JotCast | Noter Dame men's basketball January chat

Noter Dame men's basketball January chat

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Wadelite Long Beach California

1:40

Tom, recently saw an article where it was noted the team did something unusual: they had a very intense practice. Is it just me or should that have occurred before the record fell to 3-8?

Thomas Noie

1:40

Joe: A Matt Ryan mention! You mean the guy who should've stayed and would've become the all-time 3-point shooter in school history? Vanderbilt for a couple years and then Chattanooga as a grad transfer. Now? Just another guy who played college hoops.

joe from the south side

1:38

Tom: Not to switch gears but what ever happened to Matt Ryan? I know he finished fairly well at UT-Chat, but I do not know where he landed after that. I know Harvey is still at Vandy and is still way more enamored of his game than anyone else is.

Thomas Noie

1:38

Tom: Notre Dame women's basketball is a lot like Notre Dame men's basketball was in its glory days of the 1970s and early 1980s. There weren't the plethora of college basketball options then. Only a handful of schools were perennial powers. That's a lot of what the women's game is like. Notre Dame was one of the haves for so many years under Muffet McGraw. It was a machine for wins and Final Fours and the occasional national championship. Other than using the same bouncing ball and baskets, the women's and men's games may as well be played on different planets. They're apples in one bin, oranges in the other.

Tom from Gary

1:36

Could you tell me the difference between the men's and women's basketball programs at Notre Dame? I am a fan of both, and it seems like they get higher priority in terms of coaches, recruits, etc. Thanks, Tom.

Thomas Noie

1:25

Not a chance.

Guest

1:25

Do you think this group still has a run in them this year to make the tournament?

Thomas Noie

1:25

Kevin: Not a chance would there be a return. The Big East was really good for hoops - and really necessary - but not so much, really not at all, for a lot of the other sports. The Big East wasn't a challenge for them. The ACC is the best fit if the Big Ten isn't an option - and it really isn't. ACC it is. And will be.

Kevin from Detroit

1:24

I’m going to take a bold move and instead of saying how we can’t get athletes for the ACC, how good is the ACC for ND? Admittedly I should pay more attention to the non-revenue sports aspect, but I would love a Big East return with matchups with Villanova, Marquette, Creighton, Butler, St. John’s, etc. both geographically and competitively. Thoughts?

Thomas Noie

1:24

Jake: No,.....what Mike Brey said about Robby Carmody was he wasn't returning to any on-court five-on-five (i.e. actual game minutes) this season. He'll practice and work out and shoot and do most of the stuff guys do in practice. He's just not going to go live five-on-five for extended minutes or be an option on gamedays. Just stay healthy the rest of this year, stay healthy over the spring and summer, then be ready to possibly challenge for a spot in the rotation. But even that's a really long road back.

Jake

1:21

You said In a response earlier that best case for Carmody is return to practice by late January. Brey said he won’t be returning this season.

Thomas Noie

1:20

Caleb: No. It's just what they do. They're basketball players. They get a chance to play basketball. If you could poll the entire Irish team - and even do it anonymously, I think every single one of them would say they're playing. We worry about the health of players and coaches (and even the media) during the pandemic and wonder what happens if someone gets the virus and gets sick. But what about the mental health of players if you tell them they can't play the sport they want to play? What then? No sport, really no being a college student in a traditional sense. That's a pretty bleak alternative. It's hard to do what these guys are doing. Asking them not to play would be harder. By far.

Caleb from Charlotte

1:17

Two of the women's teams in the ACC have opted out of the rest of the season. Do you think that we may see one of the men's teams opt out also?

Thomas Noie

1:16

Morgan: They don't come any better than Pat Connaughton. Too many stories to remember. Like after the 2012 NCAA tournament loss to Xavier were hungry after the game and wound up walking through the drive-thru of the Burger King next to their hotel in downtown Greensboro. Or after the five-overtime game against Louisville when he was a warrior. Sprained his ankle. Played heavy minutes. Wound up doing his post-game interviews while laying across a set of high-table stools in the locker room. Went up to MKE for a Bucks playoff game couple years ago to do features on PC and Bonzie. Pat joked that if the Bucks lost the game, he wouldn't talk to me. The Bucks lost, but afterward, he still gave me 20 minutes. I ever need anything ND hoops-wise from a former player, PC's always among the first calls. Always.

Morgan

1:13

Q4: My favorite ND player ever is Pat T. Could you share some stories or something we may not know about Pat that we may not know? I’m now a Bucks fan because of him.

Thomas Noie

1:05

Tom: Understandable that he's struggled in the move from the West Coast Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference, but everything we were led to believe about Cormac Ryan, we've only seen in snippets. His season is a lot like Notre Dame's - occasionally we see something we like, but not enough to carry over into any sort of consistency. He'd be a good fit-in piece to a ranked team. Top of the scouting report guy? Not seeing it yet.

Tom from Gary

1:04

What is your take on Cormac Ryan's season so far? I have been disappointed.

Thomas Noie

1:04

Caleb: You're so right. I've spent a lot of nights in front of the television thinking, this is some really bad basketball. Look at Clemson just this week. At one point, ranked as high as No. 12 in the country. It loses two league games by a combined 57 points. North Carolina is a mess. So are so many other teams. Maybe it's the pandemic guidelines of no fans but there's no real buzz about ACC basketball without fans in the stands. It just seems like too many games are glorified pickup runs. The quality of play hasn't helped.

Caleb from Charlotte

1:02

Am I mistaken or is the quality of basketball being played in the ACC not as good this year?

Thomas Noie

1:02

Lee: I've seen and done a lot in 23 years on the Notre Dame hoops beat. Big games. Games in Hawaii and Alaska and the Virgin Islands. NCAA tournament games. I've never covered a Final Four. I don't think I ever will.

Lee from Lancaster, SC

1:01

With the challenges any ND basketball coach will face trying to recruit elite players, how likely is it that we will ever see another ND team reach the final four?

Thomas Noie

1:01

Dennis: If only Clark Lea were available. Kyle Hamilton and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as well. I kid, but I get it.

Dennis, Southern California

1:00

Here's the problem with Mike Brey teams - Defense. Not once have we been ranked in the top 45 in defense (Pomeroy ratings). There's an old sports saying that defense (baseball-pitching) wins championships. Notre Dame is consistently soft on defense and rebounding. How many times have we seen teams take multiple shots because we can't pull down a rebound. IMO this is the main reason why Brey teams rarely get out of the first weekend when we make the dance.

Thomas Noie

1:00

He's more the exception that the rule.

joe from the south side

1:00

Tom: Atkinson was a FLA kid who chose the Ivy League. You can see where his priorities were and are. If I were a student athlete concerned about getting a proper education/degree, the state of Florida is one of the last places I would look.

Thomas Noie

1:00

Lee: Yes he did. Maybe not open against Michigan State where they tumbled into a 28-point hole. Get an easier game there. Don't plan on Tennessee. Get another easier one. The only other one that looked daunting was Kentucky. Keep that one because you got your first ever win at Rupp. But the schedule didn't do this team many favors, because there was really no rhythm to it. Take the ACC opener against Duke. Notre Dame was a no-show. Had to be better than that. Instead of staying home for a few games and getting some confidence, it goes to Indy three days later to play Purdue. A lot about this season hasn't made much sense. The schedule's right there.

Lee from Lancaster, SC

12:52

Hi Tom, Did Mike Brey make a mistake by scheduling so many tough non-conference games? Because the team was older, he thought they could handle the challenge. Unfortunately, the team is not as good as he anticipated it would be.

Thomas Noie

12:52

Joe: The opposite. I think, how can we extend this for another or two. What question will they come with to keep this train rolling down the hoops track. You read everything (hopefully) that I write. The least I can do is turn it around and read how you guys feel. And plus, it's 37 degrees with a few inches of snow on the ground. If it was 70 degrees and sunny, it'd be a chore. Ah, who am I kidding, no it wouldn't. 4-8 or 1-8, it doesn't matter. It's hoops.

joe from the south side

12:50

Tom: Do you ever think to yourself, "it's the middle of the day (early evening here in Germany) what do all these people do that they can yak for hours and hours about a 4-8 team going nowhere?"

Thomas Noie

12:49

Joe: Agreed. Remember all the times Mike Brey would say something's fragile? Winning is fragile. Losing is fragile. Programs are fragile. It's also fragile in that if , if, if Notre Dame doesn't hit all the right notes at the right time, it's fragile that the program is more like Boston College and Wake Forest than North Carolina and Duke. Nobody wants to admit that, but there's a lot of truth to it. No matter the coach.

Joe from Middletown,CT

12:48

Tom - you've mentioned plenty of times about the kid that has to choose ND is different than other programs. I do get that to an extent but doesn't someone in the AD have to say,"hey we are in the ACC, we need ATHLETES to compete!". ND goes into every game with a disadvantage in just physical athleticism. Its hard to win when you have to be perfect and scheme people open, etc. The recruiting is why this team isn't good. Nothing else. I don't doubt that if you gave Brey good players, he could get to a Final 4. Until he has that again, he is going to be in the bottom half of the league going forward.

Thomas Noie

12:47

Joey: Maybe a little of both. Maybe it also was Brey figuring it would buy him some local good will if he took two local kids. And if it turned out they could play, even better. But a lot of it - or, maybe, the little of it - was Brey putting so much (too much0 stock in that junior class just dominating the roles and the rotation and the playing time that it would be best to grab the two local guys and hope they hit.

Joey from South Bend

12:45

No disrespect to the local recruits coming in, they can ball... but can an ACC program really only get talent from its own backyard in SOUTH BEND, IN of all places. Was this a matter of a lack of effort from Brey in other places, or was this just how the dominoes fell in terms of recruiting. Considering the amount of 1-man and 0-man classes... I’m betting on the first rather than the latter

Thomas Noie

12:44

Walter: Sign me up for that. Please. Like, today. I'll take it. Worst possible scenario would be a no-show in Miami. Then it's just more of the same. Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat.

Walter from Indy

12:44

Prediction: this team still has a run in them this year. I'm as down on them as anyone, BUT if they beat Miami sunday then I'm expecting a strong final kick over the remaining 6 weeks. What say you?

Thomas Noie

12:44

Walter: Chris Quinn believes he's an NBA coach. He had a chance to fill the vacant staff spot that went to Ryan Humphrey. He had to figure then that he might be groomed as Brey's successor. He chose to stay in the NBA. It's a hard call, but maybe the right one. He's with an organization that's top-notch from top to bottom. He's loyal to Erik Spoelstra, maybe to a fault. Spo's not going anywhere anytime soon. What that means for CQ? Don't know.

Walter from Indy

12:42

brey has obviously missed on more talented recruits! given the circumstances and Ivey's background and proximity to the program...you know what I meant Thomas! Moving on...not saying you have a crystal ball or would recommend hiring Chris Quinn, but are there reasons he would get a look for replacing brey? What do you know about him from his playing days and now as an NBA assistant coach that could lend to his success.

Thomas Noie

12:41

Joe: Easy. Retire. Seriously. He shouldn't be the one to hire the new basketball coach. Or football coach. He won't be around long enough. When people talk about programs needing fresh voices, the AD's office should be included. Not knocking Swarbrick, but he'd be the first to admit that he's closer to the end of the job than the beginning.

joe from the south side

12:40

Tom: Hypothetical. Let's say you are John Brian Swarbrick, Jr. You can't fire Brey because he fits the bill of how you want the school to be represented, ggod guy, likeable, proven winner etc......Yet, you know this program needs something to jump start it. What would you do?

Thomas Noie

12:40

Tim: Always my man! Glad to do it. You get the reward for post of the day....Portillo's on me next time you're in town. lol

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