Meet the newest addition to Notre Dame men's basketball from transfer portal
Tom Noie
SOUTH BEND — Shot making and taking care of the basketball were season-long struggles for the Notre Dame men’s basketball team in 2023-24.
Both areas had to be resolved in the offseason if the Irish were to be any better in 2024-25. On Wednesday morning, the Irish seemingly addressed each area with the commitment of former Princeton University guard Matt Allocco.
A native of suburban Columbus, Ohio, Allocco chose Notre Dame over Ohio State. He has one season of eligibility remaining, but the Ivy League does not offer athletic fifth years.
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Allocco is the second former Ivy league standout to commit to play his graduate year at Notre Dame since 2021 when Paul Atkinson arrived and promptly helped Notre Dame return to the NCAA tournament while averaging 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in 35 games, including 34 starts.
Atkinson was an honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection in his only season in South Bend.
The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Allocco averaged 12.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season for the Tigers, who finished 24-5 overall, 12-2 in the Ivy League. He was second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 2.5.
Allocco also achieved the rare 50-40-90 feat as a shot maker last season. He shot .508 percent from the field, .427 percent from 3 and .909 percent from the foul line. He was the only player in the nation to shoot at least 50-40-90 while playing in at least 25 games and averaging 10 points and 25 minutes per game.
Those stats right there — and maybe only those stats — made Allocco a gotta-get guy for Notre Dame. He's old. He makes shots and he takes care of the ball.
The Irish finished 289th in the country last season in 3-point field goal percentage (.318), 330th in field goal percentage (.407) and 335th out of 361 Division I teams in assist/turnover ratio (0.81).
Allocco is the first transfer to commit to Notre Dame during the current transfer portal season, which opened March 18 and closes May 1. His commitment, and Tuesday’s commitment of former Irish power forward Carey Booth to Illinois, gives the Irish 11 scholarship players heading into the 2024-25 season.
Notre Dame can add two more transfers for next season.
Allocco also considered Butler and Villanova. He started all 29 games this season and played in every game in each of the previous three seasons.
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How Allocco fits into the rotation remains to be seen, and it will be interesting. Graduate transfers don't graduate to be role players. They're often main, heavy minute guys. Allocco is a shooting guard, the same position for sophomore-to-be Braeden Shrewsberry, the head coach’s son, and incoming freshman Cole Certa.
Shrewsberry averaged 10.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 28.3 minutes this season. He shot .371 percent from 3 and led the team with 78 made 3s, 36 more than the next Irish. Certa is considered one of the top shooters in the 2024 recruiting class. He played his final season of high school at IMG Academy.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.