JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - March 2026

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Greg

12:31

What is the expectation for Gan-Erdene Solongo next year?

Tom Noie

12:31

Justin: Sort of. More of hey, I loved coaching you and wish that relationship could continue, but you have an opportunity to go make some serious money. Take it.

Justin - Franklin, TN

12:31

I take it there is no bad blood between Shrewsberry/staff and Burton, Certa, Haralson - it is more a "thank you for everything, go get paid and be great at a spot that values it?"

Tom Noie

12:31

Justin: Another reason why he needed a veteran voice of reason, on and off the floor, to say, yeah, maybe we should do it this way, instead.

Justin - Franklin, TN

12:30

It is weird - I think Micah Shrewsberry has mostly done a poor job, but I also feel bad for him.

Tom Noie

12:30

Connor: An admission that, yeah, we tried to do it the way we did it five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago but that doesn't work. We've going to do everything we can to get this program back to where it should be. Where it needs to be.

Connor - Dallas, TX

12:29

Tom, I was a student during the twilight of the Brey era (‘15-‘19). It seems like we’re unwilling to spend what’s necessary get a team even half as good as the bubble team that got sent to the NIT, at least at the moment. What’ll it take for the university to open its checkbook for basketball players? Is that…even realistically possible under Bevacqua, as long as the golden goose (football) is doing well enough? He’s said with his actions that football is all that matters, at least to this point.

Tom Noie

12:25

Hank: That was the plan. Those plans have gone up in smoke.

Hank - Chicago, IL

12:24

Micah Shrewsberry has to be very, very frustrated. Is that an appropriate way to describe it? I understand a portion of this is on him and things should not have completely cratered, but there had to have been a part of him that thought, "Man, we get Burton back and another year with Haralson plus Certa, Braeden, and Koehler will have another offseason to get stronger/faster - 2026-27 could be proof of concept," and it has to be completely aggravating that the support the program is given turned that all into fantasy land.

Tom Noie

12:24

Clint: Nine-hundred percent. Somebody over at Notre Dame needed to sit down with Micah Shrewsberry the minute he walked in the door in 2023 for a brutally honest conversation. This fan base can be kind of fickle, so you're probably going to have to do some goodwill stuff to drum up interest that you may not want to do. Do it, and it may pay off. Shrewsberry never did that, then the post-game Louisville 2025 rant happened and the fan base was out. That door's long closed. He ain't walking through it again...of all the missteps of his tenure, that might be near the top. He needed to show that he was more than just a basketball coach. It worked for Brey. Worked like you'd never believe.

Clint from Winnipeg

12:21

Say what you want about Digger and Brey, but they enthusiastically promoted the program, to the students and otherwise. The current head coach is nearly as far into the witness protection program as the new AD. Agree?

Tom Noie

12:20

Shaking out the couch cushions now....not really,

IRISH FAN 1

12:20

It seems like it would take an outside someone/group with huge pockets, that doesn't care about the return as much as the pride in winning. An example (albeit from the Women's game) is TCU, they ranked 10th! in BIG 12 attendance, no one actually gave a sh*t - and somehow they look to have spent more than ND's men's team. Know anyone to ask? haha

Tom Noie

12:20

Mike: None.

Mike from Libertyille, IL

12:20

I apologize if you answered this already, I'm just getting in here. Was there any conversations or interest at all between Butler and Micah?

Tom Noie

12:19

John: I've been a called a lot of names, some of them today, but never an actor. I'm not "acting" like anything. I'm simply outlining what it takes in 2026 and beyond to compete in college basketball. You want to be .500 in the ACC? That takes a good coach, yes, yes, yes, 1,000 times yes, but it also takes a whole lot of other factors that seem to get lost in the shuffle of Micah Shrewsberry Stinks. Coaching is only a small part of why Notre Dame is where it is.

John from NC

12:17

Is it really too much to ask not to be bottom 3 in a weak ACC and instead be .500 in conference play? We aren’t asking to be a sweet 16 team every year. You’re acting like we are expecting them to field a contender every year. It’s not a big ask to find a competent coach and roster that can overachieve a bit. It’s a disgrace what Micah has done in year 3

Tom Noie

12:17

Mike: It's way too early to even guess at next year, except to say that it will be Notre Dame, Boston College and Georgia Tech near the bottom, just like this year. Coaching matters and I cannot stress that enough. Know what else does? Money.

Mike from Libertyille, IL

12:16

Tom, thanks for your coverage as always. With the guys leaving and basically being back to a roster that looked like year 1. What can we honestly expect next season? ACC Tourney 12-15 seed? Could they seriously miss the ACC Tourney again? Would that be the end of Micah if they did miss?

Tom Noie

12:15

Cal: It's not hard, true. It's also true that Notre Dame has more money than God (you should see HIS NIL). It shouldn't have to go hat in hand to donors to fund, well, anything. Foot the bill for a year, demand a baseline set of results and if those aren't met, have those hard conversations.

Cal from MA

12:14

It’s even bigger challenge to pony up funds for MBB given Shrews performance. That’s the reality. If he had shown the ability to get more out of the roster, manufacture a couple of good wins per season, and at least get to the middle of the ACc, that’s a much easier story to sell to boosters to plow a lot more $$$ into it. That’s why this is a tougher situation. This isn’t hard, Tom.

Tom Noie

12:13

Clint: It will be in the book.

Clint from Winnipeg

12:13

Has anyone asked Jordan Cornette what he thinks about this mess? I remember him advocating heavily with Jack Swarbrick to hire the current head coach.

Tom Noie

12:13

Clint: It's still all Mike Brey's fault. Guess who' the first to say that? Mike Brey.

Clint from Winnipeg

12:12

Remember when everyone wanted to get rid of Brey? I bet they'd take him back in a heartbeat now.

Tom Noie

12:02

Trevor: Listen more and post less. Please. The going rate for a shooting guard who does what Shrewsberry does is $1.2 million. Think your posting privileges are about done. Have a nice day.

Trevor from IN

12:01

Wait you think Braden would get $1.2M on the open market? Please just stop lol

Tom Noie

12:01

Mike: He better do it and do it at a high level. He's more of a pure point guard than Markus Burton was when he arrived, so the learning curve should be further along. Toughest part about this is that Burton was just figuring out how to balance being a scoring guard and a facilitator. Now he'll go and do that somewhere else.

San Diego Mike

12:00

Do you suspect Sanderson will be able to contribute right away? Obviously now he will have to, but at what level can he do it right away?

Tom Noie

12:00

IF: Point guards, wings and centers, Notre Dame is on Line One. If you want to play, and get paid peanuts (relatively speaking), come on down.

Illinois Fool

11:59

Thanks for hosting this chat even if it's become such a vent session. With the players leaving, what position will be the most important to fill. My choice would be a true point guard?

Tom Noie

11:59

Mason: There is no "match" issue. Nobody's playing one side against the other. Right now, the returning players would be Tommy Ahneman, Luke Devine, Logan Imes, Brady Koehler, Braeden Shrewsberry and Brady Stevens.

Mason

11:58

Who are the players expected to be back next season besides Braeden and Ahneman? It sounds like everyone else is leaving or already have a big offer waiting for them. Are some still waiting to see if ND will match?

Tom Noie

11:58

Hank: A voice of reason emerges. Thank you. Which leads us to this - say Notre Dame moves off Micah Shrewsberry. it decides to open the purse strings. It will pay. It will be a player. What coach looks at that and says, wait, you gave a coach with a total rebuild, with injuries to key guys (not an excuse in any way, shape or form, but valid) only THREE SEASONS??? it might take three years to get this running. Why should I take this job?

Hank - Chicago, IL

11:56

I very much agree with you that this is an everything problem, but I think what the "FIRE SHREWBERRY NOW" people do not understand is that any good coach with options will not take the Notre Dame job right now. You would likely be stuck with a young guy who is in over his head or a retread who is available for a reason.

Tom Noie

11:56

Bob: The lines of communication were clear - if Garrett Sundra wanted to return to Notre Dame, he would have to return at a discount rate. That wasn't an option for him. It's hard to put any sort of dollar figure on him given his showing last season. Not ideal.

Bob from Chicago

11:54

Tom, do you know how much Sundra is expecting to be paid? Like Frost, do you think he's expecting too much? I thought he played well as a backup big. Maybe he's expecting to be a starting wing. Thanks

Tom Noie

11:54

Hank: Wait, Notre Dame didn't make the College Football Playoff? When did that happen? Has to Micah Shrewsberry's fault, too

Hank - Chicago, IL

11:54

Just noting that all fans know of Pete Bevacqua is the three-day temper tantrum over Notre Dame not making the CFP while seemingly being obsessed with making sure there is a 16-team playoff.

Tom Noie

11:53

Myles: Let's just say the coaching staff wasn't that worked up when Sir Mohammed and Garrett Sundra made their plans known. Sometimes a restart elsewhere is needed from both sides. It was needed in both cases.

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