; staying on top of all those things. Eventually, if we do everything we can, it’s going to be a good end result.
“We were hanging in there with Texas Tech, hopefully we get those three minutes back this year and get to that Sweet 16 that we were trying to last year. Having a taste of it and getting that whole experience was obviously very cool for us but also a big reason why I wanted to come back and have another shot at it.”
Brey & Co. have added heralded freshmen JJ Starling and Ven-Allen Lubin, as well as freshman Dom Campbell to a supporting cast that also includes J.R. Konieczny, Niagara graduate-transfer Marcus Hammond and reserves Tony Sanders. Jr. and Matt Zona.
Laszewski, a mere game behind Goodwin with 125 career appearances, was the last man to decide his future as Notre Dame celebrated its Spring 2022 commencement. The 6-foot-10, 230-pounder worked out in front of double-digit NBA franchises; he logged intense competition against his college peers with similar professional basketball aspirations.
“I think I kind of wanted to see what I could accomplish going through the NBA Draft process a little bit, getting out to Vegas and working out there all spring and summer, seeing what different opportunities were out there for me,” said Laszewski, a returning team captain with more than 1,100 career points and nearing 700 career rebounds. “At the same time, I wanted to keep my college eligibility open as well. I think it was good for me to collect information through the process.
“I think one of the biggest things was getting to work out and compete against guys who were obviously trying to make it at the next level every single day for two or three months and then being able to go in front of teams and work out against those guys. It was really important, just as a competitive thing to do, and also just a mindset thing and working out against that caliber of players, you’re going to get better, too.”
Wertz, too, emphasized he expected a better version of himself in his upcoming campaign; he appeared in 34 games last season but did not record a start and saw his three-point shooting dip below 40% for the first time since his freshman season at Santa Clara.
“I think last year for me, personally, I don’t think that was the best version of myself,” said Wertz, a calming presence in the Irish backcourt. “I think part of that was some stuff I had going on and kind of the role I fell into.
“I felt like I could get back to being who I thought that I am and who they brought me here to be and we kind of talked through that and how the rotation fell out and the opportunity that was there. Both sides felt comfortable and ultimately I’m back here.”
The Irish are here, on the cusp of their 2022-23 season, with renewed expectations; their individual hopes dovetail with their resolve to continue reasserting Notre Dame as a national factor in their sport.
That means a focus and readiness from the season’s opening tip Nov. 10 when Radford visits Purcell Pavilion through to a late-month home date against Michigan State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and across a 20-game conference slate.
“I think just building on it, learning from what we had last year and especially with that slow start, trying not to get off to that kind of start again,” Wertz said. “Building off of that foundation we had last year, and I think we took some big steps defensively. Keep building on that and offensively keep playing the way we have been playing.”
These players know another lethargic start – they were 4-5 entering Christmas week a year ago – is inexcusable with their experience and talent.
“I think the biggest key for everybody is to play with that passion, fire, swagger; I think that gives us an edge,” Ryan said, “and when we have an edge, we’re already talented, especially offensively, when we play with an edge it really helps our defense. I think that’s something I bring to the table. A little bit of grit, passion, fire and then just staying aggressive and confident through the highs and lows.
“We had the lowest of lows last year and some of the highest of highs. It all evens out and just kind of staying steady and consistent and confident across the board with everybody in the locker room and just kind of weather the bad moments and enjoy the good ones, but remain locked in and focused on our mission.”
The goal has changed, because these veterans who had invested so much experienced a break-through season a year ago with the infusion of one-and-done NBA first-round draft pick Blake Wesley.
No longer has talk centered on returning Notre Dame basketball to postseason play.
“We knew that if we all kind of came back here, we’d have a chance to be really special again,” Ryan said. “And I think part of the reason that (Laszewski) did decide to come back was because of how talented the group was and how much he believed in what we could accomplish.
“I think, you know, building off of last year, we’ve got a different group but again a very talented group. I think we have a special group, a talented group, a dangerous group. We’re ready to get going.”
The destination is the journey.
It’s a path these veterans have traversed through setbacks, a pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and multiple changes to the assistant coaching staff to win that play-in game last March and then hop a red-eye flight to San Diego to keep alive that season.
Their careers are perseverance personified.
“It was the first time we had been to the Tournament in our careers here, and being able to have that experience was the most fun basketball we’ve had in our careers,” Laszewski said. “So it kind of got us a little taste of it and I think we’re all pretty motivated to try to get back and have that feeling again, try to go further.
“I think the sky is the limit, honestly. Got to handle business one step at a time, and not just look at the outcome at the end of the tunnel. But I think if we come in every single day to practice and get better then that will translate into the games. Why can’t we go even further than last year?”
A basketball lifer whose father is a college coach, Goodwin sees motivation for the group each time he steps inside the Irish’s quaint home at Purcell Pavilion.
“Very important, not just individually but as a team, collectively to keep building,” Goodwin said. “It’s pretty cool to say that we still have banners hanging up from the Final Four team that we had, some Elite Eight teams, stuff like that.
“Being able to say that you have been on some of those great teams and being able to say you were a part of it but also individually want to have the best career you can, that comes with team success as well. Combining those two and doing everything you can to put yourself in the right position is something I want to do when it’s all said and done.”
Talking, then, is finished. It’s one last ride for Notre Dame’s veterans.
— ND –