JotCast | Notre Dame basketball - January 2026 chat

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Tom Noie

10:13

Jim: Your view/opinion of the Notre Dame men's team may be a bit skewed by recency bias and how it let that Cal win get away. Notre Dame won seven league games in Micah Shrewsberry's first season. It won eight league games in Micah Shrewsberry's second year. This team is more talented, more experienced, more understanding of what it takes in the league this year than the previous wo. At the LEAST, it could and should win 10 league games. That would be the progress we point to. Go back to the first answer in the chat where I outlined all that Notre Dame HAS done heading into its home league opener. Who wouldn't have signed up for that? How about ...everybody. Four of the next six are at home. Arrow should definitely be pointing up...

Jim from Virginia

10:10

Happy New Year Tom! The new year did not start off well for either the men's or women's basketball programs. I do not see how the men can get to 10 ACC wins with their remaining schedule. I see some improvement from last year, although Shrewsberry's substitution "pattern" still bewilders me, but not enough to get to 10 ACC wins. I see hope for the future, particularly if Haralson sticks around, but Shrewsberry needs to continue to improve as a coach. The women are what they are. If I see one more "ravaged by injuries" phrase with regards to the women, my head will explode. The ravage is one player, KK Bransford. Nobody thought Leah Macey would contribute this year. Ivey came into the season with seven players she was willing to use, so getting through the season with only one key injury will be a miracle. What is your take on the men's and women's programs at this point in the season? Arrow up or down or going sideways? Thanks, as always, for this chat and your insights.

Dan - Chicago

10:10

I can't remember a player who consistently plays his role to perfection as much as Carson Towt does. One of the smartest players I have seen in a long time.

Tom Noie

10:10

Chris: None of this is personal with Garrett Sundra, who seems like a fine fella and the kind of kid that fits Notre Dame, but if you're going to be a starting power forward at the Atlantic Coast Conference level, you need to find a way to offer way more than 4.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 19.8 minutes. Sundra is shooting .436 percent from the field, .344 from 3 and .400 from the foul line. None of those numbers are starter-acceptable numbers. Then, in games, there always seems to be one or two or three loose balls or rebounds that are there for Sundra to smother, only for them to be fumbled out of bounds and possession to the other team. I'm not quite sure Notre Dame shouldn't just turn that spot over to Brady Koehler and see what he can do with it. Now, with all that said, and that was a lot, does Notre Dame win the game at Stanford without Sundra's two 3-pointers in the final 5:14. Twice, the Cardinal were on a run and had gotten as close as four points, only to have Sundra bang down two 3s.

Chris K

10:06

How can the Irish keep running Sundra out in the starting lineup? He gives them next to nothing. Then add in Imes giving them little scoring and Towts limited what he can do. Sometimes it truly feels the offense is playing 5-3. Is it just lack of options? I’d think you can see playing Koehler more mins and Sundra less.

Tom Noie

9:59

As for South Bend native and former Irish swingman J.R. Konieczny, he's found joy in basketball again at Florida Gulf Coast, where he's averaging 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.7 minutes. He's shooting .440 percent from the field, .354 from 3 and .781 from the foul line. He's also doing it against Samford, Rice and Oral Roberts, which is probably the level he should be at. He was a try-hard guy at Notre Dame whose try hard rarely translated. It wasn't going to happen at Notre Dame for Konieczny. The staff wanted to see Sundra in that spot. It wanted to see Brady Koehler. It wanted their guys in those roles. It happens. It sucks, but that's life in college basketball.

9:56

Dan: Don't get those vibes from Mohammed at all. Maybe just the opposite. He was asked after going for a career high 21 points against Evansville why that game was so different than any he's played at Notre Dame. Instead of saying something to the affect that he was tired of being a bit player or had decided that he was just going to go for it that game, he shrugged and was like, on any given night, it can be anyone's game. Like, meh, I played well in this game, I might not play so well the next. I'll also go back to what I said earlier about Mohammed refusing to go portalling last season because he has so much respect for Micah Shrewsberry. Feelings may change as we approach March, but I get the sense Mohammed is still figuring it all out, and wants to figure it out at Notre Dame.

Dan - Chicago

9:53

Unless something dramatically changes, are we seeing Sir Mohammed's last year at Notre Dam (I am getting Carey Booth vibes)? Also, any thoughts on what J.R. is doing at Florida Gulf Coast. I know the competition is a bit tougher in the ACC, but its hard not for me to picture him starting instead of Sundra.

Tom Noie

9:51

Kevin: Bang. You nailed it. No Markus Burton means no margin for error, or margin for an off night, for guys like Jalen Haralson, Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa. They have to be double-figures guys every single game for Notre Dame to have a chance. It's hard to ask that of Carson Towt - just keep getting a dozen rebounds - or anybody else on a consistent basis. Every once in a while, you might get an out-of-nowhere game from Sir Mohammed (21 points vs. Evansville), but the Haralson-Certa-Shrewsberry troika has to be on every night for this team not to be off.

Kevin, Lemont

9:48

I am seeing a patit seems like every team has 3 guys who score double digits & its a question of who's top 3 scores most. So losing burton hurts most bc we need a consistent 3rd scorer. Like Shrews has to have at least 15/gm, right?

Tom Noie

9:48

Dan: I'll group both of your questions together. Yes, the "book" and everybody else says foul when you're up three - unless your team cannot properly foul when you're up three. That's now happened twice within a year to Notre Dame. Same situation last season at home against North Carolina. Matt Allocco fouled Elliott Cadeau on a 3-pointer. Free throw. Four-point play. Three-point Irish lead becomes a one-point Irish loss. Why not play it out? Make a guy make a high-leverage shot. This isn't the NBA where everybody can make a shot under pressure. I'd rather keep the clock running, unless I'm 1000 percent sure that my guys can properly execute what's asked. Notre Dame showed last season against North Carolina and showed again last week against Cal that it struggles to do that. So play it out and take your chances.

Dan - Chicago

Didn't something like this happen with Alloco last year? As much as people like to give Brey grief, back in the day, Brey wouldn't have had his players foul if they were playing N Colorado and Carson Towt had the ball.

9:44

I believe that is a poor strategy, fouling before the player can get the 3 pt shot off. Too many things can go wrong (as we obviously saw). What do you think?

Tom Noie

9:44

Dan: Thank God for Tommy Ahneman and Matthew MacLellan, right? Or who knows what Micah Shrewsberry might have done to official Adam Flore, right? Like I wrote, what was Shrewsberry going to do if Ahneman and MacLellan weren't there? Body slam Flore? Put him in a sleeper hold. Sometimes, some of the stuff Micah Shrewsberry has done over the past two-plus seasons has been for show. This might have been another one of those, though he went way over the edge.

Dan - Chicago

9:42

If there was no Ahneman and no MacLellan what would have happened?

Tom Noie

9:42

Pat: For the same reason why Notre Dame ranks last (18th) in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 358th nationally out of 365 Division I teams for steals at 4.47 per game. It doesn't have someone who can go pressure the other team's handler for a full 94 feet. Or, I should say, it doesn't have someone who doesn't have a walking boot on his left leg who can go pressure the other team's handler for a full 94 feet. We saw Logan Imes TRY and keep up with Dai Dai Ames and foul him before he gathered on the other side of halfcourt. Ames was too quick for him. So, you're not a team that do that, why not bring an immediate double the second a guy crosses halfcourt? Why not foul the player being inbounded the ball the second he gets it and make the other team reset? There were myriad ways to go about the final 9.9 seconds in Berkeley. Notre Dame chose the worst one.

Pat H. Springfield, Ill

9:38

Why, with under 30 seconds and a 1-4 point lead, is Shrewsberry not having anyone in the backcourt to force the other team to spend time getting the ball up the court? Teams are rolling the ball in or taking only 2-3 seconds to get into the frontcourt to get a more than decent shot.

Tom Noie

9:29

Does Pat Garrity know this? Pat Garrity is qualified to go from five minutes as the program general manager to head coach based on ... what???? This might be the silliest question of the day, and we're barely an hour in. Going to take a lot to beat this take. Sorry.

Mike from Milwaukee

9:27

Should he be let go and let Pat Garrity finish off the year as coach?

Tom Noie

9:27

Mike: Let's start with this. One thousand percent true. What Micah Shrewsberry did at the end of the Cal game is something he cannot ever, ever do no matter what level you're coaching. Unacceptable. It goes against everything the university stands for. So, fire him for cause. Boom. He's gone. New potential hire comes in, sees why Micah Shrewsberry isn't the head coach any more and wonders, wait, they're going to fire someone for THAT?!?!? Nah, I'll pass. Shrewsberry pushed the envelope at times last year (Louisville post-game, at Syracuse), then pushed it too far at Cal. He vows to be better for it.

Mike from Milwaukee

9:24

Tom - We would never accept MS’s behavior at Cal on any level of basketball—high school, college or pro. Why should ND accept it now? The school and its athletic programs are supposed to set a high standard. MS failed that standard. He doesn’t have the temperament to coach big time basketball.

Tom Noie

9:24

Guest: Not you specifically, but you in general....when are you going to make up your minds? For years under the previous head coach, it was a yearly complaint - when will Notre Dame play more guys than just six or seven? For Notre Dame to do anything in the Big East or the ACC and beyond, it had, had, had to play eight, nine, 10 guys. Now, it's the opposite. For Notre Dame to do anything, it has to play FEWER guys. Nine Irish currently average double figures for minutes. A 10th, Brady Koehler, is at 9.8 minutes per game. Is that too many? Does that prohibit guys from finding an immediate rhythm? Here's the thing - they all knew in October when preseason practice what the rotation might look like. They knew that they'd better hit the ground running and get it right, otherwise that night might not be their night. They know the deal. Rotations are no-win situations for head coaches. Play few, and it's too few. Play many, and it's too many.

Guest

9:20

When do you think Coach will settle on a smaller bench rotation to give players time and understanding of their roll. In and out substitution is not working and players do not get quality time to play as a unit?

Tom Noie

9:18

And you know that based on .... what? Every indication from every player I've talked to about Micah Shrewsberry is they love the guy. Love being coached hard. Love playing for him. Love the relationship. I asked both Cole Certa and Sir Mohammed in October why it took them all of about five minutes after last season ended to commit to returning without even considering the transfer portal. They both said that the main reason to return was the chance to play for Shrewsberry. Sometimes we want to see something from a distance that might not be true, as much as we want it to be.

Guest

9:15

Why does ND allow "coach'? Shrewsbury to acti like he does? He is not inspirational to the players but a hindrance

Tom Noie

9:15

George: That's between the official and the ACC. Everyone makes mistakes. Glad I wasn't taken off the beat the first time I misspelled a name or got a score or a fact wrong. Yes, it should never happen, but it happens. It will be interesting to see if the official is assigned to another Notre Dame game this season. His name is not one that has been an ACC official regular. Might have been a one-time thing. Like, let's see if you're ready to graduate from the Big Sky. Nope.

George from El Segundo

9:12

One more question, Tom. Will the official who blew the last call face any consequences at all? Just a horrible call at the most critical time of the game!

Tom Noie

9:12

Guest (if that's indeed your real name): Let's start with your last point first. Do we know that the administration (Pete Bevacqua) hasn't taken action about Micah Shrewsberry's outburst at the end of the Cal game? Just because Notre Dame doesn't "announce" that a fine or suspension or anything else for Shrewsberry doesn't necessarily mean Bevacqua was like, ah, don't worry about it. All is good. As for the loss to Purdue Fort Wayne and Shrewsbery not having his team's attention - he didn't. At least, not on that day, which was the final game before the players scattered back home for Christmas. They had already checked out (and aren't the only team to do that before a break). I'd also wonder if Shrewsberry had "lost" his team had they not come back from break and went to Stanford and won. Kind of shoots down that theory, right?

Guest

9:09

I love his passion, and hope Coach Schrews keeps it together and leads us to the NCAA Tournament this year, but the Head Coach position requires a certain level of composure. The embarrassing home loss to the IPFW Mastodons is a sign that he doesn’t have the team’s attention. When he completely lost it for a few seconds after the Cal game, it reminded me of the embarrassing press room tantrum last season: youtu.be/RZlnjSpLTwY?si… How many more embarrassing moments does Coach Schrews get, before the Administration takes action?

Tom Noie

9:08

Andrew: Does somebody always have to be in the proverbial doghouse if he's not playing?

And what's he going to show in five minutes? You or I might get our share of shots up in five minutes, but for Frost, he's still figuring it out. He's also caught in a numbers game. He's more of a shooting guard/wing guard guy, which has led to the lack of minutes crunch (5.4 per game). If you play Frost at shooting guard, you sit either Cole Certa or Braeden Shrewsberry. Older guys. If you play Frost at wing guard, you sit either Jalen Haralson or Sir Mohammed (not a chance). Say you slide Frost into the 4 spot instead of Garrett Sundra (19.8 mpg.) or Brady Koehler (9.8 mpg). How much 4 has Frost even played? Micah Shrewsberry slid Mohammed to the 4 at times this year to get another handler on the floor, but that's a spot Mohammed has never played before this season. it showed. Notre Dame has nine guys (including Burton) averaging double figures for minutes. It's a tough ask to get to 10.

Andrew, Plymouth

9:03

Is Ryder Frost in the doghouse? He got some minutes before league play and with the inconsistent production from some of the other forwards I thought we’d at least see him get 5 minutes here and there. His redshirt is burned now, anyway.

Tom Noie

9:02

How about maybe. You'd hate to lose another ACC game because of shortcomings at the foul line. Jalen Haralson is shooting .628 percent, but he's only a freshman, which means there's time for him to get more reps and shoot a better percentage. Same goes for freshman Brady Koehler (.571) and sophomores Sir Mohammed (.450) and Garrett Sundra (.400). Lock yourself in the gym and get 1,000 shots up. Carson Towt is in his 17th year of college basketball (OK, seventh) but is shooting .435 percent from the foul line. He's a career .422 percent from the line, so anything he can get close to .500 would be a boost. Cole Certa leads the team at .941 and Braeden Shrewsberry is at .783. Close game, get the ball to them. Markus Burton was at .917 before his ankle injury.

8:58

We'll group the questions from Mike and Ann together since they both deal with a topic that's been a tough watch to date - free throw shooting. Heading into Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference home opener against Clemson, Notre Dame ranks 11th in the 18-team ACC for foul shooting (.696). Syracuse is last at .619. Foul shooting, really, the lack of it, cost Notre Dame the Cal game when it went 16-for-26 (.615). You look at 16-for-26 and wonder if Notre Dame didn't deliver from the foul line in a tight league road game, but the numbers tell a different story. The Irish were 14-of-18 (.778) in the second half. That's good enough to win the game, but they were 2-of-8 in the first half. Now, can it be fixed?

Ann

8:53

We are faithful and ardent defenders of Notre Dame men's basketball. So along the path of success, we question what is their strategy for improving overhaul free throw shooting? Thank you.

Mike from Rochester, NY

8:53

Do you think ND can or will improve on its free throw shooting and layup percentage? The team would be challenging for the NCAA Tournament if they were even average in both areas, as opposed to woeful.

Tom Noie

8:49

Mike: Let's define hot seat. If that would be hot seat in terms of having to win and win big now and challenge for an NCAA Tournament bid, that seat's nowhere near hot. Not even warm. Now, if that heat seat would be in terms of making sure something like what happened at the end of the Cal game when Shrewsberry took a run at a game official over a horrendous foul call never, ever, ever happens again (or comes close to happening), then yes, Shrewsberry's seat is warming. You can win or lose in whatever manner you win or lose while building your program in the best way you see fit to build it. But what you cannot do, what you can never do, is put the university in a light that Shrewsberry put it in early Saturday morning in Berkeley. Notre Dame was at the top of the college basketball news cycle for a day - and for the wrong reasons. Win or lose, that's a no-no at Notre Dame. Lesson learned.

Mike from Rochester, NY

8:45

Might Micah Shrewsberry's latest unhinged rant land him on the hot seat?

Tom Noie

8:43

Terry: Wrong forum. You got one question past the goalie. You're not getting two. Let's wait until this time next season and see what the roster construction looks like.

Terry

8:42

Another loss today for the women to Duke! Only 6 players saw the court and 4 of them were transfers! Very poor roster construction by Ivey!!!

Tom Noie

8:42

George: College basketball officials are independent contractors who pick and choose what leagues they work for (really, the leagues pick and choose). The West Coast might seem a bit far to go for officials who work Atlantic Coast Conference games, but Cal and Stanford are full-time ACC members. They should be afforded the same officials who work games at Duke and North Carolina. The three officials who worked the Notre Dame-Stanford game were Tommy Morrissey, Marque Pettigrew and Chase Shaw. For Notre Dame-Cal, it was Morrissey, Rick Crawford and Adam Flore. Morrissey is the only familiar ACC official name from those groups. That the road swing occurred over New Year's might have limited the ACC officials' pool for those game. In any case, that was an F- grade for the officials at the end of the Cal game. Stole defeat from the jaws of victory for Notre Dame.

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