Irish Links: One transfer could help NDMBB in a big way

UConn transfer Juwan Durham recently visited Notre Dame

This a news tidbit that occurred last weekend, but I don’t know if it has been covered here at OFD. Freshman forward Juwan Durham UConn is transferring from head coach Kevin Ollie and UConn, and recently made a trip to South Bend. This past season Durham averaged just 8.3 minutes, to go along with 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds.

At 6’11”, 220 lbs. Durham would help out Notre Dame’s frontline greatly, which was a weakness last season. Durham would have to sit out next season, which would mean in 2018-2019 he, along with Elijah Burns, John Mooney and likely others, would be instrumental parts in to Mike Brey’s front court.

Tom Noie of the the South Bend Tribune reported that Durham also plans to visits ACC foes Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Compared to Notre Dame, those schools don’t stack up in terms of recent or overall success. Durham has no timetable for his decision. He was a four-star recruit out of high school per Rivals.com. Notre Dame did not initially recruit him then.

*Follow @NDHoopsRecruits on Twitter. They probably do the best job around of covering basketball recruiting for Notre Dame*

Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse start NCAA Tournament action this weekend

After losing to Army in heartbreaking fashion last Saturday, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team was still able to secure a bid in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. The Irish are the the No. 4 overall seed and will host Marquette on Sunday at Arlotta Stadium

The ND women will have a less favorable path than the men. Since the women aren’t one of the top eight seeds, they will have to play a first round game on Friday against Cornell. This means if the Irish want to make it to the Final Four, they will have to win three games instead of two. The Irish will take on Cornell on Friday at 7:00pm in Princeton, NJ.

NDWBB alums start WNBA seasons this weekend

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

The WNBA kicks off its 21st season this week, which means former members of the Fighting Irish are back in action as well.

Natalie Achonwa - Indiana Fever

Skylar Diggins-Smith - Dallas Wings

Jewell Loyd - Seattle Storm

Lindsay Allen - New York Liberty

Kayla McBride - San Antonio Stars

Diggins-Smith is looking to regain the form she had in 2015 before she blew out her knee. Loyd was recently named a top 10 player by Summit Hoops. While Achonwa, Allen and McBride are all looking to contribute to their respective teams.

Other odds and ends

• The Notre Dame baseball team will play their final home weekend series this week when they host Austin Peay. The Irish will close out their 2017 home slate next Tuesday when they take on Western Michigan. So if you haven’t made it out to Frank Eck Stadium at all this spring, these are your last chances.
• The Notre Dame women’s tennis team will begin NCAA Tournament action this Saturday when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Columbus Regional.
• Former Irish hockey players Brian Rust and Ian Cole are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rust had a goal in game seven of the Eastern Conference Semis to help Pittsburgh over Washington.
• The Notre Dame softball team will take on Boston College in the ACC Tournament this weekend. The Irish just took two of three from the Eagles to end the season, including a walk-off winner on Senior Day by senior captain Karley Wester.