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Hoops ‘22: Notre Dame boys basketball using underdog status as fuel for 2022-23
The Notre Dame Bulldogs are using their underdog status as motivation as they prepare for the 2022-23 season.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 12-15 season after reaching 20 wins in the two seasons prior, and coach Paul Unterreiner thinks the lower expectations from the outside will make picking up wins more enjoyable.
“The pressure is off the kids and they just get a chance to bond as a team,” Unterreiner said. “They go through the roller coaster of a season with nobody thinking they’ll be worth a darn.”
Unterreiner has confidence his team will get back to its winning ways.
“I think we’re deeper than we were last year and we also shoot it better than we did last year,” Unterreiner said. “But one thing I always tell people is I don’t really care what our record is as long as we’re playing our best basketball by the end of the year. I truly felt that last year we had a chance to win our district. I thought we made strong improvements throughout last year and I thought we got some other guys good minutes and hopefully, we’ll see the fruits of that labor this year.”
One player expected to lead the Bulldogs is senior forward Greg Dennis.
“He’s probably the one that’s going to have to have a big year for us,” Unterreiner said. “Last year we had a surprise with Quinn Hunter coming on and being a big-time scorer for us and I saw Greg make some flashes toward that. He started playing a lot better in the second half of the season and that’s when we really started taking off and playing well. I think he learned what he’s got to do for us and he’s been a great leader.”
While the Bulldogs may lean on Dennis for both scoring and leadership, Unterreiner emphasized the importance of fellow seniors Brock Clippard and Reece Callow and credited every player for the work they’ve put in during the offseason.
“More than anything their leadership is going to be big in how this year goes for us,” Unterreiner said. “I’m just really pleased with our program as a whole and how much better everyone has gotten individually. I don’t want to name individuals because I’m really pleased with everyone’s progress. Now it’s a matter of what it will look like when we go five on five.”
The Bulldogs begin the 2022-23 season at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25 when they host Metro Academy at Notre Dame Regional High School.
Following a road game against defending Class 3 state champion Charleston, Notre Dame will begin play in the SEMO Conference Tournament which runs from Dec. 5-9. Unterreiner is prepared for the challenges conference opponents will throw at his team early in the season.
“The SEMO Conference this year may be the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” Unterreiner said. “You don’t even have to go outside of our conference to play a loaded schedule this year. It’s fun to look at and it’s fun knowing those nights are going to be packed houses and electric atmospheres.”