JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - March 2026 | 3/26/2026

Notre Dame basketball chat - March 2026

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Tom Noie

2:12

All right, that will do it for today. We muddled through. Hope this helps. It's not going to get fixed overnight, but stay tuned. We'll circle back around next month after the portal, when we'll have a better idea of what the roster will look like. Have a great rest of the week!

2:10

Totally agree. The dislike for Shrewsberry clearly clouds people's opinions. And here's what happens when you hire a mid-major coach or rising high-level assistant. They're so happy to be at Notre Dame, they'll agree to just about everything. And anything. We're not going to have as much NIL? FIne No many transfer portal options? OK. I'm just so happy to have the job, I'll make it work. Notre Dame (really any high-level program) will low-ball the new guy, who doesn't know any better. A veteran who would win and win right away would see through that, and say, nope, we need this and this and that. Notre Dame wouldn't know what to do with someone like that (Rick Pitino) which is why it would never go that route. Fire the Coach, a solution as old as time, and about as effective...

cool

1

ArnazBattleCry

2:07

What I think some are failing to understand just because they hate Shrewsberry. If you did move on, it would be very, very difficult to line anything up with anyone good these days with just words about increased NIL/financial support. You are going to have to show it is something you are willing to do.

If you were a hot up-and-coming mid-major coach or a fast-rising assistant at a major program, would you be more likely to go to the school that already has made actions to have its house in-order or to the school that says it will start once you take the job?

cool

1

Tom Noie

2:06

Not a big "fan" of anybody but anytime the Dodgers are on TV or in town. I'm there. Gonna be tough to beat them. Baseball season already...

Frank from THE BEND

2:06

Okay Tom it's opening day for baseball. Who do you follow, and who do you have winning the world series?

Tom Noie

2:04

Bring a friend....or 10!

Frank from THE BEND

2:04

Roster management should be really interesting for Coach Shrewsbury moving forward after these departures. Can't wait for my phone call from Notre Dame's ticket agent wanting my Club Naimoli renewal for 26-27. They better be offering a discount. lol

Tom Noie

2:02

Justin: It's a struggle to get them through admissions. Some of the Europeans coming over to play in college have also played professionally in EuroLeague. That doesn't sit well with the academics over here

Justin - Franklin, TN

2:02

Thanks for all the time today - pretty cathartic - last one: Is there any chance Notre Dame would bring in any European players? It has worked great at Illinois and it worked well at UVA this year. I definitely understand those guys were probably expensive, but I am not even sure it can be an option here.

Tom Noie

2:01

Bruce Springsteen, because every journalist has to say that!

Chris K

2:00

last from me.... also positive......if ND called you today and said you can pick the next concert in the stadium who are you picking and why?

Tom Noie

1:53

Robert: There will be many 0000000 attached to those figures.

Robert from Mishawaka

1:52

You've commented on what Frost believes he's worth, and what Braeden Shrewsbury would be worth if he were to play elsewhere. I agree that if Shrewsbury were to enter the portal, he would get paid. Notre Dame is getting is getting him cheap because he is playing for his father. I'll be curious what these players will be paid when they sign with their next school.

Tom Noie

1:45

Chris: I reserve the right to not answer. Too many to mention. I leave one guy out, I'll hear about it. Maybe in the book. One day. Five best, five not so best. Not sure there are five bad ones. There are a few. They know who they are...

love

1

Chris K

1:43

also positive..... who is your favorite 5 players in your time on the beat. Doesn't have to be the best but your favorites

Tom Noie

1:41

Not sure he cares all that much. Doesn't understand the transfer portal. Or NIL. Or why Notre Dame doesn't play UCLA any more.

Saint knute, sbn

1:41

Just have to wonder what digger's thoughts are on this mess... Watching the program he built being slowly destroyed. He left the Duke game at the halftime break. I have never seen him do that before. I know it's a different era but still has to be painful.

Tom Noie

1:38

This...

Chris K

1:38

ok on a positive note..... At least Sanderson will be fun to watch next year.... right?

Tom Noie

1:38

Frank: Let's go. Move back to the Big East. Rekindle some of those I-95 recruiting areas and rivalries and get back to Madison Square Garden. Maybe when the ACC implodes, that will be an option.

Frank from THE EBND

1:37

Notre Dame in the ACC just makes no sense to me. Over the last 10 years the only time Purcell has been packed is for Duke or North Carolina. Has Notre Dame considered moving back to the Big East where football can stay independent, and basketball could renew rivalries again. Wake Forest and Clemson don't move the needle...

Tom Noie

1:37

John: Not sure what they're doing now and what they're hoping to do is sustainable. Something has to give, right?

John

1:37

By not adequately funding men’s basketball, it seems Notre Dame is almost self imposing a death sentence on the program similar to what it did in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s by not joining a conference. Eventually, they gave in then. Will they do it again?

Tom Noie

1:36

James: It's everything. All encompassing. There's no specific reason or explanation that if you just fix this, you fix everything. It's money and commitment and care and apathy and coaching and player development. Everything.

James from Whiteland, IN

1:35

Tom, I just do not understand why Notre Dame's administration cannot see the benefits of combining a winning basketball program with the success other sports have on campus. In your opinion, is it the expense of the program or the philosophy that is behind the expense, meaning one and done, constant player negotiations, money-focused players, etc.

Tom Noie

1:34

Viejas Arena. The coolest place ever. Another of my great memories. Covering Notre Dame and Rutgers in Dayton, Ohio, finishing at 1 a.m., landing in San Diego at 10 a.m. PST. Love that arena. Paul Atkinson would ask for (and receive) $3 million.

San Diego Mike

1:33

I was at the San Diego 2nd round games this past Sunday.. had me thinking back to 2022 and what could have been.. was the last time I had fun. How much do you think someone like Paul Atkinson would go for as a grad transfer in 2026?

Tom Noie

1:31

All of it. He owns it. He knows it. He also knows it's beyond time to win.

Hank - Chicago, IL

1:31

I appreciate all the time today - one more before I have to dip out back to the day job: Shrewsberry seems like a prideful guy - do you sense he is embarrassed at all?

Tom Noie

1:30

Mike: Tanking....Notre Dame on Line One. Not seeing it. Can't see it.

San Diego Mike

1:30

Level with me for a second, do you think there "could" be any merit to this thought process from administration / AD: ND is a full member of ACC for all sports except 1 (aka split revenue with all ACC schools) - meaning they dont have as much incentive to put out a good product because of the rev share; they are independent in 1 sport - meaning they keep all that cash and have way more incentive to invest all their money there... am I way off here? Also because of their fractured relationship w ACC I could see them being like F U were now investing all of our money in our independence to water down the ACC in sports we are full members... what say you? And yes I am a conspiracy guy

Tom Noie

1:29

Laid an egg...Happy Easter!

East Coast Matt

1:28

this was just such a pivotal season to show progress for so many reasons, and Shrews laid an egg.

Tom Noie

1:27

James: It's hard to say, and hard to see. What does next season's roster look like? What will it look like the year after that? It's really a year to year proposition. Don't blink, or everything will change.

James from Whiteland, IN

1:26

Tom, in your opinion, if Notre Dame's administration feels the way it does about how the basketball program should operate vs. the reality how major college basketball is run in 2026, will Notre Dame basketball be anything more than an 11-to-13 win program? Thank you for answering my question.

Tom Noie

1:24

Hank: Honestly, I don't know. I don't know him well enough to know what matters. He seems like a good guy, and someone who would be open to discussion on just about anything. But the interactions have been so few and far between that it's still a closed book. It needs to be open.

Hank - Chicago, IL

1:23

Does Pete Bevacqua have no competitive fire? Is he just a television executive that is too corporate to really care? If the football team does not win a title and Freeman leaves for the NFL - what really does he have? A lacrosse program that has been great for years? A women's basketball program that has been very good-to-great since the late 1990s? What is he building? Does he even care?

Tom Noie

1:23

Hank: One won't do, but if it had to be one, it would be, what is it that you see and why should anyone care about Notre Dame men's basketball? Gotta go with the multi-question question.

Hank - Chicago, IL

1:22

If you could ask Pete Bevacqua one question about the state of the program, what would be the gist of it?

Tom Noie

1:22

It's hard to really understand what his role is. He's more of a guide of how potential recruits may fit from a financial standpoint and from an academic standpoint. Then how to budget the appropriate funds for the coming season. He has zero say on the day day doings in terms of practice, prep, scouting, etc. He's not a coach. He's more behind the scenes. And to add another hat, he's the program administrator for men's basketball, which means he's doing the work of three people. Don't know when - or if - the dude even sleeps.

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