JJ Starling heads to locker room during Notre Dame vs Syracuse with apparent injury

Notre Dame saw its prized freshman leave Saturday’s game against Syracuse. J.J. Starling headed to the locker room in the first half with an apparent injury.

Starling left the court with more than 14 minutes to play in the first half and appeared to grab his shoulder and chest area as he walked off, according to the ESPN2 broadcast. He’s played a big role early on for the Fighting Irish, averaging 13 points per game to help the team to a 6-1 record to start the year.

Starling returned to the bench a few minutes later and returned shortly thereafter.

Starling arrived in South Bend with plenty of hype on the recruiting trail, coming in as a five-star recruit and the No. 18-ranked prospect in the country from the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Notre Dame guard Marcus Hammond returns vs. Syracuse

Notre Dame got a massive boost heading into its conference opener against Syracuse on Saturday. According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Niagara transfer Marcus Hammond will suit up and make his debut for the Fighting Irish today against the Orange.

It’s a huge development for Brey’s squad, and one the other ND players are thrilled about since the Irish have basically played with six players to start the year. With Hammond back in the fold, his presence will relieve some playing time and ball-handling duties from the other rotation players.

Brey also commented on Hammond Friday, expressing how excited he was to get the transfer into the mix.

“I think they want him back, man,” Brey said this week. “I mean, you know, he was efficiency, point-wise, through 25 practices. He was leading us, not Nate Laszewski, not Dane Goodwin, not Cormac Ryan. He had more points than anybody.”