John Mooney (basketball)

John Patrick Mooney (born March 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball at the University of Notre Dame.

John Mooney
No. 33 – Perth Wildcats
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1997-03-20) March 20, 1997
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolLake Brantley
(Altamonte Springs, Florida)
CollegeNotre Dame (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020 / Undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentPerth Wildcats
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-ACC (2020)
  • Third-team All-ACC (2019)

Early life and high school career

Mooney is the son of Margaret and Kevin Mooney, a builder/contractor for an appliance company who played Division II golf at Spring Hill College. He has two older siblings, Brendan and Caitlin. Mooney began playing for Nike Team Florida in AAU play alongside Florida coach Billy Donovan's son Bryan in eighth grade.[1] Mooney attended Lake Brantley High School. As a senior, he averaged 24.8 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks per game and was named to the first-team all-state.[2]

He initially committed to play under Donovan at Florida but reopened his recruitment after Donovan took the coaching job of the Oklahoma City Thunder. After fielding offers from Indiana, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Wake Forest, Alabama, Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Stanford, Mooney's father asked Donovan his opinion on Notre Dame. Donovan telephoned Notre Dame coach Mike Brey and informed him about Mooney, and Brey sent his brother to scout the prospect. Mooney committed to the Fighting Irish after taking his official visit.[1]

College career

As a freshman, Mooney served as a backup to Bonzie Colson.[2] Mooney averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in his sophomore season.[3] As a junior, Mooney was named to the Third Team All-ACC and finished second to Jordan Nwora as the league most improved player.[4] He averaged 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, though the Fighting Irish finished 14–19 and were last in the ACC.[5] Mooney registered 15 double-doubles in ACC play, including eight straight from January 2 to February 5, 2019.[6]

Coming into his senior season, Mooney was named to the Preseason All-ACC team and received three votes for Preseason Player of the Year.[7] After scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a win against Howard, Mooney was named ACC player of the week on November 18, 2019.[8] On January 4, 2020, Mooney tied his career-high with 28 points and had 14 rebounds in an 88–87 win versus Syracuse.[9] As a result, Mooney earned his second ACC player of the week honors on January 6.[10] He had his 12th consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to Syracuse on January 22, breaking Luke Harangody's school record of consecutive double-doubles.[11] At the conclusion of the regular season, Mooney was selected to the First Team All-ACC.[12] He averaged 16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game as a senior.[13]

Professional career

On August 14, 2020, Mooney signed a one-year deal with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).[14] In the Wildcats' season opener on January 24, 2021, he recorded 13 points and 14 rebounds in an 88–76 win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix.[15][16] He set a record for rebounds by a Wildcat playing in his first NBL game.[17]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Notre Dame 1203.8.625.5001.0001.6.2.1.11.2
2017–18 Notre Dame 36715.4.480.419.5313.9.5.3.45.6
2018–19 Notre Dame 333329.6.455.374.76911.21.3.9.814.1
2019–20 Notre Dame 313132.7.460.295.63512.71.71.3.716.2
Career 1127123.1.462.358.6758.21.0.7.610.5

References
  1. Berardino, Mike (February 21, 2019). "How Billy Donovan's jump to the NBA helped John Mooney land at Notre Dame". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  2. Noie, Tom (October 25, 2016). "Notre Dame freshman John Mooney balances inside-outside role". NDInsider. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  3. Noie, Tom (January 14, 2019). "Noie: Where would Notre Dame be without PF John Mooney?". NDInsider. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  4. "John Mooney named Third-Team All-ACC". WNDU. March 12, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  5. "John Mooney and healthy teammates have Notre Dame feeling positive". Chicago Sun-Times. Associated Press. October 23, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. Mazurek, Marek (July 22, 2019). "Notre Dame basketball: John Mooney hopes for more swagger in 2019-20". Fighting Irish Wire. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  7. "John Mooney Earns Preseason First-Team All-ACC Honors". Irish Sports Daily. October 10, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  8. "Mooney, Nolley II Earn ACC Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. November 18, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  9. Ditota, Donna (January 4, 2020). "Notre Dame's big, skilled John Mooney was a big problem for Syracuse's basketball team". The Post-Standard. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  10. "Mooney, Hurt Pick Up ACC Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  11. Byrne, Pete (January 23, 2020). "School record set for Notre Dame's John Mooney after 12 consecutive double-doubles". WSBT. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  12. "2020 ACC Men's Basketball Award Winners Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  13. "Lake Brantley alum John Mooney leads NCAA in double-doubles for Notre Dame". Hartford Courant. February 26, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  14. "Wildcats Sign Import Power Forward John Mooney". NBL.com.au. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  15. "Cotton and Wildcats show they can't be ignored". NBL.com.au. January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  16. "Wildcats vs Phoenix". FIBALiveStats.com. January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  17. "Wildcats storm home to claim season opening win". Wildcats.com.au. January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
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