JotCast | Notre Dame basketball - January 2026 chat

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George from El Segundo

8:38

Hi Tom. Just wondering how, and from where, the ACC gets officials for conference games played in California? Are they West coast refs retained by the ACC as independent contractors? Seems strange for the conference to spend the money required for refs to travel From Tobacco Rd. to the SF Bay Area. Happy new year to you and yours!

Tom Noie

8:36

Scottie: Welcome to NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), the biggest open secret in college athletics. Everybody makes something, but that something remains a mystery. Nobody is going to openly admit that, yeah, I make X amount of dollars but my best friend on the team makes only Z amount. As best we know, players are paid at the beginning of the season. There can't be any "stipulations" or "bonuses" in terms of performance - that would make them professionals. Contracts are year to year. It's too early in terms of graduation rates to see its influence. Only the current Irish basketball junior class has been on campus for the start of NIL.

Scottie

8:32

Could you explain how NIL is distributed Is it one check distribution beginning of season or end,any stipulations,one year contract performance reward could be a bonus and since this has been in practice have you seen a graduation percentage Thanks 53 year season ticket holder

Tom Noie

8:31

Mike: That would be point guard Jonathan Sanderson and center Ghana Solongo, who are teammates at La Lumiere School and two of the three incoming freshmen next summer at Notre Dame. The third is wing guard Nick Shrewsberry, the coach's son and shooting guard's younger brother. Of the three, Sanderson has a chance to see early playing time. He's a true point guard who can handle, find guys, score it, defend, compete. Solongo, at 7-foot-1, is still a relative baby in basketball terms. He's still figuring it out. Give him next season to grow into his body and understand the commitment it takes at that level and let's see where it goes. Same for the younger Shrewsberry. None of three are difference makers, but if the current roster develops the way it should develop, that won't matter. Notre Dame needs complementary pieces next season, not standout pieces.

Mike from Fresno

8:28

Regarding next year’s class, I have heard good things about Sanderson but nothing about Solongo. Do you have any specific information on them, especially Solongo?

Tom Noie

8:28

Terry: Wrong forum for a deep dive on the Notre Dame women's basketball program, but I'll play along. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, let's clean house with the Notre Dame women's basketball program. Assistant coaches? Out. Head coach? Gone yesterday. Let's strip it all down to the studs and start over. Wait, what? Is this the WNBA? This isn't the WNBA, is it? No way is it time to start thinking who's next. Man, tough crowd. Times get tough, let's fire everybody and start over. Not exactly how Notre Dame operates. Notre Dame women's basketball got caught under-estimating the transfer portal last spring. Pete Bevacqua has said that won't happen again. It has one of the nation's top recruiting classes coming in. This may be a down year, but the future? Stay tuned. And stay the course. Don't understand the FIRE EVERYBODY belief at the first sign of adversity. Give that staff a chance to go and fix it.

Terry

8:24

What has happen to the women’s program? Mass exodus after last season (yes, some graduated) but top player transfers. A failure of the last recruiting cycle with only one player signed and she can’t play this year due to injury. I like Ivey but this team seems to be a mess. Time for a change?

Tom Noie

8:24

...Those first two years was about the Irish keeping their collective heads above water in the ACC. Seven league wins the first year, eight league wins the second year. Ten or 11 league wins this season might not be enough to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, but it would be enough to show what Shrewsberry and this program needed to show - progress. It was a five-year rebuild when Shrewsberry arrived - it remains a five-year rebuild. Patience is paramount at Notre Dame, which has to do it in a way few other programs do it.

8:21

...When Micah Shrewsberry was introduced in March 2023 (let's walk back his comments about winning a national championship) the consensus was that it would take at least four years for Notre Dame basketball to get back to the NCAA Tournament. When it comes to Notre Dame basketball, there's no such thing as a quick fix. This isn't Louisville. It was going to take time. Then, almost immediately after Shrewsberry took the job, the entire sport changed with the transfer portal and NIL. That four-year window was extended to five. At minimum. Again, no quick fix. If Notre Dame was going to do it, if Shrewsberry was going to do it, it would have to be done through recruiting and player development. Look at the high school players Shrewsberry has recruited - from Logan Imes to Cole Certa to Sir Mohammed to Brady Koehler. None were ready to become front-line high-major Division I guys from the jump. It was going to take one year. It was going to take two years....

8:17

Dan: If you're going to jump in the pool, might as well do it off the high dive in the deep end, right? Before we answer that question, here's one for the group. Raise your hands - even you in the back, I see you - if you would've taken the following scenario in October. Notre Dame basketball wins double-digit games heading into its conference home opener. It split the two-game West Coast swing to start Atlantic Coast Conference play. it wins seven of its first eight home games. It wins an ACC/SEC Challenge game for the first time. It wins on the road against a TCU team that nearly beat Michigan and should have beat Kansas. It pushes forward despite the injury loss of leading scorer Marks Burton. So, how many of you would've taken that scenario in October and said, yeah, that will work. Let's go.....I'd say about 99.9 percent of Irish basketball fans would've taken that. All that said...

Dan Legan

8:13

What is a reasonable time frame to give Micah schrewsberry ?

Tom Noie

8:03

Whew, a lot sure can happen in three weeks. That's certainly the case for Notre Dame basketball since our December hoops chat. Since then, the Irish lost a home game it has no business losing, it lost an Atlantic Coast Conference road game it had no business losing, the head coach lost his mind for a few seconds and, oh, yeah, Notre Dame opened league play on the road by allowing the other team to score ... 40 total points. Never a dull moment when it comes to Irish hoops, so there's plenty to discuss/dissect. To join today's chat, be sure to include your name and hometown. Settle in, this might take some time. With that, you know the rest. Let's light this chat candle...

*** Thursday, January 8 ***

Tom Noie

5:16

What was your reaction to Micah Shrewsberry's actions after the Cal game?

No big deal (0% | 0 votes)

Good to see that passion (7.4% | 4 votes)

Totally justified (7.4% | 4 votes)

Might have been a bit too much (48.1% | 26 votes)

Whoa... (37% | 20 votes)

Total Votes: 54

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