SOUTH BEND — Something about how Notre Dame basketball conducted business on the court needed to change.
The Irish couldn’t keep doing what they’d done the last three seasons and expect something different in a fourth. It was time to do something that Notre Dame hadn’t done in the first three seasons under head coach Micah Shrewsberry. One number demanded a new direction.
That number wasn’t 41 (the number of wins the last three seasons) or 58 (the number of losses). It wasn’t 13.3 (the average finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings) or one (last season marked the first time the Irish did not qualify for the league tournament).
That number was, and is, 288.3.
That’s the average national ranking in the last three years for Notre Dame in assist/turnover ratio. Among 365 Division I college basketball programs, Notre Dame has finished 335, 261 and 269 under Shrewsberry. Those numbers are enough to hurt your heart if you’re a long-time Notre Dame basketball follower. They’re awful.
In 10 previous seasons (2014 to 2023), Notre Dame’s average assist/turnover finish was 18.1. That includes seven Top 20 rankings and three in the Top 10 — fourth in 2015, second in 2017 and first in 2020. The lowest Notre Dame finished was 43rd in 2016, a season that produced a second straight Elite Eight, so it wasn’t all bad.
But 288.3 is bad. That’s one (big) reason Shrewsberry sought out former Colgate/Gonzaga point guard Braeden Smith to be part of the Notre Dame basketball program for his final year of eligibility in 2026-27. The 22-year-old Smith knows how to be a point guard. He knows how to get the ball to the right guys at the right time.
Most importantly, he knows how to take care of the ball.
Last season in his second at Gonzaga, which included a redshirt/sit-out season in 2024-25, the 6-foot, 170-pound Smith averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 17.1 minutes for a team that finished 31-4. He shot .467 percent from the field, .333 from 3 and .805 percent from the foul line.
Those numbers won’t get anyone to run out and purchase season tickets for a program shaky on fan support. What gets your attention with the Seattle native Smith are his 127 assists to 38 turnovers. His 3.34 assist/turnover ratio led the West Coast Conference.
At Notre Dame, 3.34 would be a single-season program record besting the mark of 3.16 set by former Irish guard Martin Ingelsby in 2000-01. His head coach that season often said that as long as his players went to class and took care of the basketball, they’d get along fine.
Notre Dame basketball players still go to class (none of this online stuff), but they’ve had a hard time taking care of the basketball for the last three seasons. Smith, who should step into a starting guard spot once he arrives in June, is here to stop the bleeding.
“Just being a point guard growing up, you understand that’s one of your jobs — to take care of the ball and get guys involved,” Smith said earlier this week from Spokane after a Saturday visit and Sunday commitment to Notre Dame. “I’ve just tried to have that as a strong suit since I was young.”
Smith cannot recall who taught him to take such care of the basketball. Maybe it was in middle school. Likely in high school. He still owns the Seattle Prep records for assists and steals. Someone made an impression on Smith that he still carries today. It’s an impression that former Irish head coach Mike Brey left on his players — the ball is gold, treat it as such.
Those words should stand in perpetuity across a wall of the Rolfs Hall practice court.
Smith is the kind of point guard that this Notre Dame program has lacked under Shrewsberry. He’ll score it a little. He’ll defend a lot. He’ll distribute. He’ll take care of the ball. It’s how he’s always played.
“Being a smaller guard, you have to bring different things to the table,” said Smith, who also played two seasons at Colgate, where he was the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2024. “You’ve got to do things that may be overlooked by guys who may be bigger or more athletic.”
Smith played in 70 games in two seasons at Colgate. In 2,164 minutes, he had 351 assists to 151 turnovers for a 2.3 A/T ratio. In three college seasons, he has 478 assists to 189 turnovers (2.5).
Seeing those stats, nobody will say the quiet part aloud, so we’ll say it.
It was time for Notre Dame to move out of the Markus Burton business.
That’s blasphemy about the hometown kid and former Indiana Mr. Basketball who earned ACC rookie of the year honors in 2024. At 6-foot (really 5-10), Burton was a shooting guard playing point guard. Over the long haul, that doesn’t work. Burton ranked 335, 347 and n/a (injury) nationally in assist/turnover ratio in his three seasons in South Bend.
Burton scored a lot of points, but that didn’t translate into success.
In what became his final game for Notre Dame, Burton registered his first career double double for points (18) and assists (10) in a win over Missouri. He was on his way to doing it again three nights later at TCU before a broken left ankle sidelined him for the season.
The next time we saw Burton in a basketball uniform, he was in the cream and crimson of Indiana announcing his portal transfer. It was time for a change. For Burton. For the Irish. For everyone.
Smith won’t score it like Burton. He won’t get you 20 while barely breaking a sweat, but he can get someone else 20 and make others on defense sweat. He’s a true college point guard who will push the pace, distribute, make a shot and, maybe most importantly, protect the ball.
“I take pride in my leadership,” Smith said. “I want to come in and lead and help and get wins. Wins are the most important thing.”
Almost as important as an A/T ratio. Almost.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: This is why this transfer fits perfectly with Notre Dame basketball
Reporting by Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
