John Patrick Mooney (born March 20, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Chiba Jets Funabashi Chiba Jets Funabashi ( ja, 千葉ジェッツふなばし) is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Funabashi, Chiba. The team joined the JBL Super League in 2005 and currently competes in the B.League. The 31,000sqm Lala Arena To ...

of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

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 Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

. He has two older siblings, Brendan and Caitlin. Mooney began playing for Nike Team Florida in AAU play alongside

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

coach Billy Donovan's son Bryan in eighth grade. Mooney attended

Lake Brantley High School Lake Brantley High School (LBHS) is located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, a suburban community approximately 13 miles (20 km) north of Orlando. It is a public high school serving grade levels 9–12 in Seminole County, FL, operated by Se ...

. As a senior, he averaged 24.8 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks per game and was named to the first-team all-state. He initially committed to play under Donovan at Florida but reopened his recruitment after Donovan took the coaching job of the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. After fielding offers from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Wake Forest,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, Vanderbilt, and Stanford, Mooney's father asked Donovan his opinion on Notre Dame. Donovan telephoned Notre Dame coach

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American college basketball coach. He has been the men's head coach at the University of Notre Dame since July 14, 2000. Early life and education Brey, the son of Olympic swimmer Betty Brey, graduate ...

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.

College career

As a freshman, Mooney served as a backup to Bonzie Colson. Mooney averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in his sophomore season. As a junior, Mooney was named to the Third Team All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

and finished second to

Jordan Nwora Jordan Ifeanyi Nwora (born September 9, 1998) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. He plays interna ...

as the league most improved player. He averaged 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, though the Fighting Irish finished 14–19 and were last in the ACC. Mooney registered 15 double-doubles in ACC play, including eight straight from January 2 to February 5, 2019. Coming into his senior season, Mooney was named to the Preseason All-ACC team and received three votes for Preseason Player of the Year. 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. On January 4, 2020, Mooney tied his career-high with 28 points and had 14 rebounds in an 88–87 win versus Syracuse. As a result, Mooney earned his second ACC player of the week honors on January 6. He had his 12th consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to Syracuse on January 22, breaking

Luke Harangody Luke Cameron Harangody (born January 2, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Divina Seguros Joventut of the Spanish Liga ACB. He completed his college career at the University of Notre Dame in 2010. He ...

's school record of consecutive double-doubles. At the conclusion of the regular season, Mooney was selected to the First Team All-ACC. He averaged 16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game as a senior.

Professional career

Perth Wildcats (2020–2021)

On August 14, 2020, Mooney signed a one-year deal with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). In the Wildcats'

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

opener on January 24, 2021, he recorded 13 points and 14 rebounds in an 88–76 win over the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...

. He set a record for rebounds by a Wildcat playing in his first NBL game. For the season, he averaged a double-double, becoming the first Wildcat to do that since 2007, and finished the season with 27 double-doubles in 42 games – the second most in a season by a Wildcat. His 11.4 rebounds per game is the eighth highest in club history and his total of 480 rebounds is the third-most in a single season in NBL history. He helped the Wildcats reach the 2021 NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–0 to

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 a ...

. He was subsequently named the Wildcats Club MVP.

Chiba Jets (2021–present)

On July 15, 2021, Mooney signed with

of the Japanese B.League. He re-signed with Chiba on May 27, 2022.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Notre Dame , 12 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .625 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Notre Dame , 36 , , 7 , , 15.4 , , .480 , , .419 , , .531 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Notre Dame , 33 , , 33 , , 29.6 , , .455 , , .374 , , .769 , , 11.2 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .8 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Notre Dame , 31 , , 31 , , 32.7 , , .460 , , .295 , , .635 , , 12.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 16.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 112 , , 71 , , 23.1 , , .462 , , .358 , , .675 , , 8.2 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .6 , , 10.5

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, John 1998 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Baltimore Lake Brantley High School alumni Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Perth Wildcats players Power forwards (basketball)