Notre Dame lands Northwestern transfer guard Julian Roper II
Micah Shrewsberry saw plenty of former Northwestern guard Julian Roper II while watching as a Big Ten competitor at Penn State the last two seasons. Enough to want to bring him to Notre Dame.
Roper had interest too, it turns out. He committed to Shrewsberry and the Irish Tuesday, he announced. The junior-to-be guard has two seasons of eligibility left to play after spending two with the Wildcats.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Roper was a primary bench option for Northwestern this year until an ankle injury forced him out of action for all but one of the team’s final 16 games. He did not appear in either of the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament games or the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal loss to Shrewsberry’s Penn State team. He played in just one contest after Jan. 23, logging 22 minutes with 4 points in a Feb. 2 loss to Michigan.
All told, Roper averaged 4.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 21.4 minutes per game this season. He made 15 appearances with zero starts. He shot 45.3 percent from the field, 42.1 percent on 3-pointers (8-for-19) and 45.5 percent from the foul line (10-for-22). He played in 29 games as a freshman in 2021-22, making 15 starts. He averaged 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 20.2 minutes per game, shooting 34.2 percent from the field.
Roper, a Detroit native, committed to Northwestern in May 2020 over Wisconsin. He also had high-major offers from Alabama, DePaul, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio State. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 113 prospect in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking. He played at Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s.
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Roper is coming to Notre Dame as part of a roster rebuild that offers him and every newcomer a chance to win a starting job or, at minimum, significant minutes. He’s the first transfer commitment since Shrewsberry agreed to take the job March 22. He won’t be the last.
Notre Dame lost nearly all its backcourt production from the 2022-23 season. Freshman guard and former McDonald’s All-American JJ Starling (11.2 points per game) transferred to Syracuse. Guard Cormac Ryan (12.3 points) is testing the NBA draft process and is in the transfer portal. Guards Dane Goodwin (11.3 points), Trey Wertz (8.4 points) and Marcus Hammond (9.9 points) are out of eligibility.
The Irish’s returning guards are junior-to-be JR Konieczny (redshirted in 2022-23), senior Tony Sanders Jr. (21 career points in three seasons). They have three-star incoming freshman Markus Burton, the lone signee who did not request a release during the transition from Mike Brey to Shrewsberry.
Three-star guard Braeden Shrewsberry, Micah’s oldest son and a former Penn State signee, will play for Notre Dame next year, according to his dad. The younger Shrewsberry has yet to formally announce the move. Notre Dame is also pursuing former Penn State guard signee Logan Imes.
