We continue our recruit and return series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, whose season ended Sunday with a loss to North Carolina in the Elite Eight. A look at what the 2016-17 season could hold:

Possible 2016-17 starting five (statistics reflect regular-season average)

G: Temple Gibbs (incoming freshman)

G: Steve Vasturia (11.8 PPG, 3.1 APG)

F: VJ Beachem (11.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG)

F: Matt Ryan (5.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG)

F: Bonzie Colson (11.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG)

Who is lost: The only definite departure is a big one. Zach Auguste averaged a double-double (14.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG) and was a major handful in the paint for the past two seasons. There’s also a strong chance the Irish will lose point guard Demetrius Jackson, who led the team in scoring (15.5 points) and assists (4.8 per game) in 2015-16. Jackson is projected as a mid-first-round NBA pick by ESPN’s Chad Ford, and there might be no time like the present for him to advance to the next level.

Who is added: The 2016 class is led by ESPN 100 guard Temple Gibbs, who is more of a combo guard but could be asked to take over point guard duties if Jackson leaves for the pros. Three-star power forward John Mooney projects as more of a role player but adds size at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds. Canadian wing Nikola Djogo, who comes from the same school as elite-level Notre Dame target Thon Maker, needs to bulk up but will add perimeter depth.

What it means for next season: The Fighting Irish have some nice pieces returning and incoming freshmen with talent, but there’s no getting around the fact that Mike Brey could be forced to replace his two best players. If the Irish win the sweepstakes for Maker, a major hole gets filled. And if Jackson pulls a Kris Dunn and decides to come back, the puzzle gets easier to solve as well. Otherwise, 2016-17 could be about existing players taking on greater roles and needing to progress quickly in their development.

Trending: Down. Notre Dame’s loss total doubled from six to 12 after Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton exhausted their eligibility, and a further slide could be in order with Auguste departing and Jackson a good bet to follow him. That said, there’s a long way to go before the 2016-17 roster is set, and Brey will continue to work to try to keep this team in the ACC's first tier. With Maker and Jackson, this team is a national contender. As it stands now, this is a middle-of-the-pack ACC team.