Notre Dame Basketball: Another intriguing transfer portal possibility for the Irish

Micah Shrewsberry, the new Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach, has his work cut out for him in South Bend. The program has been in a downward spiral for several years after Mike Brey’s back-to-back Elite 8 runs, and the roster coming out of the season is a shell of what it needs to be. Recruiting is a huge priority, but what’s even more important in the short term, is success using the transfer portal.

There have been several names in the portal that have been associated with Notre Dame — but most of those are ones with a direct connection to Shrewsberry and his time as the head coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions. On Friday night, The Athletic’s Tobias Bass reported another name; point guard Austin Nunez from the Arizona State Sun Devils. Nunez is planning a visit to Notre Dame in the near future.

Nunez averaged 4.5 points in 28 games with the Sun Devils as a freshman during the 2022-2023 season. As a recruit, Nunez was a Top 75 4-Star prospect from San Antonio, Texas.

The 247 scouting report:

Nunez is a dangerous shooter from long range and beyond. The lefty is one of the best in the country at heating up from behind the arc. Each year he has become more of an explosive player in space. Defensively, he has the foot speed and quickness to be a valuable asset in man-to-man play. In terms of leading a talented high major college team, he has solid feel as a passer but will need to improve some with his decisions on when to score and when to defer to teammates. His ability to knock down shots from long distance at the point guard spot will provide programs to take advantage of his ability to excel on and off the ball at the next level.

It’s an exciting time for Notre Dame fans as Shrewsberry seems determined to make this rebuilding project something much shorter than what was expected. Now we just have to wait and see how everything shakes out over the next few months.