Last week, the NBA Draft came and went, and it was another year where no Irish players heard their names called.
No, Notre Dame wasn’t actually expecting to have anyone get drafted this time around, as their only draft-eligible player (Tim Abromaitis) is still recovering from a season-ending ACL tear. But there is more than one way to the NBA, and several former Irish greats are still searching for their chance to shine in the league.
2011 Big East Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough is back from a year abroad after the NBA lockout robbed him of his chance to make an NBA roster after not getting selected in the draft. Hansbrough spent some time in Munich, Germany last year, and then played for a team in Slovenia as well. This spring he decided that playing in Europe was not adequately preparing him for his attempts to get to the NBA, so he quit the team and returned to work on his game at the place where his basketball career really exploded: Notre Dame. Hansbrough has been working out twice a day since February with his good friend and former student manager Pat Holmes, and that hard work has paid off with a huge opportunity, as he has signed a free agent deal to play with the Indiana Pacers for the NBA Summer League in Orlando. The Pacers are a team that is not particularly deep at the guard spot (Ben can bounce between either, although he will most likely be a point guard at the NBA level), so he should have a decent shot at making the team. It won’t hurt his cause that his older brother, Tyler, plays for the Pacers as well.
Another player that was not drafted in 2011 was forward Carleton Scott. Scott surprised the Irish faithful by leaving the NCAA with a year of eligibility still remaining, but considering he had already graduated and had his degree in hand, you couldn’t really blame him for chasing the dream elsewhere. That elsewhere turned out to be Austria, where he played all of last season. Like Hansbrough, however, he has returned stateside and has also signed a free agent deal for the NBA Summer League, his with the Brooklyn Nets.
Former Irish forward Rob Kurz is still bouncing around as well. He spent 40 games with the Golden State Warriors before, but still was relegated back to the D-League, where he even won Most Improved Player honors two seasons ago. Always known as one to battle, Kurz has stuck with it, and will join the Sacramento Kings for Summer League. Kurz can play the 3 or the 4 spot, but to make the team he will definitely have to play small forward, considering the Kings just drafted PF Thomas Robinson from Kansas in the lottery. But they have a huge void at the 3 that Kurz believes he can fill.
Best of luck to all of the former Notre Dame players that continue to work hard toward their ultimate goal of joining Troy Murphy (Lakers) and Luke Harangody (recently signed $1.1 million qualifying offer with the Cavs) and making the NBA. Go Irish.
- The Shirt 2016: A ND Student’s Perspective - April 21, 2016
- Thank you, DJ - April 4, 2016
- The Stages of Watching a Notre Dame Basketball Game - March 25, 2016