JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - January 2025

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Tom Noie

8:54

Chris: It was good to see Notre Dame finally win at Virginia. The Irish played one of their most complete games and there was a lot to like that night at John Paul Jones Arena, but man, what the heck has happened to Virginia? I know the Atlantic Coast Conference is down this year, but that was some really bad basketball.

Chris, DC

8:53

Hi Tom, I was at rhe UVA game last night. I have been coming here since 2014 and was so happy to see the winless streak end! I hope ND can string together some wins. Football winning should help BB recruiting. I will be back on Feb 8th vs ?

Tom Noie

8:53

Cole Certa has burned his season of eligibility having played 18 total minutes over six games with five points and one rebound. He's buried in a logjam of guards. When you have Markus Burton, Braeden Shrewsberry, Matt Allocco and Julian Roper, it's all but impossible to go five deep in the backcourt these days. It's a numbers game, though given the fact that Certa was the first high school recruit to sign with Notre Dame under Shrewsberry, you expected him to be a little more college ready. He just wasn't. Fellow freshman Sir Mohammed was knocked back by the knee injury while Garrett Sundra just needed to get stronger. When Certa was the last player in for the exhibition at Fort Wayne, you got the idea that it was going to be hard to get to him with any regularity. It's hard to see where he fits moving forward given what next season's roster looks like. Maybe something opens up for him and the long game is the right game for him.

Guest

8:46

What to make of Certa’s de facto redshirt year?

Tom Noie

8:45

Linas: It's about a lot of variables when it comes to putting the students closer to the court. When the arena renovation happened in 2010s, the thought was to sink the floor so students could ring the lower arena (similar to Cameron Indoor Stadium). The current configuration of what's underneath Purcell Pavilion didn't allow that to happen - they couldn't dig any lower to make that happen. If it did, school officials still were skeptical. To have the kind of homecourt advantage you mentioned, you have to have the students actually show up. Sure, they're turn out for the Duke game and the Carolina game and the Louisville game, but what about all the others? Seeing the student section half empty or three-quarters empty for those games was a risk Notre Dame didn't want to take. Don't blame them.

Linas from the OC

8:42

Hey Tom, Michigan State, Minnesota, Auburn, Purdue, Xavier, Illinois, Northwestern ... just a few of the teams I watched this past week with outstanding home atmospheres. So, what do they have in common? Glad you asked. They have students right on top of the court in the best seats! My question: Why doesn't Notre Dame put the older fans who never make noise and never stand up(no offense -- my parents are old:) higher and give the students the best seats on top of the court so you could see them during the tv broadcast? Is it about the money? Thanks!

Tom Noie

8:41

Tae Davis is another story. If he earns (as he should) Atlantic Coast Conference most improved player, he might decide he's done enough in college. Is he ready for that jump? Is anybody? He's tried to show that he's a three-level scorer, but still struggles from distance (.250 percent from 3) which is a major hole in his game, especially at the NBA level. He may follow a similar path as Burton - at the least, Davis can declare for the draft, hope he gets to Chicago where he'll receive some honest feedback from the NBA.

8:39

Jeff: Given today's college athletics climate, there's always a chance that somebody on any roster in any sport decides that the transfer portal is a better option than their current situation. Not sure that would be an option for Markus Burton - where would a better opportunity lie than playing a major role for his hometown school? Burton likely will follow his offseason path from last spring and declare for the NBA draft - that is his ultimate goal. That doesn't mean he'll stay in the draft - he needs to get to the Combine in Chicago to get some true and honest feedback from NBA types about where they see him and his game at that level. He can declare and come back one more time, so expect him to follow that route in spring. He needs to go down that road, for himself and for the program.

Jeff from Newport News

8:36

I know the incoming class is loaded, but what are the chances Davis or Burton transfer or declare for the draft?

Tom Noie

8:34

Kevin: You figured the worst was behind Notre Dame coming clear of the January 11 game at Duke, where a win wasn't even a remote possibility. Since then, it was Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla), Florida State, Virginia Tech and Boston College again. ALL winnable games given where this Irish program is at. The next "tough" game would be February 18 at home against Louisville. Notre Dame gets through this next quick stretch - at Miami and at Florida State - and the Irish get six of their final nine at home. Moving time. It's on everyone, not just the starters. The rotation remains a guessing game from game to game, but the Irish need to get something from everybody in every given game to keep ascending the league standings. That said, the main guys have to be the main guys every night. When they're not, it makes everything extremely challenging.

Kevin, Lemont

8:30

Next 5, even if on road mostly, all seem winnable. Is the worst behind us and do we progress? Seems like it's all on the starters, or is there another factor that will make for success?

Tom Noie

8:19

Believe it or not, we're about to hit the final full month of the college basketball regular season (thanks a lot, college football playoff!) Notre Dame looks positioned to do as it did this time last season - play its best basketball as the regular season winds down. The Irish (10-10; 4-5 ACC) have won two straight and weathered a brutal road schedule that continues this weekend with a trip to Miami (Fla.) To join today's chat, be sure to leave your name and hometown. You know the rest ... let's light this chat candle...

*** Thursday, January 30 ***

Tom Noie

2:39

With one full month left in the regular season, what grade would you currently give this Notre Dame team?

B (2.5% | 1 vote)

C (60% | 24 votes)

D (10% | 4 votes)

Incomplete (5% | 2 votes)

Let's see how February fares (22.5% | 9 votes)

John Blutarsky GPA range (0.0) (0% | 0 votes)

Total Votes: 40

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