Notre Dame Basketball’s John Mooney is on a Historic Pace
Notre Dame’s John Mooney is a double-double machine this season. He has recorded one in 19 of Notre Dame’s 22 games so far this year. According to ESPN Stats, that has Mooney at a historic pace and in some rare company in terms of double-double percentage in the last 20 years.
Here’s the tweet from ESPN earlier today highlight just how dominating Mooney has been this season.
Notre Dame's John Mooney is on a historic pace:
Highest Single-Season Double-Double Pct
D-I Last 20 Seasons (min. 20 GP)AdvertisementJohn Mooney (ND) 86%
(19/22)
Blake Griffin (OKLA) 86%
(30/35)
Kenny Adeleke (HART) 86%
(24/28)
Michael Beasley (KSU) 85%
(28/33) pic.twitter.com/jjJ0IREeLp— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 10, 2020
That is some fine company for Mooney. Blake Griffin is a former #1 overall pick. Michael Beasley a former #2 overall pick in 2008. Kenny Adeleke isn’t a household name, but he was 2nd in the nation in rebound inf 2006 behind four-time NBA All-Star, Paul Millsap.
On the season, Mooney is averaging 16.5 points and 13.0 rebounds a game this season for the Fighting Irish. The last time he did not record a double-double was January 25 in Notre Dame’s narrow loss to Florida State. He still scored 16 points in the contest but was held to a season-low 5 rebounds.
The only time this season that Mooney didn’t score in double-digits was November 21 when he scored 7 points. He also had 15 rebounds in that same game. He has been Notre Dame’s leading rebounder in all but two games this season – Juwan Durham led the Irish in those contests.
Notre Dame has had some talented big men throughout the Mike Brey era, but Mooney might be one of the most underrated of the bunch – at least nationally. Despite the torrid pace that Mooney is one right now, he was not named to the Wooden Award Watch list last month – an omission that left Brey “dumbfounded”.
After winning four straight games, all double-doubles for Mooney, the Irish have themselves in position to challenge for an NCAA Tournament bid but they have some work to do over the next few weeks. In their eight remaining games, the Irish still have to face Duke and Virginia on the road and Florida State at home. North Carolina visits South Bend next week and while the Tar Heels are having a terrible season, they are still UNC.
Notre Dame needs Mooney to continue his dominant streak over the final eight games of the year for Notre Dame to make a case for a tournament bid.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
I think the reason Mooney isn’t recognized more is the rest of the team is dragging him down. Overall for the season the team has been a disappointment and ND is off most people’s radar. So Mooney doesn’t get his much deserved recognition because of that.
It’s almost a shame Mooney wasn’t on the team a few years back with Connaughton and Grant. A team with those guys, along with Demetrius Jackson, probably would have been unstoppable. But Mooney was born a few years too late. I just wonder what kind of team that would have been.