JotCast | Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

Notre Dame basketball February 2025 chat

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Tom Noie

10:13

JTap: I don't know if Shrewsberry even knows why his rotations look the way they look. I asked him about it one time and he admitted that he doesn't go into games with any real plan. It's more feel. But it's obvious that there are guys who are playing too much and others who aren't playing enough. As long as we're on rotations, there wasn't a day that went by in the offseason that Shrewsberry didn't mention what a perfect fit Burke Chebuhar was in his program. He was a facilitator, he helped everything flow, etc. He's racking up DNP-CDs (did not play, coach's decision). Why?

JTap

10:11

Why do you think a guy like Roper is a mainstay in the lineup but JR has had such an inconsistent role? I’m assuming they think Roper is a good defender (I honestly can’t tell if he is), but with this team’s struggles the ceiling for JR seems so much higher. Ditto for a guy like Sundra who seems to offer very little big-game potential. Coach seems to struggle to identify and develop his talent.

Tom Noie

10:11

Trevor: I said from the start of the search that if you were serious on maximizing Notre Dame basketball, at least for the short term, it had to go and get Rick Pitino. Baggage? Plenty of it, and probably too much for Notre Dame, but if you wanted to win, you would win with Pitino. On that scale of 1 to 10, is (-4) too low? Because that's where we are with this offense, or lack of offense. Lack of anything.

Trevor from Florida

10:09

Last one. Another hypothetical for ya. Who was the coach you were hoping/expecting ND to hire before they hired Shrews?? And 1-10 on how shocked you are for somebody with his resume to not have any kind of real offensive philosophy outside of a high pick and roll/ iso for Tae and Burton.

Tom Noie

10:09

Jake: As long as Micah Shrewsberry is the head coach of Notre Dame, Kebba Njie has an important place in the program. As a starter, as a voice, as a guy who was brought here specifically to spread the Gospel of Shrews. Njie has his shortcomings as a post player, but that's on the staff to realize that and recognize that and find a work around, right?

Jake Miller

10:08

Do you see a future for Njie at ND?

Tom Noie

9:55

Any coach usually can figure a way to maximize their team. Why Shrewsberry hasn't is staggering.

Trevor from Florida

9:55

This is a huge hypothetical so work with me if you can. Obviously Breys roster would never look like this. BUT if it was Brey who inherited this team last year. Do you think we’d be better or worse off.

Tom Noie

9:49

Trevor from Florida

9:48

On a scale of 1-10. How concerned are you that we don’t reach our full potential with the class coming in next year?

Tom Noie

9:48

Jeff: Think they believe they can help turn this around and next year will be better. But will it?

Jeff from Newport News

9:47

A lot has happened since the last chat. They were playing well and the big concern for next year was Burton or Davis transferring. Now that they have been playing so poorly, is there any chance all the incoming freshman don’t come?

Tom Noie

9:47

Trevor: First time, long time? Good tohear from you. As for your question, it's not even close - the lack of any offensive creativity, flow, plan, etc. When it comes to offense, it's only natural to trot out Jon Rothstein quote that he likes to lean into about Micah Shrewsberry - more plays than Broadway. Don't know how many actual Notre Dame games Rothstein has seen in person (maybe one), but those of us who have to watch this game to game roll that quote out and wonder, more plays, when are we going to see some? One? Why hasn't Shrewsberry's supposed offensive genius carried over onto the court? What gets lost in translation?

Trevor from Florida

9:28

First time writing in this year but I’ve been reading your stuff all season long. Appreciate all you do for the program and us fans who follow this thing year in and year out no matter what. Anyways what has shocked you more this season. The lack of creativity/existence of a true offense other than ball screens since shrewsberry said they had worked on offense all off-season. Or the defense being as spotty as it’s been all year. It seems like we lack that same fight as last year plus Shrewsberry makes very little adjustments.

Tom Noie

9:28

Tim: Matt Allocco returned for the SMU game (0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists in 18 minutes off the bench) after missing four games with a right wrist injury. He had the wrist wrapped for a stretch of the second half of the February 1 loss at Miami, then had the wrap removed sometime before missing the three free throws in the closing minute. He had it wrapped again on Wednesday against SMU. As far as the freshmen, that's a spring project to review how their senior seasons went. Jalen Haralson will be playing in the McDonald's All-American game at Barclays Center on April 1.

Tim from Pittsbugh

9:25

What’s up with Matt Allocco they say game day decision but it’s been over 2 weeks since he has played how serious is it and do you expect him back this year? Also how are the incoming freshmen basketball seasons going and are any playing in post season all star games?

Tom Noie

9:12

Greg: I sit here and ponder your question...one positive...one positive...one positive...it's difficult to find one right now after Wednesday. One negative? The inability to close out all those close games. That was a swing of at least six league wins - North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Miami (Fla.) and Floirda State. An 11-4 league record would offer a whole lot more optimism than 5-10.

Greg from Las Vegas

9:10

Besides the obvious, what has surprised you the most about the team and coach Shrewsberry this year- one positive and one negative?

Tom Noie

9:09

Chris: Isn't it kind of luke-warm now? A little toasty? Again, it can't be stressed enough - nobody expected an NCAA Tournament team this year, but what we did expect was progress. There's been little of that, and that's what's going to warm Shrewsberry's seat. Will Markus Burton transfer? In today's transactional world of college athletics, it's possible. Anybody leaving is. With everything going on right now, ticket prices are way down the list of concerns. That's a discussion for another day. The product on the floor first needs to be fixed.

Chris, DC

9:06

Hi Tom, Do you think Micah Shrewsberry will be on the hot seat next year? He needs to quit complaining how difficult the student athletes have it. Do you think Markus Burton will transfer? I also hope they reduce ticket prices, normally items are on sale when not selling!!!

Tom Noie

9:06

Jim G: i wish I had an answer. I wish I could sit here on this snowy Thursday morning in Northern Indiana and say, hey. Wednesday's loss to SMU was indeed rock bottom as Shrewsberry said. I wish I could say, OK, NOW the players are going to get serious about stopping this slide. I wish I could say Pittsburgh is walking into an absolute hornet's nest and will be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wish I could say the worst is behind us and everything is going to be better. I can't say it. Any of it. All of it. No idea where this is all going.

Jim G '77

9:04

I didn't understand hiring Shrewsberry and I sure don't get it now. The team looks lost and he seems incapable of getting them to change. If he wants me to blame him, okay, I will. I'm mad that I don't want to watch them play. What can I expect to change sooner than later?

Tom Noie

9:04

Tom: Because making layups for them right now has been like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube in a dark closet with a barking dog nipping at your heels. That stems from a lack of size and a lack of athleticism and a lack of confidence. How many times have we seen a Notre Dame player miss a layup instead of dunking it? Miss a layup because they see/feel a longer, lankier, more athletic defender closing from the other side? They don't want to attack and miss, so they don't attack. They play it safer.

Tom Nowak

9:01

Why is the team reluctant to attack the basket more?

Tom Noie

9:01

Linas: What is missing is an identity. On offense. On defense. On the bench. On the staff. What is Notre Dame basketball? What can it be? Then carry it over to the court. The pieces don't fit. Markus Burton is a wonderful basketball player, someone who already has accomplished more than many thought when he was a scrawny kid with big deeps down the way at Penn High School. I don't know if, big picture, your best scorer should also be your point guard. Look at the lack of assists. Syracuse, three. Louisville, seven. Burton needs to score for this team to have a chance, but where does that leave the rest of the guys? True that you also need bigs, but you also need to operate as a TEAM. This is a collection of individuals. It just is.

Linas from the OC

8:58

Hi Tom, Thanks for being there for us during this turbulent, topsy turvy season (and we're here for you as well:) So macro big picture question here: In your opinion, what's missing on this team? They have a top three of Shrews, Tae and Burton who are as good as any three in the league but record does not reflect. My two cents? Missing a big, physical presence to do all the dirty work. Njie has been ok as has Roper and his hustle plays, but someone like Mooney, Geben, Harangody, Cooley --someone to make bodies fly around under the basket. Thoughts?

Tom Noie

8:58

Jet: Why wouldn't they be? With each loss, with each bad moment, Micah Shrewsberry and/or his assistants are on the phone to Jalen Haralson (who was at the Louisville game), Tommy Ahneman, Ryder Frost and Brady Koehler and saying, see, we need you here. We need you to come in and give us something right away. We'll be better next year. They may not be solid until this time next year. If it's not working, and Notre Dame isn't winning, that's the time to be concerned. Right now, the incoming recruiting class doesn't know what they don't know.

The Jet from Evansville

8:56

Are next years recruits still solidly committed?

Tom Noie

8:56

That press conference post-Louisville went a direction that no one expected, in part, I believe, to alleviate some of the pressure on the players. Shrewsberry went that same route after the loss to Virginia Tech. Don't blame his guys, blame him. So we did. Then Louisville, same thing. Don't hammer his guys, hammer him. Unfortunately, it came off as a little phony. Chalk it up to someone trying something, anything, to see if it will work. It hasn't.

Guest

8:54

Does Coach Micah Shrewsberry really think that a press conference outburst is appropriate for the circumstances? There are so many ways to answer a question and appropriately behave at a press conference, does he think that his actions which is now the third or fourth time this season is going to fix the issues that plague his program? Like the fact that they are constantly trying to get a shot up every possession with 4 seconds on the shot clock, or that they never get a fast break basket, or for that matter an easy shot up.

Tom Noie

8:54

Steve: Don't discount how the Markus Burton injury has yo-yoed this team's psyche. Burton goes out, Tae Davis and Matt Allocco and Braeden Shrewsberry realize they hav eno choice but to handle more of the heavy lifting. They have to score more and move it more and rebound more and do more. It wasn't always pretty, but each of the three looked like they'd settled in. Then Burton returns and the ball is back in his hands the other guys are like, OK, now what? The dynamic has been all over the place. You do it. No, you do it. Nah, I'll do it. It's gone from a team that plays hard but with no confidence to a team that has maybe too much confidence, yeah, we've got this, but doesn't play hard. That first half Wednesday was about as bad as it's ever been in my 27 seasons.

Steve Bender

8:51

Before the holidays and Burton injury the lineup and play was consistently successful. Why haven't we seen this since Burton's return. The team plays hard but does not seem to have any confidence.

Tom Noie

8:51

Pat: Great call. Last year's team was built on defense. The Irish were so offensively challenged, taht the only way - the ONLY way - they had a chance was to grind out games in the 70s and the 60s and sometimes the 50s. That was what worked best. This year, it was supposed to be all about the offense, to the point that Micah Shrewsberry indicated on multiple occasions in the offseason that the Irish hadn't even bothered to work on defense. It was get up and down the floor and move and cut and pass and score. Where has that been? There's been no offensive "system." It's give Markus Burton the ball or Tae Davis the ball and put them in a ball screen and let them cook. You watched the Louisville game, right? What was most impressive about the Cardinals that night? When you watched them run offense, they had a look and a feel and a swagger of knowing exactly when and where and why all five players would be. It was amazing to see, and little disheartening because this Irish offense continues to be offensive.

Pat H., Springfield Ill

8:47

I have seen the Va. Tech and Louisville games. In both there has been too much dribbling and passing on the perimeter, no in and out with the ball. Am I correct in assuming that this has been a constant this season? Moreover, when down double digits with less than five minutes left- as Sunday- why not sub in those who haven’t played much, especially since the first of the year?

Tom Noie

8:47

Matthew: Great way to start. And fair. All of it. Notre Dame was better last year - at least in tersm of its fight and its compete level. They knew they had to defend and rebound and dig in and compete for 40 minutes or the results would be ... like they were last night. Is this going to work? Is Micah Shrewsberry in over his head? First, I can't believe we're having that discussion less than two years in. Second, I don't know, and that's the greatest concern. It's not about the lack of wins or all the losses or the inability to close out games that are there to close out. The biggest issue is that there is zero identity. Last year. it was defense and grit and grind. What has it become this year? Who are these guys? Who is this coach? I. Don't. Know.

Matthew from Aldie, VA

8:43

Tom, this isn’t going according to plan. ND conducted a nationwide search and “got their man,” paid Coach Shrews a high salary and had high hopes. I don’t see a well-coached team, I see an odd rotation, confusion in late-game situations, and a lack of set plays and discipline. Are we any better than last year? Meanwhile, other teams can hire a coach and win right away (Dusty May at Michigan and Pat Kelsey at Louisville come to mind). But ND fans have to show patience for a 3- or 4-year rebuild? I’m starting to wonder if this is gonna work. What say you? Thanks for these chats to keep us sane!

Tom Noie

7:16

Welcome back, I think. Well, this college basketball season hasn't gone anywhere near what was expected of Notre Dame. Did we expect the irish to be ranked in the Top 25? Expect them to be chasing one of four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament byes? No. Get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021-22? No. But we didn't expect to see this, and this being what a select few were forced to witness Wednesday in a lopsided loss to SMU. No energy. Little effort. Sure, Notre Dame scored 48 points in the second half, but it sure looked like the Irish had given up in the first, where it trailed (at home) 25-5. You have to have questions. You have to have answers. Leave your name and hometown with any question or comment. You know the rest. Let's light this chat candle...

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