JotCast | February Notre Dame Hoops Chat

February Notre Dame Hoops Chat

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Andrew from Plymouth, IN

11:06

With the ACC potentially having teams on pause and possibly not having a "normal" conference tournament, has Mike Brey pushed for a kind of "Showcase Weekend" where teams could still play 3 games in 3 days as a way to boost their tournament resumes? This would be a win-win for ND and the ACC if they could do something like this, no tournament bracket and just paring up like teams for competitive matchups.

Thomas Noie

11:05

Chris: None.

Chris

11:05

Hi Tom- any chance Juwan Durham would come back for 6th year? Team could be pretty special if so.

Thomas Noie

11:05

The old anonymous question....sigh. Let's get to a season where everything is normal and everybody is healthy before we start debating hot seats and staffs. A college season in a pandemic probably not the best time to make sweeping changes, no?

Guest

11:03

Two part question.So if ND doesn’t make the tourney again for what the 4th straight year I believe. Will Brey be on the hot seat next year? Also Do you also think a coaching change needs to be made with either Brey or the staff? Since ND has been bottom tier ever since Bonzie got hurt.

Thomas Noie

10:54

Gregg: Admire the persistence. There's always a chance, but what that chance really is in this season, nobody really knows. I don't know if the ACC tournament will happen, so there's also that. What do the Irish need to do? Channel their inner Al Davis - just win baby!

Gregg

10:52

I asked this question the last time there was a chat. Now that the Irish are o a roll, is there still a chance that they can make it to the tournament? And another question about the ACC tournament. What will they do about those bubble teams that can get a big win in the tournament and possibly get the ncaa tournament. This question refers to if they were to cancel the ACC tournament.

Thomas Noie

10:52

Jim: Purdue was the first program and Matt Painter the first coach to recruit Jaden Ivey. It was always going to be Purdue. Mike Brey tried to get in the game, but it wasn't going to make much of a difference.

Jim - Lebanon PA

10:51

Hi Tom! I apologize in advance if you answered this question before, I may have missed it... was wondering why Neile’s son Jaden chose Purdue over ND? Was he not recruited by Brey? Felt the need to go elsewhere? Thank you!

Thomas Noie

10:51

Doesn't matter as long as he's not their poorest offensive player.

Joey from Highland, IN

10:51

Who do you think is their poorest defender?

Thomas Noie

10:51

Joey: Let's all be honest. All that nonsense about stop-scores and getting in a stance and defending....did you really think that was going to last for what, a month? This is a program that's long been built around offense. Moving the ball. Sharing it. Flowing. Touting the defense? That was something to do before the offense got going. This is an offense-first program. Always has been. Just get enough stops so your offense can get you 80. Or in the case of Tuesday, 93.

Joey from Highland, IN

10:49

I know all the talk postgame was about the offense, but, the last 2 games the defense has been atrocious.

Thomas Noie

10:49

Danny: None. Wrote about Durham and fellow graduate student Nik Djogo and this situation couple weeks ago. When the NCAA announced early in the year, late summer or early fall, that all 2020-21 college basketball players would receive an additional year of eligibility, Mike Brey met with both and three decided that this year was it for them. It's time to start the next chapter of their lives. Durham wants to play professionally. Djogo will be walking away with two degrees. It's just time.

Danny (Chicago)

10:47

Hey Tom, love reading and keeping up about the Irish from you. I know earlier in year when asked about Durham returning it didn’t look likely next year from Brey. Any chance with his recent play that there is a change of heart there even with Atkinson coming in next year?

Thomas Noie

10:44

Patrick: Just keep winning.

Patrick (Wheaton)

10:44

How many consecutive wins (from this point forward, say), would it take for us to talk bubble?

Thomas Noie

10:44

George: Honestly? Michigan State, because it gets this late in the college basketball season, Tom Izzo usually figures it out.

George from El Segundo

10:43

Right now, would you rather be Sparty or ND, Duke or ND, KY or ND? All in all, an exciting and memorable seasom with more to come. Go Irish!

Thomas Noie

10:43

Joey: The baseline minimum for Notre Dame is the NCAA tournament every single year. Every single NORMAL year. Let's see them beat a ranked team before planning "runs." Runs happen when nobody expects them to happen. Did anyone really expect 2015 to be a run? That team lost by 30 in Cameron during the season. Hard to see a run coming that day.

Joey from Highland, IN

10:41

If all of these guys stay (Durham and Djogo excluded), with Atkinson and the depth they’re getting next year, do you see a trip back to the tourney? Possibly a run? Or do they still need to beat a ranked team to be taken seriously?

Thomas Noie

10:41

Jake: It can be asked 100 times and the answer still will be the same. I don't know. You don't know. Nobody knows. As I mentioned earlier, the Irish have only seven games remaining - no GT makeup, no Howard makeup. Going 5-2 is awfully ambitious, but that only gets you to 13-12, 10-9 going to the ACC tournament, which may or may not be played. Ten league wins during a pandemic enough? Twelve losses against that schedule too many? Nobody knows.

Jake

10:39

This will probably be asked many times today.... I’ll be first. What finish to the season does it take to get in the tournament. 6-2 and 2 ACC tournament wins?

Thomas Noie

10:38

George: Amen with you and times 10. I get basketball fans and their passion, but to a point. To think that this year should be judged similarly to any other year is ludicrous (and not the artist known as). Just getting this Irish team - or any team - through the protocols and the isolation and everything else teams have had to deal with is nothing short of amazing. Put yourself in any college basketball player's shoes when you were in college. Can't see your friends. Can't go to class in a traditional setting. Gotta mask up everywhere you go. Would you still follow the rules? Yeah, I get that Notre Dame should be better and should beat more ranked teams and blah, blah, blah, but THIS year? Under THESE circumstances? That's a tough ask.

George from El Segundo

10:35

Hi Tom, hope you and yours remain safe and well. I want to cast a vote in favor of Mike Brey today. This has been an incredible season and, IMO, a successful one. With real student athletes, the Irish have tasted historic success in a year that has proven too much for most of the greats. Bad start, sure, but what great progress, especially for guys like Durham and Diogo.

Thomas Noie

10:35

Joey: Three letters - A-C-C. This isn't a good year to use as an example, so let's take what would be a more normal college basketball season. November and December, you're playing a lot of games against lesser competition and racking up wins and confidence to get you ready for league play. Said league play often arrives full throttle in January. League play is different. The players are more skilled. Talented. Just better than a lot of teams you play early. It takes January to adjust to that skill and speed and situation. Like, OK, this is what the league is, and this is what we have to do to adjust and make a move. That's often February.

Joey from Highland, IN

10:33

any reason why they have to struggle every year until February?

Thomas Noie

10:32

Zach: Too soon to tell, and nobody really knows what it's going to take. Notre Dame is on track to play 25 regular-season games and 19 league games (still no makeup date for the Georgia Tech game that was scrubbed in January and no replacement game for Howard). The Irish are 8-10 overall, 5-7 in the ACC. Say they go 6-1 the rest of the way. Finishing 11-8 in the ACC is attractive, but 14-11 not so much. But what's the criteria going to be this year? That's going to be the million dollar question.

Zach

10:29

Any shot this team makes the tournament this year? If so, what does it take?

Thomas Noie

10:29

Mark: Juwan Durham's late push to legit low-post player was discussed couple questions ago. Graduate transfer Paul Atkinson is 6-foot-10, 220 pounds. I don't know about a "typical banger," mainly because the bigs he's faced in the Ivy League aren't anywhere near as skilled or big as the ones he's going to face in the ACC. We'll have to see how his game translates when he gets here in June. Still no pickup yet. Miss it a little more every day. Maybe come summer!

Mark Kruz from Mishawaka

10:25

Tom can you explain how the light bulb all of a sudden turned on for Juwan Durham?? Suddenly he has become extremely efficient around the hoop in using his pivot foot and anticipating the lob pass. Also I haven't seen any footage on Atkinson from Yale. Is he the typical big guy banger under the bucket? A side note have you started your pick up hoops at Pius? Its been nice getting back to playing pick up. Stay safe

Thomas Noie

10:25

Tony: Mike Brey has made it known on more than one occasion that he has every intention of fulfilling his current contract, which runs through the 2024-25. He doesn't plan to walk away from Notre Dame, and I have a hard time seeing him being asked or forced to leave. Who tops the short list to replace him? Think we first have to consider who tops the short list to HIRE the next coach. I don't know if it's going to be Jack Swarbrick. And the next coach, if Notre Dame truly is a forward-thinking institution of higher learning committed to giving everyone a chance, is an up-and-coming Black assistant coach somewhere. Think of the statement Notre Dame would make if it had a Black man as men's basketball coach and a Black woman as women's basketball coach.

Tony

10:22

How many more years will Coach Brey be at ND? Who tops the short list to replace him?

Thomas Noie

10:22

Tony: Let's get the 2021 class on campus before we dive too deeply into future classes, mainly because college basketball is on the verge of becoming Thunderdome. What happens if/when the NCAA passes its one-time transfer exception this offseason. That will allow kids to transfer once without the usual sit-out season. It's about to become the Wild West. NBA free agency-like in college hoops. That happens, this offseason will become a circus. Everyone will at least consider transferring. How will that impact Notre Dame? Anyone going to leave? Anyone going to want to transfer in? Then you have the additional year of eligibility issue where every player for 2020-21 is granted an additional year of eligibility. Who in this year's current junior class (Goodwin, Hubb, Laszewski) will want to run it back for a fifth year? All of them? None of them? One? Two? You have to figure that out first before figuring out what the class of 2022 might look like.

Tony

10:18

Any news on the 2022 recruiting class targets? Do you think this will be a class that he tries to get 4? Or hits the transfer wire to stay old?

Thomas Noie

10:18

Caleb: College basketball has changed since those days of Carr and Dantley. Those guys aren't coming to Notre Dame in 2020. Troy Murphy was not highly-recruited. LaPhonso Ellis? He wanted the total college experience that too few kids seek these days. For them, it's get me to the league as quick as possible. Five-star prospects have considered Notre Dame. I'll again flip the question - if you're a five-star guy and have Kentucky and Villanova and Gonzaga on your short list, why would you consider Notre Dame?

Caleb from Charlotte

10:16

Hi Tom, I'm confused about recruiting. How were the Irish able to convince outstanding players like Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, Kelly Tripucka, David Rivers, LaPhonso Ellis, and Troy Murphy to come to Notre Dame years ago but today cannot get a 5 star player to seriously consider coming to ND?

Thomas Noie

10:14

Lee: There's always a chance. They just have to go and do it. It's still waaaaaaay too early to start trying to do the math (never my strong suit) as it relates to the NCAA tournament. Mainly because, well, nobody knows what a tournament resume should look like. Or will look like. Notre Dame may not play 20 league games. It's not going to play the NCAA-maximum 27 regular-season games. How does the selection committee take those numbers into account? Will Notre Dame's non-league be a factor? Lack of non-power five games? Here's a sure-fire way to find your way into at least the discussion - just keep winning. The rest will take care of itself.

Lee from Lancaster, SC

10:12

The TV announcers often praise the Irish because they don't commit a lot of fouls. Unfortunately, that's usually because the man they're guarding drives by them so fast that they aren't close enough to touch him.. On a good day, my grandpa would probably score 10 points and 3 assists against them. Offense is their game, and when their shots are falling, they are a dangerous team. They are also a resilient bunch. Any chance that they can win enough games down the stretch to get into the NCAA tournament?

Thomas Noie

10:12

Lee: Ouch! That's harsh, though understandable. It's a combination of factors. Settling down and understanding that he can be a factor, and that when he plays well, the Irish play well. It's also go-time for Durham. His career has what, a month and change left? It's like, better do it now or you're never going to do it. He sees the finish line closing. Funny what that does to guys. Many of them, OK, all of them, go through seasons and careers like it's never going to end. Then they see that it will. It's like, whoa, I better start playing . Durham's been a revelation during this latest streak of five of seven wins. I didn't know if we'd ever see it. Glad we are.

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