JotCast | January 2024 Notre Dame men's basketball chat

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joe from the south side

11:27

Tom, Tip of the cap to you. Nice piece you did on Brey when he was in Chicago. Good info that cleared up a lot of rumors about taking another D1 job, going into the studio, when he knew he had hit the wall at ND, etc.......Bad finish to a great run and glad to see his affection for the school remains strong.

Thomas Noie

11:27

David: It's lack of overall basketball IQ and ability that has hamstrung the Notre Dame offense and how it currently looks. Micah Shrewsberry has barely touched his offensive playbook and what he wants/hopes to do. Say Notre Dame has six offensive principles it wants to get to during a given game. Shrewsberry has those six in play, but off that, he might want to do seven or eight or nine more that are in his playbook. He can't do that. As far as those six principles, Notre Dame is lucky if can adequately execute two or three in a given game. The offense looks a mess, but looks nothing the way it will look. This is a defend and pray kind of year.

David

11:24

I don't understand the offensive philosophy. They use Kebba up top a lot. Right now, he does not really present a threat there--and he does not roll to the basket. I suppose you can try to justify it for spacing, but the ball seems to die at the top of the key. And then there seems to be an intentional decision to dribble the shot clock under ten seconds. Burton is very talented, but that doesn't really help develop the other players when there is little passing or cutting. Is this system what we have to look forward to, or is it addressing the best chance to get wins based on the current roster construction?

Thomas Noie

11:24

Tom: Elijah Morgan chose to attend Notre Dame for reasons that many choose to attend Notre Dame - for the education. Mike Brey said when Elijah joined the program that he was Division I caliber. But again, his main priority at the time was his degree, which he earned. Toward the back end of his time at Notre Dame, there was no room for him. Did he deserve a scholarship? A thousand times, yes. But what he wanted was playing time, and he wasn't getting it his last year (2021-22) with a guard rotation that featured Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin, Cormac Ryan, Trey Wertz and a freshman by the name of Blake Wesley. Morgan transferred, again, mainly for playing time, because he'd be behind Goodwin, Ryan, Wertz and J.J. Starling last year. Maybe they should've kept Morgan and let Starling go elsewhere. Think about that one...

Tom

11:20

Watching The Citadel game, I decided that what this team needs is Elijah Morgan. When he was here, it was clear he was better than the average walk-on. Why didn't we give him a scholarship?

Thomas Noie

11:17

Tim: I'm going with Door No. 3. This team is right where it should be - competitive, but still; figuring it all out and what it takes to win at the Atlantic Coast Conference level. When Micah Shrewsberry arrived, the timetable to get back to the NCAA tournament was three years at the absolute earliest. I might stretch that to four if - with an emphasis on IF - the university doesn't allow him to add the necessary pieces out of the portal. If this is a total rebuild just by building with four- and five-year recruits, we might be looking at four years at the earliest before the NCAA tournament dream can be dreamed.

Tim from Chicago

11:15

When entering the chat today, you provided a poll asking us whether we thought the Irish were performing at, below, or ahead of expectations. Curious how would you vote on this? That being said, I know it is still too early to tell, however, realistically how many years away do you think we are from returning to the NCAA tourney?

Thomas Noie

11:09

Joe: I'm not a lawyer (thank God) and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I believe one of the reasons Florida State is in legal proceedings with the ACC is so it can find a sympathetic judge to say the ACC's Grant of Rights isn't, well, right. That would let Florida State out of that. Again, though, I don't know if the Big Ten or SEC are anxious to poach whatever teams they can poach from the ACC and go to 20 or more league teams. Not saying it won't eventually happen, but think they want to see how it works with Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC and USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington in the Big Ten before they say, yeah, we can take on more freight.

joe from the south side

11:07

Tom, FWIW, there are two separate issues with FSU leaving the ACC (or Clemson for that matter). The first is the withdrawal fee. The second is the ACC owns the TV rights for all of its members, in all of their sports. The individual schools own nothing. FSU would have to pay, I believe around $150M for the exit fee. TV? Anyone's guess. $200M? $300M? Hard to imagine a poor state school ponying up half a billion to leave. Talk about bad optics.

Thomas Noie

11:06

Tim: Best question of the day!

It's absolutely refreshing. The 2021-22 season was special because it kind of came out of nowhere. Ah, these gys stink, oh wait, they're going 15-5 in the ACC and winning two NCAA games and maybe getting to the Sweet 16. That was a great ride. Last year, not so much, especially after we broke the news (a year ago Friday) that Mike Brey would not be back. Everything after that was awful. This year is interesting because we don't know what we're going to see on a game-to-game basis. How's it all going to look? The end of game stuff is starting to get old. Like, we know they're going to compete and give themselves a chance, but at the end, it's not going to be enough. Still, to see how this comes together from the ground up, never a dull moment. I'm all in.

Tim from Chicago

11:02

Hi Tom, thanks again for these chats, your reporting, your tweets, etc., you really enhance each season's journey for us fans. You've been doing this job awhile now, curious if this season is more 'fun' and 'interesting' with the new regime than previous seasons where you kind of knew what to expect from the Brey system. Do you feel refreshed as well as a reporter?

Thomas Noie

11:00

Joe: No. There was no time for him to really take a look at the roster and understand what he had and what he needed. It was such a sprint for him since being hired. Get a staff together, move your family, find a house, find schools, figure out the ACC. Go on the road and recruit. Set a culture. Think the roster makeup was, get as many different pieces together and figure it out later. Or figure it out as they go through this season. The roster is flawed, but I'd be more concerned if it looked the way it looks in Years Three or Four...

Joe, Chicago

10:58

Do you think Shrewsberry understood the totality of the rebuild necessary when he took the job?

Thomas Noie

10:58

Ryan: Great to hear from you my man. Good first steps for both Markus Burton and J.R. Konieczny in their first collegiate seasons. Burton needs to be better with the ball, but that will come. Konieczny needs to be better with his consistency game to game. He tends to play well in one game, then disappears for others. Main guys have to be main guys every night.

Ryan mars pa

10:57

tom what do you think about the play of jr and burton Both south bend Area players are looking good so far go Irish ☘️☘️🏀🏀

Thomas Noie

10:57

Derek: Kebba Njie needs to be better. Can't play that many minutes (34) and take that few shots (uh, zero). He did have 10 rebounds, so he's doing that, but the lack of a consistent interior scoring presence puts even more of a spotlight - and pressure - on guys like Markus Burton. You need to keep the defense at least a little honest from that spot. A portal big is a must get. Must.

Derek N

10:54

Will Kebba ever get less minutes? Soft and can’t score over average post defenders. Seen little to no improvement. Need a big in the portal this year.

Thomas Noie

10:54

Patrick: We went deep earlier this month with Mike Brey on a lengthy question and answer and column. Both can be found at NDInsider. I'd suggest you get to both. As for his perspectives on the team, he declined to get too much into this year's team. It's not his, and it's not his program. That's fair. He's happy that he had his 23 seasons, but he's moved on.

Patrick from NYC

10:52

Tom, you mentioned in a previous chat I believe that you would get to catch up with Brey at the Ga Tech game. I believe one of the announcers said he joined the team for dinner. Anything you can share about how he's doing or his perspective on the team?

Thomas Noie

10:50

Patrick: Micah Shrewsberry has long been a play-a-lot-of-guys coach. The longer the bench the better. The two you mentioned - Braeden Shrewsberry and Logan Imes - have to play, Imes especially with Tae Davis being limited with an ankle because Imes gives you someone not named Markus Burton who can handle. Shrewsberry is on the floor for spacing and shooting purposes. If anything, Notre Dame might need to play Matt Zona (11 mpg.) a little more and Kebba Njie (26.5 mpg) a little less, especially when Njie doesn't attempt a shot against Boston College. Nine Irish average at least 11 minutes, which is OK. I've seen way crazier rotations.

Patrick from NYC

10:47

Hey Tom, the question I would have had for you a couple weeks ago would make you laugh after years of people complaining about Brey's short bench....but I was starting to wonder, is Shrews playing too many guys? Hard enough for a young team who hasn't played together to gel and with so many different combos in a large rotation it seems even harder. My vote had been less Shrews Jr and Imes time, for now, but then the former came on with that 25 pt game and Imes has been steady spelling Burton at the point. Do you see the big rotation as a challenge or an asset? Is it about still finding out who can do what and what the ideal lineup is? Or more about a young team needing to spread the minutes before they have senior-level endurance?

Thomas Noie

10:46

Frank: Print? Isn't print dead? Sorry, I digress. Had an earlier question in today's chat about NIL. Hope that will help. As for writing about NIL, it's difficult because NIL for current student-athletes is viewed like Fight Club. You know the line - the first rule of Fight Club is we don't talk about Fight Club. Student-athletes don't talk about their NIL deals. It's a weird world.

Frank

10:44

Would be very interested in NIL and how ND distributes resources. How does this affect men’s and women’s basketball programs. Could this topic also evolve into a print article for sports section?

Thomas Noie

10:41

John: Good call. It absolutely could have, but to have that, you have to have a big man who has those read and react skills. Don't know if this group is that advanced.

John Clarkin

10:40

Watching the game vs Boston college I did notice the good defense but too much pressure placed on point guard to dribble drive and kick . Couldn’t the Irish benefit from high post or low post plays with some 1-4 high as a option . Offense looked stale and predictable. Thanks

Thomas Noie

10:40

Dave: Honestly, no. Without a home men's basketball game to build around, that's a tough ask, especially given the weather around these parts the last week. Notre Dame men's basketball is a tough draw as it is. To ask people to turn up and out for a 50-year celebration of beating UCLA? Might not draw flies. Now, what I would have done if I was Notre Dame was make sure the Atlantic Coast Conference knew unequivocally that it HAD, HAD, HAD to play a league home game on Dec. 20 to celebrate anniversary. They obviously didn't, because the Irish are idle. That 1974 win deserves better.

Dave from AlphaNJ

10:37

Hi Tom. Just a general question.
If you were in charge of men’s basketball at Notre Dame, would you schedule a celebration this weekend on the 50th anniversary of snappy UCLA’s winning streak?

Thomas Noie

10:36

Tony: Somebody's leaving, because in this day and age, somebody always leaves. Why did Micah Shrewsberry have only three returning scholarship players when he arrived? Everyone left. That's college basketball portal life. Notre Dame needs some roster flexibility and needs to get a playmaking guard (think Prentiss Hubb) and an experienced big man.

Tony

10:34

Tom, do you think Coach Shrews will use the portal this spring? If no players leave I would think roster is set. Are the Irish leading for any 2025 recruits?

Thomas Noie

10:34

Jim: Honestly, the offense is offensive. There really is no offense. Little cutting, even less passing. Nothing more creative than having Markus Burton drive and create. I didn't think it would look THIS bad. But it goes back to these guys doing too much thinking and not enough playing. The game's one of instinct. Just go play. That goes back to basketball IQ.

Jim in Charlottesville VA

10:33

Hello all! Tom, I think you got the loss to BC just right. I watched, and as the Irish faltered I thought why is Schrews sticking with the exact same set and attack every time down court? Is that the only way to execute this knowingly simplified Offense?

Thomas Noie

10:32

Soaking. Grab a towel.

You picked them to win eight games. They're at seven. Everything you proceed to outline today are issues we knew were going to be issues. They're bad, but we knew they'd be bad. As for next season and next and the next, let's see how Micah Shrewsberry can recruit and cultivate talent. The future should look nothing like the present.

Jim from Berlin, Ct.

10:30

Hello Tom. You might remember me from November when I wrote you about Notre Dame's chances for the coming season. I said that the Irish would be lucky to win eight games with the players they had. I said that they had no experienced guys they could rely on and weren't getting the outstanding prospects that other teams were getting. At the time, you wondered if I was new to basketball because I didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Well, it's mid-season and the Irish are a mediocre 7-10 with many more tough games remaining. Their shooting has been dreadful, both from the floor and the free throw line. Their assist to turnover ratio has been among the worst in the country. They somehow need to recruit better players so they can compete against the elite programs, and I don't know if that's possible anymore in this day and age. It feels like we've got too many Davids going up against Golianths without the benefit of slingshots. Do you still think I'm all wet?

Thomas Noie

10:18

Joe: Agree on Burton. Can he make it to mid-February. He already carries the look of someone who's compete tank is running on fumes. As for the rebounding, which also in some ways includes the way this team has defended - they know that given their limitations on offense, on scoring, on creating, that they either have to defend and rebound or they're going to get beat every night by 30. There's no other choice - defend and rebound and compete for 40 minutes or you're not going to have a chance. The effort has given them a chance. At this point, in this step of a season, that's all you can ask.

joe from the south side

10:15

Tom, This is the Part 2, or the plus side of this season. One, Burton has been more than advertised. Unfortunately, he has little help. My fear is that he starts to break down. He doesn't have the frame for 30+ games, 20 of which are in the ACC. Two, as Shrew puts more talent on the roster, he will have more leverage with playing time and performance. That should light a fire under some folks. Finally, rebounding. They have held their own with just about everyone in the conference. Clearly a change for the better. Nothing I despise worse than turnovers and giving up OFF rebounds. You make it too easy for the other guys.

Thomas Noie

10:15

Joe: It was stunning, even a little sad, to hear Burton say that, but as we got deeper into the meaning behind it, it made some sense. I pressed Markus as to the reason why they weren't ready to play, but received the standard "one of those days" answers. Only later did we understand why they weren't ready. Micah Shrewsberry explained that when Tae Davis went down in practice with the left ankle sprain, it was like the air went out of the building. The Irish then let that affect the way they prepared, the way they warmed up, the way they played. It circles back to the youth of this team, in all areas. You can't let one bit of adversity (an ankle sprain, nothing more) cloud your preparation. The Irish dwelled more on not having Davis than doing what was needed without him to win. They were in a #prayfortae fog. It cost them a league home win.

joe from the south side

10:11

Tom, This was a quote in your piece about the FSU game.......“None of us were focused, including myself” said guard Markus Burton, “We weren’t ready.” WHAT? What do you mean we weren't ready? You have a team with virtually no D1 experience and a new boss who really doesn't know any of you. You better BE ready. EVERY GAME. You better impress your new boss so you make it hard for him to take you out. Even if you lose, your boss needs to know you emptied the tank for him, not that you forgot to fill it up. I found that quote very disheartening.

Thomas Noie

10:11

Joe: Speaking the truth, as usual. Not a lot to add. Everything you say is true. Offensively, they are a disaster, but I think there will be improvement as the players/roster improves. They're so limited in what they MIGHT be able to do offensively that they can't do ANYTHING offensively. It was a big/dangerous leap to put so much on Markus Burton's plate, but they loaded it up anyway. Unfair to him to an extent because the offense has become Burton or bust.

joe from the south side

10:09

Tom, Hard to believe the season is more than halfway complete. Couple of observations. Their youth was always going to be a problem, but you can see it manifesting itself in many ways. First, no killer instinct. They lack the knowledge, desire and ability to kick an opponent when the opponent is down. Two, No interior scoring, making them strictly a jump shooting team, save for Markus driving once in a while. Defensively, they are not hard to guard. Three, for a team so challenged offensively, they really don't move themselves or the ball very quickly. I see too many times when the ball and the bodies are stagnant. Lastly, they do not covet the basketball. My God are they sloppy with it. If you struggle to score, for goodness sake, don't hand points to the opposition. Thoughts?

Thomas Noie

10:08

...That leads you to believe that most of the roster will return intact. Tony Sanders and Matt Zona both are on track to graduate. It's time they both took their degrees and found a place where they can play. The portal being the portal, that has to deliver at least a veteran guard and an experienced big (areas that the Irish fell short in for this season). But will the portal be friend or foe for Notre Dame? Stay tuned.

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