JotCast | Notre Dame basketball - June 2026 chat

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Tom Noie

3:53

This feels like a good place to stop. We went nearly seven hours today - in June. Talking Notre Dame basketball, and a lot else. Appreciate everyone who made time to participate, lurk, and everything else. We'll likely skip a July chat (time for PTO) and may squeeze one in during August (football starts). If you have a question or comment, drop me a note at tnoie@sbtinfo.com. Have a great summer!

3:51

Second that emotion as well...

Illinois Fool

3:50

Ton D is 100% correct. You could team them with the Ross Brothers and a good walk on and have a better team than we've seen lately.

Tom Noie

3:49

Second that emotion...

Tom D., Lansing MI

3:49

I think a case can be made that Austin Carr is the greatest Notre Dame athlete, regardless of sport, of all time. Something like 36 points a game his last two years, with no three point line!

Tom Noie

3:39

I would agree with that. First tier is really AC and AD, then everyone else. Not putting one of those two first in the Ring of Honor might have been when this program started to slide. You can't, can't, can't have anything honoring the greats of Notre Dame basketball and not start with Austin Carr. Ever. For any reason.

Tom D., Lansing MI

3:38

Tom, I would also argue that there is a lot of distance between Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley and everyone else. A lot between those two and the rest!

Robert from Mishawaka

3:25

Ben Hansbrough, Austin Carr, Matt Carroll, Troy Murphy, John Shumate.

Illinois Fool

3:23

Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, Troy Murphy, John Paxton and John Shumate

Tom Noie

3:04

Queue's still open. Don't even have to ask a question. Make this a lightning round. Just post your first team All-Notre Dame. Five guys regardless of position. Let's go...

3:03

Who's going to handle the ball in that group? This is off the top of my head, but let's go with David Rivers at point guard, Austin Carr at shooting guard, Adrian Dantley on the wing, Kelly Tripucka at small forward and Troy Murphy at power forward. And a second five of Ben Hansbrough and Jerian Grant in the backcourt, Tom Hawkins and Luke Harangody up front and Pat Connaughton as the ultimate glue guy. So many good choices, too few good spots. No wrong answers!

Tom D., Lansing MI

3:01

What's your all-time ND team? I'll go with Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, Tom Hawkins, Troy Murphy, John Shumate.

Tom Noie

2:55

Robert: I would say no, but yes only if there were a few tweaks. The halfcourt that they utilized for the event wasn't even a true basketball court. It was like a playground court. Can't risk anyone doing anything of consequence on it and possibly pulling a hamstring (or tearing an Achilles). It was good as a one-shot thing. Like the BEND uniforms that looked more like Purdue than Notre Dame.

Robert from Mishawaka

2:53

Are the powers that be going to have another event like the Eddy Street fest again this year?

Tom Noie

2:53

To put a period on it, for as long as I've covered Notre Dame basketball, heck, Notre Dame athletics, be it hoops or football or baseball or whatever it is, there is a sense that the place (academically and athletically) holds itself to a higher standard. For everything. Someone, somewhere had to have taken a look at the production of an Irish basketball game and said to someone somewhere else, that's not Notre Dame. That that hasn't happened circles back to the 168 or so reasons offered earlier of why Notre Dame basketball is what it is - and where it is. One way or another, and however it has to happen, Notre Dame basketball must return to its roots of what made that program that program.

Pete from Berrien

2:50

Agree 1000% on the juvenile and annoying game entertainment.

Tom Noie

2:38

Robert: Considering that my ears and my eyes have only recently stopped bleeding, yes, I was sarcastic. Nothing says small time more than the in-game entertainment of a Notre Dame basketball game. If that's the old man in me, so be it, but hearing a 6-year-old be called an OG will never not be anything but annoying to the 100th degree.

Robert from Mishawaka

2:35

I hope you were being sarcastic about the in game host who calls 6 year olds OG’s, and students jumping into a kiddy pool looking for colored balls.

Tom Noie

2:20

Jeff: Notre Dame is in uncharted territory with how taxing that trip might be to have the home opener waiting at the end of the week. Might be best to wait, though this regular season schedule is front-loaded heavy with big opponents with Notre Dame's portion of the Players Era Festival moved up a week. No matter how the November schedule shakes out, we're going to know a lot about this program before football season ends.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

2:18

Too soon for a Cam Boozer and Duke reference? Not for some of us! And I get your logic on Nov. 6.

Tom Noie

2:18

If Micah Shrewsberry were smart he would, right? Already promised him dinner at Pine Club for getting this exhibition scheduled (joking). There would be no shortage of interest from both fan bases. Seems too logical not to do it, right? Honestly, not sure where it might fall on the priority plan. Will do some digging closer to the October game. Great question.

SStock717

2:16

Do you see ND and UD doing a home and home in the near future. Thanks ND for the exhibition game, goes to a great cause!

Tom Noie

2:13

Jeff: All of the home games because of what you mentioned - the in-game hosts and the timeout content is second to none. Don't expect a home game on November 6 unless it's the easiest of the non-conference buy games. Notre Dame starts the week in Italy against Villanova, flies back, has to get back into class routine, and then a home game Friday? That's got upset written all over it. Anytime you get a name opponent in Purcell Pavilion, it hits differently, so Vanderbilt and Ohio State qualify. I'll never discount an ACC game, unless it's against Cameron Boozer and Duke on a Wednesday in February. Sorry, still too soon, I know.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

2:10

Since road games might be limited for you this year due to NDFB, what home game are you most looking forward to covering? Two other thoughts: ND is stupid if they don't schedule a home game on Nov. 6 which is the Friday night before the Miami FB game. They might get the biggest crowd of the season for that one just because so many people will be on campus for football. And if we're being honest, all of us go to these games just for the exciting entertainment and in-game hosts and jumbotron content during timeouts and at halftime right? I'm guessing those wouldn't get rave reviews if ND had athletic fan councils like the one I was part of in the mid 2010s.

Tom Noie

2:03

Frank: When Nick Shrewsberry committed to Notre Dame, I swung by South Bend Saint Joseph High School and spent some time with him. When I asked him where he considered other than Notre Dame, he paused for a second and said, really, nowhere else. It was Notre Dame and only Notre Dame.

Frank from The Bend.

2:02

Speaking of Nick Shrewsbury, were there any other schools he was considering or did they all back off knowing he was planning on playing with the family?

Tom Noie

1:56

A request - keep the questions coming so I don't have to go outside. Current heat index here is ... 102 degrees. It ain't a dry heat, either.

1:53

Some housekeeping - Notre Dame has finalized its 2026-27 roster on its website. Here are your Irish: https://fightingirish.com/sports/mbball/roster/

1:52

Frank: The new assistant coach will be Tony Rack, who comes from Winthrop and, like Yoro Diallo and Logan Duncomb, is a Cincinnati Moeller product. He was supposed to be officially announced in late May. I know little about him. Notre Dame may be waiting until the hiring process with Isaiah Thompson is finalized before announcing all staff changes, which will include Mike Farrelly bumping up into Kyle Getter's spot as associate head coach. Thompson, who worked last year at Purdue, is joining in an administrative/support role that also includes being able to coach on the court.

Frank from The Bend.

1:49

Do you have any insight on the new assistant coach that is replacing Getter? In my opinion I expected more from Getter considering he came from Bennetts staff at Virginia.

Tom Noie

1:49

Not because he doesn't deserve a chance, but because there are so many other guys who should be ahead of him on the depth chart. It's OK to go on a five-year plan, unless you don't know if you're going to be around for five years. We'll get a better sense of how the pieces fit as we move through summer. The rotation will be decided by what guys do. Some will reach out and have a stranglehold on their spots. Others, it will take time. Then, there's the little matter of staying healthy, which has been an issue. Sir Mohammed's first year, and really, his time at Notre Dame, cratered because he got hurt in summer. Same last season for Tommy Ahneman. First goal, stay healthy. Next goal, figure out who can do what. Next, be open to just about anything. With this group this season, why not?

1:46

Cole: Now this chat's official. Rotation questions/comments/concerns in June! Love it. Not sure I can answer it though, in part because there's so much of this roster that we have no idea about. Bryce Dortch? Devin Brown? Even Ethan Roberts. And Jonathan Sanderson. If Notre Dame were in Rome right now and preparing to play Villanova, here's a guess at the rotation - the starting five would be Braeden Smith at point guard, Braeden Shrewsberry at shooting guard, Ethan Roberts and wing guard, Brady Koehler at small forward and Logan Duncomb at power forward. The absolutes off the bench would be Dortch (defense, rebounding, athleticism), Sanderson (handling, swagger) and Imes (steadiness). That's eight. Nine would be Tommy Ahneman because you can never have too many bigs. Then it's a guess. Can Devin Brown and Yoro Diallo do something that separates one from the other. Look, I know the feeling about the head coach's kids in the program, but there's no way Nick Shrewsberry should play a minute this season.

Cole

1:42

How deep can this team go off the bench? It seems like it’s going to be an 8 man rotation.

Tom Noie

1:31

Frank: Pat Garrity and anyone else on that email list may think otherwise...

Frank from The Bend.

1:30

In response to Jeff, and your answer about sending emails to Garrity, here is a link to staff email addresses. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website That was a solid suggestion Tom.

Tom Noie

1:30

Bonkers: It's a little of everything. There's a mindset at Rolfs that how the spring unfolded with all the transfers that it resets the Micah Shrewsberry clock, to a point that some expect he may be around longer than others might like. To say this is a win or else season for him would be disingenuous in every conceivable way. Win with this roster of guys who just met one another three days ago? Yeah, that's not happening. Be better than last year and at least qualify for the conference tournament? Absolutely. Then, there's a feeling around Rolfs that regardless of how this season goes, we all know what the end result might be.

Bonkers in Yonkers

1:27

Tom Terrific, it's been awhile! Thanks for serving the ND basketball faithful. We feel fewer and fewer these days. I'm curious what the vibe is around the basketball offices. As in, do the coaches and staff think everything is going to be okay or is there a sense of urgency and frustration? I'm not asking for state secrets. But I'm genuinely curious if the basketball people on campus share some of, none or, or all of the concerns fans do.

Tom Noie

1:26

Jim: Not sure when it stopped, but may have been as early as the back to back Elite Eight years when it was rolling and Mike Brey was like, let the program sell itself. That certainly wasn't the case when Micah Shrewsberry arrived in 2023. Notre Dame needed to do anything and everything to get everyone to care about the future of Notre Dame basketball. It did next to nothing. How hard would it have been to open a practice for season ticket holders or middle schoolers on a field trip and then sit the players down at tables for autographs afterward. Just a brief interaction with a fan or a season ticket holder or a kid would've bought this program a ton of good will. When that doesn't happen, and then stuff like the Louisville post-game or the Cal post-game stuff happens, Notre Dame has already lost the public relations battle. There's no coming back from that. Someone smarter than a journalist should have known that.

Jim from Annandale, VA

1:23

I was not aware of all the meet-and-greet events that used to take place involving the men's team. When did this stop? With Shrewsberry? With Bevaqua? Seems like a good way to build fan support without spending a lot, which seems like the administration's preferred fantasy scenario: spend a little; get a lot.

Tom Noie

1:22

Jim: This one's easy. If Hannah Hidalgo can carry THAT supporting cast to an Elite Eight, it's OK to dream Final Four dreams, right? Upgraded roster, a player of the year candidate (lock?). Anything less and you've fallen short of maxing out the experience of a once-in-a-generation talent. No pressure there, Niele...

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