JotCast | Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

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Tom Noie

10:57

Steve: You start to wonder if these are entire systematic issues. Like, this head coach and this staff had one vision of how they were going to build it and develop it at Notre Dame, and then Notre Dame has its say and is like, that's not what we do here. OK, now what? That a consistent fourth scorer hasn't emerged means these roster puzzles pieces don't fit.

Steve Duff - Schererville

10:56

Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in Tom. This team is just … funky. Burton does his thing, Davis is developing and when Little Shrews gets on a heater look out. But that’s it - literally. Is it a problem of the program not developing the other guys? Or did the staff overestimate their level of talent? They all seem like great kids but the level of production - or lack thereof - is incredible. Is this on Coach and his staff or the players? Keep doing your thing Tom - I enjoy reading your views.

Tom Noie

10:55

Matthew: Not at all, because what thought crossed your mind at some point during the SMU game? I wonder what Micah's presser will be like. Not from a blowup standpoint, but what direction will he take after this loss? After Louisville, it was the madman approach. Didn't work. After SMU, it was the apologetic approach. Will it work? If it doesn't, what's next? As some dope in the SBT opined earlier this week, when the pressers become more interesting than the product on the floor, that's not right. Micah Shrewsberry and press conferences has been like Notre Dame and close league games. A lot of Ls....

Matthew from Aldie, VA

10:52

Tom, are you tired of the Shrewsberry histrionics yet, or do you think it's all still serving a useful purpose? He's gone to that well a lot, making vows that we'll all see what a winner he is, that he'll avoid the first day of the ACC tourney, that he'll be moving up the standings, etc. and so far all the tough talk hasn't panned out. Winning the presser only gets you so far, and actually increases the microscope on your program.

Tom Noie

10:52

Carey Booth is not the reason, maybe not among the Top 10 reasons, why Notre Dame is where it is. Carey Booth "played great?" Are you his brother? His NIL agent? Carey Booth barely plays at Illinois. So much for great.

Guest

10:51

I think the problem with this team is there not talented enough they lost Carey booth he played great in notre dame system he brought a stench big man plus shot blocking which they don’t have

Tom Noie

10:51

Dave: Can't see it. Coaches believe going into every game that they're going to win that game. They'll figure a way out. Start the three freshmen, that's a signal that you don't believe in putting your best product on the floor. Can't see someone wired like Micah Shrewsberry is wired going that route.

Dave from Alpha, NJ

10:50

Since ND will be an underdog in every remaining game, I think it’s time to let three of the freshmen play with Davis and Burton and see what happens… Have nothing to lose and a future to build.

Tom Noie

10:50

Billy Mc: Hard to argue after watching that first half against SMU. That's about as close to quitting as quitting gets. At this point, with all that team has been through, I don't know if even they know how to fix this.

Billy Mc

10:49

Tom - Coach Shrewsberry seems to talk a lot about fans “giving up” on the team, but he never seems to address the fact that fans are upset because the team doesn’t appear to be giving maximum effort at times. Do you think he believes that his team is playing as hard as last year?

Tom Noie

10:48

Jake: Are we sure we've seen J.R. Konieczny's ceiling as a college basketball player here? Has he? That said, it might be best if everyone involved starts fresh.

Jake

10:48

Think it’s possible JR Konieczny transfers out? He appears to have hit his ceiling here.

Tom Noie

10:48

Laura: Coaching, player development, player want-to. It's a little of everything. Louisville and Notre Dame go about college basketball in a different way, but the blueprint is the same - figure out what best works for where you're at and build it that way. Pat Kelsey figured it out fast what it would take to be competitive sooner than later. Micah Shrewsberry is still figuring it out. In this league, that's going to get you down 25-5 at home like against SMU. You better have a plan and you better implement it fast and you better keep evolving. Otherwise, you're in trouble.

Laura Kelly

10:45

What explains the dearth of talent on this team? Why was Schrewsbury so absent in last year’s portal? Pat Kelsey took over a 4 win Louisville team and in his first year has won 20 games. Louisville had 5 players in double digits Sunday night. Notre Dame had Roper who played 29 min score 0 points.Another 6 players scored a total of 6 points .(Njie, Konieczny, Sundra, Imes, Certa and Roper)

Tom Noie

10:45

Mason: We're not done with this year yet. Let's see what these final five games look like, what this team looks like.

Mason

10:44

Do you think Notre Dame has to make the tournament next year for Coach Shrewsberry to keep his job?

Tom Noie

10:44

Mason: If anything, there's too much urgency in the locker room, where panic is the operative word. We've reached a point of no return. The head coach and the players have promised that what happened against SMU won't happen again. Are we 900 percent positive that that will be the case? Are we? The transfer portal isn't as much of an option as you hope/want/believe it to be. Look at the transfers that Shrewsberry brought in his first two years. Not exactly high-level guys.

Mason

10:42

Is there a growing sense of urgency in the locker room and do you think this leads to Coach Shrewsberry being more active in the transfer portal?

Tom Noie

10:42

Nyon: You and me both in terms of the old thing and the fact that your head is all screwed up. Right there with you. That we're sitting here less than two years after Micah Shrewsberry was hired even contemplating much of what this chat has been is nothing short of surreal. It feels like fantasyland.

Nyonalake1

10:41

Got mixed fillings. One thing tells me play the young guys and get them ready for next year. Then i think maybe the older guys will come around. Don't know if it is Micah's fault or just the players are not that good. I live one hour from the gym and am 78 years old and still only missed two game all year so I would think the students could walk over to the gym for two hours. Don't even know where to start to change things. This team has my head all screwed up. Guess will just have to wait till next year and see what happens. I am getting too old to wait much longer.

Tom Noie

10:41

Mike: Same answer as to the possibility of landing a difference maker in the transfer portal. Slim and none. If those incoming freshmen are as good as adverstised, and you have to win and win big, they're playing right away.

Mike from Rochester NY

10:40

Is there any hope for the current freshman class to become meaningful contributors next year?

Tom Noie

10:40

Mike: It does and they have. I'll give Sir Mohammed a little more slack this season because of his injury, but this freshman class was nowhere near college ready when they arrived. At least one of them had to be. Cole Certa looks no closer to showing what he can do now than when he arrived. We've seen flashes in Garrett Sundra, who wasn't supposed to play at all. Last year's freshman class? Meh. Can't be meh at this level. Meh gets you to 5-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mike from Rochester NY

10:38

It seems that the plan is squarely focused on HS recruiting, which means that ND needs to be on point with evaluation and development . Does it seem like ND is falling short in this regard because it sure seems that way from where I'm sitting?

Tom Noie

10:38

Mike: Absolutely there's a chance - slim and none. It's not going to happen. If you're a difference maker in college basketball, why would you bypass a blueblood for Notre Dame? What's the incentive in doing so? Notre Dame has to do it a different way.

Mike from Rochester NY

10:37

Is there any chance that ND will take a more targeted approach in the portal to land one difference maker rather than spreading its NIL budget on three guys who can't play in the ACC?

Tom Noie

10:37

Jim: Easy answer. Elite or close to elite portal players in women's basketball probably have Notre Dame among their top two or three or four choices. Elite portal players in men's basketball? Notre Dame is not on their radars. No player the caliber of player the women's program can get is giving Notre Dame men the time of day. They have better options.

Jim

10:35

I know, apples and oranges, but the women’s team was able to bring in two impact players from the portal, and I believe you indicated the administration told Shrew the portal wasn’t the way to go (even though he has brought in some graduate and undergraduates). Does Coach Ivey have more leeway? If so, why? The men’s team needs better players!! Thanks.

Tom Noie

10:35

Joe: I genuinely felt sorry for those guys watching the SMU game. It was clear really early that SMU was the superior team, one that was on its game and on a mission to bury an inferior opponent. Shrewsberry alluded to it afterward that he may have spent too much time (he did) on offense this offseason. He completely abandoned what kept Notre Dame competitive last season - defense. The rotation situation was mentioned earlier. If it looks like he's grasping at straws, he is.

joe from the south side

10:33

Tom, Many many issues with this team. Hell, I could write 3 or 4 columns for you just describing the problems on the court. But 2 stick out. Last year, as bad as they were, they at least grinded to where, OK, maybe they can win ugly. They've completely abandoned that DEF philosophy and effort. The other is 25 games into the season and Shrews is grasping at straws hoping for any combination that will provide a spark. I mean anything. That is the surest sign of desperation. Sadly, he's done the one thing that only John Macleod has done in the last 30 years. I'm almost apathetic to their plight.

Tom Noie

10:32

Joe: That was as upset as we've ever seen Micah Shrewsberry, right? Why not come into the post-game presser breathing fire in that way? Why sit and take questions (and answer them) before deciding, yeah, I'm going off the deep end on this. You could almost see the wheels turning as he sat there - like, I've got to say something or be someone after this loss. I'll do this. He stormed out of the room and in the time it took for him to walk around the concourse to the tunnel nearest the Irish locker room, he was back smiling and shaking hands and being happy Micah. If he's truly that pissed (as much as played it off as), isn't he going straight to his office at Rolfs and seething? Instead it was a flip of a switch. Felt staged. Phony.

joe from the south side

10:30

Tom, You questioned the sincerity of his outburst. What made you say that? Certainly, he's shown that side before when in year one he went on a tirade about players who didn't want to be at ND.

Tom Noie

10:30

Joe: Next year HAS to be an NCAA Tournament year, but that's going to be really hard. That's what too few people don't understand. Just because you have talent coming next year doesn't guarantee you success. Look at Rutgers this season. It may have two of the top four or five picks in the NBA draft. Rutgers isn't an NCAA Tournament team. It's OK for Irish fans and followers to say, wait until next year. That will be our year. That's an awful big hill to climb. If it doesn't happen, and we see the same issues we're seeing now, it will be time to talk. It may already be time to talk. You can't launch a coach after only two years, but if it's worse than anyone can fathom, everything might be in play. Still cannot believe we're back here already.

joe from the south side

10:26

Tom, At what point do you pull the plug on this? Look, he's coming back next year. Even ND can't be stupid enough to jeopardize that recruiting class. But is 15-15 enough to get to Year 4? In your opinion, he was Swarbrick's hire. Does he have staying power with Bevacqua?

Tom Noie

10:26

Myriad reasons. Lack of trust. Lack of leaders. Lack of a plan. Lack of one guy just looking at everyone and saying, I've got this. Maybe lack of a play call/positivity in the huddle of the head coach say, we're going to run X and we're going to score. Go win the game. Eventually, after the North Carolina game or the North Carolina State game or the Miami game, it gets to be a psychological hurdle that bad teams simple cannot clear.

Guest

10:25

Irish have choked down the stretch in games. Nobody seems to rise up and lead this team? Why is that? Good teams seem to be on the same page.

Tom Noie

10:25

Joseph: Great observation. If there's a flowchat of concerns about where this is all headed, that coaching characteristic of Micah Shrewsberry might be No. 1. Or 1A. Basketball should be a read and react and instinct kind of game. Your working knowledge of what you should do and when you should do it and how you should do it should come naturally. You shouldn't have to have a coach over on the sideline bark at you to come set a screen or slip a screen or get to a certain spot on the floor at a certain time. All of that should be done on the practice court, so players rep it again and again and again so everything about what you hope to do in a game becomes second nature. Becomes ... instinctive. The constant micro-managing of every single detail has forced the details to be lost in the message. It's not the best way to play. Let players breathe. React. Play.

joseph.bogucki

10:21

Why does coach Shrewsberry keep micromanaging every time the team comes down the court? He's constantly pointing and directing players which only seems to add to their confusion. In the second half of the Louisville game, coming out of a timeout, the team had no idea what they were supposed to do. He was pointing and moving all over the court. Didn't they talk about what they were going to do during the timeout.

Tom Noie

10:14

Dennis: Easiest answer of the day. Short. To the point. No.

Dennis Huyvaert Osceola,IN

10:13

Okay Tom , I want you to look two years into the future . Will Markus Burton ever play in a NCAA tournament game for Notre Dame ? I have my doubts .

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