JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - January Part II 2026

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JET from EVANSVILLE

10:25

After the Cal game, Coach said; “I want to apologize to our team, our University and its leaders, to Coach Madsen and his team, and to the ACC , as my actions were unacceptable.”

Tom Noie

10:25

Mike: We're not there yet. Worry about how the Irish are going to find a win with a four-game run of at Syracuse, at Louisville, Florida State and at SMU.

Mike from Rochester, NY

10:24

Will Pat Garrity have any input on whether the coach is going to be retained (and, by extension, on choosing a successor)? I'd imagine he watches practice and has to be displeased with what he's seeing in practice and games.

Tom Noie

10:22

Mike: Simple. It's called growing pains.

Mike from Rochester, NY

10:22

The coach was lauded for his NBA experience. What is the point of this experience if the team is so consistently horrible at situational basketball?

Tom Noie

10:21

Jack: Again, totally agree. Those who say, yes, without question, you HAVE, HAVE, HAVE to foul when up three in the closing seconds...have they paid attention to Notre Dame basketball? Like, really paid attention? How did that work out last season against North Carolina? Earlier this month against Cal? Not so well for the Irish. Say you do foul and Virginia makes its free throws and then sets up its press. Did you see Notre Dame try to handle said pressure on inbounds plays? Didn't really handle it all that well. Why extend the game? Sam Lewis banged in a high-degree of difficulty shot over Brady Koehler and his 7-foot-3 wingspan. It happens. There are five other plays you need to make/don't make to make sure that doesn't happen.

Jack from Rye,NY

10:17

And if ok a second post. Before everyone yells about fouling up 3 in OT, they must consider we were out of big men and had no guarantee of rebounding missed FT. I know this is a sore subject, but students who don’t show up, really should not criticize. I went to ND from 79-83 and never missed a game and there was a 10-19 season in there that was brutal. Check out some of the snowfall totals and cold temps in those years. No excuse!! I just wonder if we are good next year as we hope, will they jump on the bandwagon and show up. Thanks again

Tom Noie

10:17

Jack: We're two hours in and this is the first question/comment that offers some optimism for the future. Congrats on being a much-needed voice of reason to all the doom and gloom. You're right. What we've seen against Boston College and Virginia might be a preview of where this program is headed. It was always going to take time and a ton of patience to sift through the losses and the letdowns to understand exactly what this program can be.

Jack from Rye,NY

10:15

Call me crazy but I think this team has a chance to be very good next year assuming retention of key players namely Markus, Jalen ( he is NOT ready for NBA) Brady and Cole. Regarding retention, are we playing in Players Era tourney in Vegas next year for one million NIL? Will the administration allow non graduate transfers ( as in football) so we can get a 3 and D big man? That would truly make 26-27 team very competitive. Thanks

Tom Noie

10:13

And we reach the most non-sensical question (we hope) portion of the chat. Time for our Inside Baseball segment of how on-line journalism works in 2026 where we definitely are "out of the last millennium." Welcome to our SEO - Search Engine Optimization - world. Studies of how readers search for stories about their favorite basketball teams, be it Notre Dame or Duke or Kansas or UCLA have shown that it's easier for them to find stories about Notre Dame men's basketball or UCLA men's basketball just by the Notre Dame basketball tag. Using the MEN'S designation hurts our readership numbers. Using WOMEN's designation DOES NOT affect our readership numbers. Thus, the distinction. Now back to our regularly scheduled chat...

The REAL ND Basketball

10:08

Why does the Tribune refer to the Men’s team as “Notre Dame Basketball” and the women’s team as “Notre Dame Women’s Basketball?” Either refer to both teams with the gender identifier, or allow the better team (which for a LONG TIME has been ND WOMEN’S basketball) carry the name of “Notre Dame Basketball.” Get out of the last millennium, it’s 2026.

Tom Noie

10:07

Kevin: Unfortunately, the eligibility rules/guidelines of college football, where players CAN participate in the postseason without losing a year do not pertain to college basketball. The minute - really, the second - that Markus Burton steps on the court for a game, he loses the year of eligibility that he would retain by sitting out the rest of the 2025-26 season. Asking Burton to return for however few weeks he would return would be a big ask from a psychological standpoint. Remember, last year, Burton was hurt in a fluke way - guy just fell and landed on his leg. This year, he was hurt making a basketball play. It's going to take time for Burton to come to grips with, OK, if I do the same thing that I did when I was hurt last time, I won't be hurt this time.

Kevin, Lemont

10:03

Does acc tourney count against burton's eligibility? Feb has enough winnable games we could be 9-9 even without him. Would like to see him in march though & would hate to see his season end like Njie's did.

Tom Noie

9:55

Gary: It's more about players being comfortable in their respective roles. They have different games/upside. Koehler may be further advanced from an offensive standpoint, but that doesn't mean Sundra cannot ever be more. Every player's clock is different.

Gary Rivers Mishawaka , In

9:53

One more thought , does Coach see more upside in Koehler than Sundra

Tom Noie

9:53

Rick: No. It's basically February and Tommy Ahneman hasn't reached a point where he can turn it loose in practice. Maybe light shooting drills and movement, but nothing more. Asking him to do more now is unfair. And, really, unrealistic. Best he point to 2026-27, no matter how much it puts Notre Dame behind the length eight-ball.

Rick from Ohio

9:51

Is Tommy Ahneman going to play this year? With the loss of Njie we need all the length we can get

Tom Noie

9:51

Gary: It's been a boost - for both. Garrett Sundra is better suited for a reserve role where he can offer something in short spurts. We saw against Virginia what Brady Koehler can be - 16 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, three steals in 41 minutes. There's something there for both.

Gary Rivers Mishawaka , In

9:48

I do like the lineup change with Koehler starting in place of Sundra. Garrett needs to show more toughness & confidence

Tom Noie

9:48

Gary: Let's first focus on whether Notre Dame will qualify for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Only the top 15 teams in the league will go to Charlotte in March. Finish in the bottom three, and you get an early start on spring break. As of today, the bottom three teams are .... to be determined. There are five teams (Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh) who are all 2-6. Notre Dame has games to go against Florida State, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. That not qualifying for the ACC Tournament is even an option for Notre Dame is ... unsettling.

Gary Rivers Mishawaka , In

9:44

Is there enough toughness in the Irish to make a respectable showing in the ACC Tournament , if they get in ?

Tom Noie

9:44

Tom: Thanks for the note, and for the kind words. We're waiting to see what Jon Sanderson can do in terms of getting some of these guys to at least LOOK like high-major Division I college basketball players. The disparity was even more obvious the other night against Virginia, which started two graduate students and two Euroleague players in its five. Those are guys that Notre Dame is never going to get, but guys it has to play and have success against. That's a tough as.

Tom D., Lansing MI

9:42

Tom, appreciate your consistent excellence covering Notre Dame and your entertaining writing style. ND men's basketball has, for many years, lacked the physicality of league opponents. Even the coaches have commented that it is frequently "men against boys." People I've known working at the scoring table have remarked on the different physical traits of our guys versus the muscle-bound specimens on the other bench. Are we ever going to do something about the disparity? Thanks for commenting.

Tom Noie

9:42

Linas: Whew, there's a lot there. This feels like a football question on the chats a former South Bend Tribune colleague used to host. Love that Braeden Shrewsberry didn't hover around the 3-point line against Boston College and figured out other ways to score. He was 6-of-8 from inside the arc and 4-of-6 from the foul line. That's who he has to be moving forward. Notre Dame has too few guys who can put actual pressure on a defense. As for Micah Shrewsberry having three seasons to instill toughness with guys on his roster, that roster looks very different than his first season, no? When he talks of his roster today, he's talking more of the freshmen/sophomores who are still trying to figure out what being a college basketball player at this level means. And the identity remains the proverbial work in progress. When will we see something substantial? Stay tuned. Whew, I need a nap after that one....but we press on!

Linas from the OC

9:36

Hey Tom, Great work as always. So I was going to rant about Braeden Shrewsberry's lack of development before the 2nd half happened vs. BC. That's what I've been waiting for since Burton got hurt. The offense HAS to run through Harrelson (unstoppable on the low block) and Shrews on the outside (gotta keep shooting that little push shot/floater to keep D honest) and freshmen HAVE to start hitting open threes. Ugh. So many misses in that first half despite good looks. So want to hear your thoughts on Braeden's development. Also, the "grit and grimy" press conference by coach Shrews?? Don't want to pile on but he's had 3 years to at least instill this toughness into his team and not be "soft" on them in practice regardless of talent. Again, what's this team's identity? I still have no idea -- at least with Brey we knew they were going to share the ball, the offense was going to flow and they were not going to foul or turn the ball over much. Thanks.

Tom Noie

9:33

Dave: It would be surprising. I wouldn't go as far as to say stunning, but Sir Mohammed and Jalen Haralson seem to have a big picture understanding that it's about development. That their games are going to take time to grow. They trust the process and trust Micah Shrewsberry. Markus Burton would give up all he's ever known - playing basketball in Saint Joseph County - for the ultimate unknown. Can't see that happening next season. Then again...

Dave

9:32

Tom with the disappointment of this season what are the chances guys like Burton Mohammed Harrelson enter the portal

Tom Noie

9:31

James: I'm not a doctor and didn't spent Wednesday night at a Holiday Inn Express, but if, and that's a massive IF, Markus Burton chose to return for the rest of the 2025-26 season, I would think sometime after the team's second week off (February 15-20). Think a Burton return for the Duke game wouldn't be intriguing? Of course, he may go the opposite direction and choose to sit out the rest of the season and preserve his season of eligibility. More on Markus Burton here: https://tinyurl.com/4sz9983n

James

9:29

When is the earliest Markus Burton could return?

Tom Noie

9:27

Pat: Any postseason appearance for however long would be a massive win - and step - for Notre Dame basketball. They'd take that invite to whatever postseason play and run with it.

Pat H. Springfield, Ill

9:27

If ND wins the games it should win (the other sub-.500 teams), it will finish 9-9 in the conference- good enough to get into the ACC tournament. Absent a conference championship I see the NIT as the postseason. Do you agree? What does an NIT title do for the program?

Tom Noie

9:26

Tim: It's fair to hold on tightly to the post-Cal eruption only if Micah Shrewsberry repeats it somewhere along the line. If he learns from it and is better for it, give him credit. And what coach in any sport actually delivers on his introductory press conference promises?

Tim McTigue

9:24

How much longer does our Coach have?? His performance at the end of the Cal game was truly appalling and embarrassing for the whole ND community. He does not appear to be delivering on the promises that he first stated, when he arrived on campus!

Tom Noie

9:23

Chris: We must have watched two different versions of the same game in person. Those last 18 minutes of the Boston College game, we saw stuff that we'd rarely seen from an offensive standpoint. Those last 18 minutes offered something that's been in short supply the last three seasons - hope.

Chris, DC

9:22

Tom, I was at the BC game ouch. There is no flow to the offense on the team. Pick a stat and the team has regressed. I am concerned we have Micah for 3 more years. I hope I am wrong. So much of coaching is teaching and sorry but Micah is not teaching well. Thanks.

Tom Noie

9:22

Paul: Fair question. This isn't revisionist history or spin control as this season threatens to spiral out of control, but the belief has always been that this was going to be, at minimum a four-year rebuild if all the pieces fell into place and more likely a five-year rebuild. After the program made close to zero progress last season, it was safe to tag an additional year onto the rebuild. The first and second seasons were more about survival than sustained success. This season was supposed to be about sustained success and progress to some extent - then the guy who gets you 19 points a night breaks his ankle. We've seen progress in stops and starts, but success? Maybe next year. Save for some sort of repeat of the post-Cal game incident, it would be foolish to hit the reset button after three seasons. That's not Notre Dame.

Paul R from Clifton park

9:18

It appears we are heading towards a similar or worse conference play that we have had previous years under shrewsberry. Will a 3rd straight poor showing in the ACC be enough for ND to move on and find a new coach? Or is he going to get a 4th year for better or for worse?

Tom Noie

9:17

Mike: All true times 10, but again, we run into the same conundrum about Notre Dame basketball needing an "experienced center." We know that. Notre Dame knows that. Everybody with a pulse that follows the program knows that. Way easier to say than to do. Say you're an "experienced center" which means you're already established in college basketball. That also means you have NBA aspirations. That also means teams far more established and with deeper NIL pockets are going to want you. Why would you choose Notre Dame? For the one year student-athlete experience? Times have changed. Notre Dame hasn't changed with them. That's why it doesn't get the experienced center or can take a flyer on the backup point guard. That's not how that place does its basketball business.

Mike from Fresno

9:14

Tom, seeing the university has allowed Coach Freeman to pick up underclassmen from the portal can I hope that they will let the two basketball coaches do the same? In my opinion the two most important players to have is a point guard and a center. Right now the team has neither. Next year we get Sanderson to back up Burton, who I assume will be coming back, but we really need an experienced center.

Tom Noie

9:13

Mike: You might be the only one of that mindset. The Golden Dome might well implode. Just the thought of that shakes down the thunder...

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