JotCast | Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

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Mason

2:02

That’s a great call. We’re missing that killer instinct across the board (minus Burton for the most part and Allocco and Tae for a game or two). Would love to see Auguste or Mooney for a real post presence to work with Burton. From what you’ve seen of Tommy Ahneman, do you think he’s ready to contribute meaningful minutes next year? Would you prefer we go to the transfer portal?

Tom Noie

2:00

Or too preoccupied with collecting their NIL cash. Jim Larranaga took one look around at his program in this new wilderness of NIL and thought, yeah, no thanks...

Joe from the south side

1:59

Tom, Bill Parcells. Your record is what your record is. Just ask the hurricanes. Apparently Miami’s guys are reading press clippings.

Tom Noie

1:59

Exactly. There's nothing with being a four-year college guy who makes more money that he ever thought possible. Kids have one good year, get someone in their ear and suddenly, everything is out of whack....are you sure he's 5-10? He still gets spooked by size at and around the rim. Markus Burton could live in the gym for the next two years, but it's still not going to compensate for the one aspect of his game he can't improve upon (size)

Joe from the south side

1:57

Tom. That’s why I see no NBA future for Burton. He a 5 foot 10 inch 2 guard. He’ll never get his shot runner in the lane shot in the NBA. His perimeter game is substandard and his ability to run an offense isn’t good enough for the ACC let alone the big league. Sorry but someone needs to level with him.

Tom Noie

1:57

A killer - Bonzie Colson. Ben Hansbrough. Even Matt Farrell would've won those six games that Notre Dame let get away.

Mason

1:56

Hey Tom! Thanks for answering my questions earlier and all your work this year and years past! I have 2 more questions that came to mind. Which player from Notre Dame’s past would you add to this team? And what’s a question you wish was asked that you could answer?

Tom Noie

1:55

Joe: Joke's on you - Miami has a potential NBA guy on its roster in Matthew Cleveland, Nijel Pack was an all-league guy at one point before getting hurt, Lynn Kidd was among the league leaders in field goal percentage at Virginia Tech and Jalil Bethea was a McDonald's All-American.

Joe from the south side

1:53

Tom, I’ll take Miami as the least talented roster in a power conference. That’s the loss that sticks out to me. Inexcusable.

Tom Noie

1:53

And a bit too tricky to try and fill. Markus, we know your usage rate is among the nation's highest this year and you've always been the point guard, but we've got someone else to be the main handler. Not sure that conversation goes over well, or at all.

Joe from the south side

1:52

Tom, recruiting part 2 is a point guard. Even if Burton stays, he can’t facilitate and he’s loose with his handle. With Allocco done and all sort of bigs in the recruiting class, that’s a hole in the roster.

Tom Noie

1:49

Joe: Way to kick a program when it's down, my man!

Joe from the south side

1:49

Tom, fwiw Ament will go to Duke to replace Flagg. Louisville and Kentucky are the fall backs. Nice run at him for Notre Dame but not going to happen.

Tom Noie

1:49

Mike: Don't be fooled by believing Carey Booth would've made a difference. His game had a lot of holes and he believed he was not being used the right way at Notre Dame. That he's buried deep in the rotation at Illinois is telling.

Mike, New Jersey

1:48

Tom i can't help but wonder what this team would look like if Carey Booth was still on the roster. Not to say the Irish would be a tourney contender but his talent and skillset was definitely not replaced in the transfer portal and I find it disappointing.

Tom Noie

1:42

DePaul would like a word. Boston College as well...

Steve Scott

1:42

Is this the least talented Roster of any Power 4 School? I would say talent wise this roster is bottom 40% of all College Basketball

Tom Noie

1:28

It was supposed to be the transfer portal priority last season. Incoming freshman Tommy Ahneman may be your big big man addtiion.

Florida Fan

1:28

Also, do you think getting a Center in the transfer portal should be our biggest priority this offseason? I think we'll have a lot of guard/wing talent with the incoming class, but really missing a big man that can compete at the ACC level.

Tom Noie

1:27

Maybe, but then the head coach needs to be nimble enough to pivot and be like, Oh, we can't do this and this and that, but wait until we do ... this. That's coaching, right? You don't have to be the quickest or the fastest or the tallest. Smarts can also win you some games.

Florida Fan

1:26

Hi, Tom. Thanks for all your work this year and years past. I know there's a lot of talk about our offensive philosophy at the moment. But I'm wondering, do we simply not have the talent to run an NBA-style system? I know Burton can, and there's flashes from Tae, Shrews, and Allocco, but overall it seems we don't have the right guys to read and react the way Coach Shrewsberry wants.

Tom Noie

1:25

James: This seems an Evergreen question for any Notre Dame chat. I usually flip it (and rarely receive a response) by saying this - Notre Dame women's basketball is a blueblood program that can recruit the elite of the elite. If you're elite in the men's game, and have the bluebloods interested in you, what reason do you have to play at Notre Dame? There's your answer.

James from Whiteland, IN

1:23

Tom, with the women's program being so consistently successful, why, in your opinion, can't the men's basketball program seem to be more competitive. I do not expect National Championships, but I do expect to compete for NCAA tournament appearances. The exact same sport, but two totally different outcomes. Frustrating to watch on one side and beyond satisfying with the other.

Tom Noie

1:21

Mark: I saw Jalen Haralson play last Saturday in his final home game at La Lu. In fairness, he was dealing with a quad/hamstring issue and probably shouldn't have played. I left the gym that night, how should I put this, cautiously optimistic that he's just ready for the next basketball challenge.

Mark Kru z from Mishawaka

1:20

Tom have you had the chance to see Jalen Haralson play in person and if so does he have the "wow" factor in his game. I seen another LaLumiere grad put up 41 points in the LaPorte Invitational a few seasons ago and thought he had the IT factor and he turned out to be fool's gold

Tom Noie

1:17

James: We started this chat with me saying that I don't know. We may end it the same way. I don't what the criteria may possibly be for juding whether this is on the right track or completely off the rails. Right now, it's off the rails. Can Micah Shrewsberry get it back on? Does he even know how? We may find out.

James from Whiteland, IN

1:16

Tom, with a new athletic director at Notre Dame, does Coach Shrewsbury have more than just next season to turn around the program? Will he be given a longer timeframe to prove he is the one that can do the job, vs. Jack Swarbrick might only see if there is progress next season? Thank you for answering my question.

Tom Noie

1:15

Mickey: my man....The current group of players will never admit to being anything other than 120 percent prepared to play - and win. Sir Mohammed did feel the need to say, last night in response to one of my questions about the harder they try to turn all of this around, the worse it gets, he doesn't feel it's getting worse at all. I wanted to say to him, Psst., hey, Sir, you were down 34 at home to a team that wasn't even in the ACC last season. Kids!

Mickey, New York

1:14

Good to have a chat with you. I have said to you with the last coach that there doesn’t seem to be THAT guy, the guy when everything is starting to crumble will control the action, use his voice to get everyone aligned, the guy who drops an expletive or 12 to “request” his guys man up. Didn’t have it at the end of Brey, don’t have it now. Shrews can’t be the only voice on their butts. So is there anyone (asst coach, player, SBT writer (I kid)) that can do that?
And have you been able to speak with the players (or people close to them) to get a feel on where their heads are? I realize they have to do the work but man, they look lost out there…and a little scared. Which is a really bad combo.
Hope to see you out east next season or at a football game this fall.

Tom Noie

1:13

Most dynamic player in the game. Not even close. Sorry, Cooper Flagg.

Notre Dame Jill

1:12

Glad we're finally getting some women's comments. I personally feel that Hannah Hidalgo is the best thing to happen to Notre Dame athletics since Rocket Ismail. She's cute, tiny, and a perpetual motion bundle of positive energy. As a sophomore she will be the national player of the year. Best of all she has two more years of eligibility. Someone earlier mentioned that at ND image is everyone. If that is true, ND hit the jackpot with little Hannah!!! What say you, Tom?

Tom Noie

1:12

He was there Wednesday for the SMU game AND in the post-game presser. Coincidence??

Robert from Mishawaka

1:11

One of these days Tom we'll see the men's program back to being a tournament worthy team, and hopefully that's soon. As mentioned, Shrewsbury was hired by Swarbrick, have we seen Pete Bevacqua at many games?

Tom Noie

1:09

Jack Swarbrick had his mind made him, maybe long before he needed to hire a head men's basketball coach that when that time came, he was hiring Micah Shrewsberry.

Jim Tal, Valley Center, CA

1:08

Tom, they aren't gonna pull the plug on Micah at this stage. And even with this year's uninspiring showing, I don't think anyone can say for certain that he's incapable of succeeding at ND. We'll see after next year. But I always thought that it was a rush to judgement to hire him without seriously bringing in and vetting other candidates. I never understood the reasoning behind basically locking in on him so quickly and seemingly not giving other potential coaches a bona fide look without doing a much deeper dive concerning the hire. If ND had done so, maybe someone else might have impressed Jack S. and others enough to think about going in a different direction. Or is my read about this situation a misguided one?

Tom Noie

12:56

That's a lot to put on next season - make it with a heralded freshman class, a core roster that has never known winning and a head coach that hasn't shown he could be a builder/sustainer of success as a head coach. Massive ask, but welcome to college hoops 2025-26!

Andrew from Providence

12:55

I will start by saying I still am a believer in Shrews. The class coming in next year can be special and there’s still some hope. This season however has been an absolute disaster. I’ll give them a pass in the non-conference with MB but in this years ACC to think there’s a very real shot we go 6-14 is highly concerning. This league is depraved of talent this year and Micah has not showed he as a coach can elevate players to compete at the levels necessary to win power basketball games. He definitely gets one more year but it’s make or break next season I think?

Tom Noie

12:52

Robert: Cannot agree more. There hasn't been a time during one men's basketball home game where we see what's happening on the floor during the timeouts and with the in-game "host" that we don't look each other and wonder, what in the world are we doing here? Is it just us old dopes? There's about that presentation that is even close to appealing. Do better Notre Dame? Do away with that, Notre Dame.

Robert from Mishawaka

12:50

I've followed the team since Austin Carr. Obviously, I'm older and the game has had many changes over the years, but the gameday experience is terrible for the crowd that watches the men's program. Yes I was still clapping and yelling encouragement to those players efforts in the 2nd half and not sitting on my hands...lol The in game host is terrible. She acts like it's a kid's party, that's good for the women's games where kids attend. Men's games aren't priced for families, like the women's. The "see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya" comment flew out of mouth last night I rolled my eyes. Do better Notre Dame!

Tom Noie

12:50

Greg: I think it has more to do with someone believing for the longest time that he had most of the answers on the basketball final exam, and then finding out from the guys at the house next door that every answer on the test was wrong. Hope you got my Animal House reference on that one...

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