JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - January Part II 2026 | 1/29/2026

Notre Dame basketball chat - January Part II 2026

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Tom Noie

2:04

Think we've reached the end of the chat line for the day. Solid effort for a second chat in the never-ending 67-day month that is January. We'll roll back around these chat parts probably during the off week (Feb. 15-20) and see what we can say about the past, the present and the future of Notre Dame basketball. If you have a question or comment that cannot wait, even if your name is GUEST, drop an email at tnoie@sbtinfo.com. Have a great rest of the week!

1:48

...I know nothing.

Shrews

1:48

Thanks for defending me, Tom. These guys keep counting us out just because we can't win any games. You know better

Tom Noie

1:22

Yes! It took only five hours, but we've finally reached the Braeden Shrewsberry plays too many minutes part of the chat. Sit two juniors who have played their share of ACC games for a freshman. Don't see the logic there, but OK.

Greg

1:20

Following up on Ryder frost. maybe 47 minutes is too many for Braeden? maybe he shoots better and is more consistent on fresh legs. Imes playing 4x Frost minutes (i know they play different positions) doesn't make sense to me. Imes is a grinder and good defender but brings not much on offense. Frost can score and he's big so he can rebound. take some shrews minutes, some imes minues and some of haralson's 44 and see what the kid can do.

Tom Noie

1:20

Jerome: What's the record if you have Markus Burton? One random guy I know....

Jerome

1:18

What's staggering is our record. Also the one random guy you know who thinks we should be Duke and Nova is probably not representative. Regardless, responding to his delusion does not actually respond to the non-delusional view that the team is nowhere close to where it could be even if it will never be Villanova. I don't think we need a heavy dose of the portal to put out a team that is good enough to make the ACC tournament or sell more than half of the arena to watch us play Duke

Tom Noie

1:09

Pulling plugs after three seasons. Staggering.

Jerome

1:08

ND sat idle too long on Brey after his terrible tournament success for the first decade. It worked out well but they cannot count on that luck again. Do you think they view Shrews differently and will be willing to pull the plug much faster?

Tom Noie

1:08

Jerome: It's not problems. It's just the way of the college basketball world. Other teams, other programs, have figured out ways to be relevant. Why hasn't Notre Dame? No one is asking? Sure about that? I asked a long-time Notre Dame basketball follower (and Notre Dame graduate) who he believes Notre Dame's basketball peers are. First answer was Duke. Second was Villanova.

Jerome

1:01

Tom, I'm just catching up but in a lot of your answers you seem to suggest the problem is the roster and institutional limitations (commitment to portal etc) and not coaching. You can't really believe that right? No one is asking why we aren't Duke. We're asking why we aren't even sniffing relevance. Our roster is plenty good enough for that

Tom Noie

1:00

Greg: Easier said than done. Who do you sit?

Greg

1:00

Free Ryder Frost! 4 minues in a double OT game where multiple guys fouled out? Kid has a great shot...let's get him some minutes and some confidence

Tom Noie

1:00

Pat: He is not practicing. Let's just go with contributor. We've never seen anything he may or may not be able to do. To go from out all season one year to solid contributor to the next? That's a big leap, even if he's a big kid.

Pat

12:59

Is Tommy Ahmeman practicing yet? Do you predict that he will be a solid contributor in the rotation next season?

Tom Noie

12:59

Chris, DC

12:59

Thanks, on transfer answer. Well then, I guess we better hope this works with Coach Shrewsberry or it could be a long 4 years.

Tom Noie

12:28

Chris: No. Notre Dame tried that with Micah Shrewsberry and his first season when he was trying to rebuild the roster. Look at where the undergrad transfers came from. Not exactly basketball factories.

Chris, DC

12:27

Tom, It was encouraging to see some offensive flow against Virginia the other night. However, if ND is going to continue to hold true to notion of student athlete, then maybe fans expectations will need to change. A NCAA tourney team every ten or so years and near empty arena's. Do we believe that ND basketball will be able to get more undergrad transfers like the football program?

Tom Noie

12:26

J.J.: Fair to wonder, but if Ryder Frost plays, who sits? He's usually in the game to give either Jalen Haralson or Sir Mohammed a break. Or in the game because either Haralson or Mohammed aren't doing what they're supposed to do. Do you sacrifice some of their minutes for Frost? It seems they've found a rotation they can ride moving forward. That Ryder Frost isn't in it is more about too many guys for too few spots than anything Frost might or might not have done. Somebody's going to be the odd man out. For no fault of his own, it's Frost. It just happens.

J.J. from Bristol CT

12:23

I think it's fair to say this team probably isn't competing for postseason positioning at this point. It seems clear (at least to my untrained eye) that Brady Koehler has benefitted substantially from getting a longer leash to develop and showcase his abilities in-game, even if he's more raw than most others on the floor. Is there a case to be made that, from a long term roster building perspective, it would be wise to start giving Ryder Frost similar longer runouts in these Burton-less games? I can only assume he's not playing for a reason, but I do feel like he's shown in his spurts that he's at minimum a capable player. I feel like last year around this time Cole Certa's minutes went on the uptick as well, despite mostly being known as a pure shooter, and he also benefitted from that experience.

Tom Noie

12:09

JP: The one and done was a feel-good storyline when Jalen Haralson committed to Notre Dame. Everyone around the program would admit, and not under duress, that Haralson really needs another year to grow his game. Haralson included.

cool

1

JP

12:08

Ha! I sometimes do feel like the one guy holding on to the life raft at sea still with this program sometimes. Brady Koehler is A Dude and someone I am very excited to see get better down the stretch of this season and with a full offseason of S&C who knows where he could be. First serious shot blocking threat ND has had since Juwan Durham (an unsung hero) Is there any tea leaves on whether Haralson will stay for a year 2? I thought he looked really good in the 2nd half taking command of the offense when the 3s wouldn't fall and I think this team could be a serious player next year with everyone back, although that is a bit of a pipe dream in the current CBB landscape

Tom Noie

12:08

Todd: Sure, you can shoot free throws until the sun comes up, and then goes back down. The real fix is to go and do it in the game, build the confidence that they've been there before, that they're going to figure a way out. Even the other night, for all the good we saw, you got the feeling that Notre Dame was playing a bit too fast, like it wanted to go and win the game right then and there. Play with poise. Play with pace. Play with the confidence that you can close it out. Easy to say, tough to do, until you can do it.

Todd, Charlotte

12:06

Tom, with a team this inexperienced, you have little margin for error . . . which is why the missed free throws and turnovers are so frustrating (though the TOs have been down the last few games). These seem like easy fixes (the broadcast team brought it up - "get in the gym and practice free throws"). Are they?

Tom Noie

11:55

JP: With a lot more room to improve. Say it again for the people in the back who see only the grim reaper lurking. Please.

JP

11:54

Hey Tom, After the initial heartbreak of a 2OT loss to a great UVA team I think I came away more impressed with Coach Shrews than I've ever been in his time here at ND. The way they ran their offense for 50 minutes against a team that good without Burton was very impressive and you can see the youth getting better in real time. They've gone from 166th in KenPom (Brey's last year) to 118, to 98, to 79 now

Tom Noie

11:54

Ken: Few schools are trying to do it the way Notre Dame is trying to do it in men's basketball. It's probably not going to work, but as long as Notre Dame continues to hold true to the notion of student-athlete, it's what we're going to get. "Fans" want Notre Dame basketball to be on the same corner as Duke or Villanova and that's just nonsense. Notre Dame is there with Boston College and Georgia Tech and Wake Forest not because of the head coach or the roster construction or the lack of portal additions. It's there by choice. Notre Dame's choice. That is its basketball peer, and may always be its basketball peer.

Ken W

11:52

Tom, after reading all of your responses this morning, thank you for pushing me to change my attitude! I think we ALL need to stop expecting too much from a college that is still trying to run a respectable student-athlete program, which is becoming non-existent!

Tom Noie

11:52

Clint: That would be graduate transfer Matthew MacLellan, who arrived with zero fanfare from NAIA Madonna (Michigan) University in the summer. Wrote about No. 34 after last week's loss at North Carolina. Here: https://tinyurl.com/nduv2r29 Great kid, great story.

Clint from Winnipeg

11:51

What can you tell us about this #34 guy who has gotten some minutes since Njie went out? I've never heard of him.

Tom Noie

11:42

I'll just leave this here without comment...

Jim Tal, Valley Center CA.

11:42

Hello Tom, perhaps very few realize this but Notre Dame is one of the top 10 winningest basketball programs in college basketball history. As such, it is absolutely unforgivable for what has been going on for the last three-plus years. Yes, blame needs to be spread out from an out of touch administration, to questionable coaching, to a sometimes stunning lack of execution on the court, to crappy community support and it goes on from there. But the bottom line it should have never been allowed to happen. A once proud tradition is being tarnished. Just really sad.

Tom Noie

11:38

Jack: None from areas that actually matter. It's still too early. We're not there yet, not unless you're Pete Bevacqua and you can honestly say that Notre Dame basketball has every tool available in its toolbox to compete and be one of the top eight teams in the 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference. That answer is no. Few teams in the league are asked/expected/required to do it the way Notre Dame is doing it. That it can take Virginia to double overtime should be commended instead of criticized, but here we are.

Jack

11:36

Tom: any chance freeman was recruiting Brey to come back last night in Boston? Haha but any rumblings about hot seat for Micah?

Tom Noie

11:35

IF: Too early to even project. Just make sure you beat the teams that are logjammed with you - Georgia Tech, Boston College, Pittsburgh Cannot do anything about Wake ... since Notre Dame doesn't play Wake Forest this season, but plays Stanford and Boston College twice. Oooof.

Illinois Fool

11:34

Several winnable games on the horizon to break away from the 2-6 conference logjam. How many more wins do you think will it take to insure playing in the ACC tournament?

Tom Noie

11:29

Think he's aware of that...I wrote it last year...when they played on the first day. Look at this way, they may not play on the first day of the ACCT this season. Or, any days....

face_with_rolling_eyes

Mike from Rochester, NY

11:29

Micah guaranteed that ND would never play on the first day of the ACCT after his first season. Anyone want to remind him of that?

Tom Noie

11:14

Ken: Not EVERYTHING is the fault of the head coach, who likely will get tagged for the pre-game parking lot mess or the quality of food at the concession stands or the student body's apathy to anything outside of football games. I digress, but it's up to the player to get going after he's not going. With Braeden Shrewsberry the other night, he played 18:36 in the first half, which is too much. He may have indeed been on a heater, but he also may have been running on fumes. It's up to him to plug it back in after getting unplugged.

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