JotCast | Notre Dame basketball - June 2026 chat

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Jim from Annandale, VA

1:21

Hi Tom. Many thanks for answering our many questions about men's basketball, but I have a question about the women: what are your expectations for the women's team this coming season? The team is young but, unlike the men, there is talent to work with. Hannah Hidalgo is a player of the year candidate, Madison St. Rose could be an all-ACC player, and the freshmen (I am including Leah Macy in this group), are talented. Any guesses about how this team might fare in the ACC and tournaments?

Tom Noie

1:08

Jeff: Good stuff. This needs to find its way into the hands of someone at Notre Dame. Copy it and send it to Pat Garrity, who also is the administrator in charge of men's basketball. You're not the only one with these kind of stories. At some point, they have to register with them over there, right? Even the small stuff like the Ring of Honor and the year-end "celebration" where players were positioned at different spots around Purcell Pavilion have been scrapped for unexplained reasons. Another reason for Notre Dame to tell us that it doesn't care about Notre Dame basketball.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

1:05

Agree with everything Frank from the Bend and you said about how NDMBB interacts with fans. I've been a season ticket holder for 10 years now. When I first got season tix and for a few years after, we got invites to meet the team events, open practices and so on. We even got coupons for discounts at concession stands, token items for being season ticket holders and offers to bring friends to select games for free. We get none of that now. If I wasn't an alum and if I didn't like my seats as much as I do (and yeah I'll admit part of the reason I renew is so that I can see an unnamed ACC foe every other year when they play at ND because I cheer for them too), then I'd say why bother. The basketball hasn't been very good, I drive 90 minutes to get there, and I have no real connection with any of the players/coaches. The meet and greets with FB players are great. NDMBB needs to do the same and probably more. At least give people a reason to cheer for the players as good guys and make fans feel valued.

Tom Noie

1:01

Dianne: Glad you finally found your way to the chat. Happy to help keep the connection. It's an impossible sell to the fan base given what you've had to sit through since the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament season. There really are so few reasons why you should renew your season tickets. For this season? Maybe everything finally flips, the portal additions bring an experience and some swagger that this program has needed and has lacked. Maybe last season was as bad as it could get. Maybe this season is an awakening. Sounds good on a hot Wednesday in June, right? Don't be a stranger around these chat parts!

Dianne from Mishawaka

12:57

Long time follower, 1st ever question/comment. I've been a fan/season ticket holder since 1975, and after this past season watching the talented recruits enter the portal and leave left me questioning why I should consider keeping my season tickets. I'm hopeful that Coach Shrewsbury and his group of remaining and incoming players (recruits and those caught from that bucket you spoke of) can get them to a post season tournament. Thanks for your chats, they keep myself and others informed about the state of the program.

Tom Noie

12:53

Mike: Great stuff from the Great Northwoods. I've had the same conversation with my man Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily. A season ends and we start discussing the transfer portal. Freeman has said for three years, yep, Imes is leaving. After freshman year, after sophomore year, after junior year. Nope, nope, nope, I tried to tell him (he won't listen to me

). Knowing Imes and knowing how much he admires Micah Shrewsberry, there was no way he was ever going to leave. He was a Program Guy on Day One and will be a Program Guy whenever it ends this season - even if he slides to No. 3 on the point guard depth chart. He's a throwback who understands the bigger picture and what going to Notre Dame will set him up after basketball ends. Every indication is Tommy Ahneman should be good to go this summer. We'll see. And as for Micah Shrewsberry in the community, that circles back to the 128 reasons why this hasn't worked. It might be reason No. 4 or 24. Another basketball dropped by Notre Dame. Door's closed

Mike from DaNorthwoods of Wisconsin

12:48

Few things:

Does Logan Imes have his degree already? If so, I'm impressed that he stuck around and didn't go the mid-major route, where he could start.
Is Tommy Ahneman all healed?
Does Shrews get out into the community in the way other ND coaches have?

Tom Noie

12:41

Frank: True, but if Notre Dame comes out of that event with five kids or five fans thinking they now give a @#^$ about Irish basketball because of an interaction with a player or a moment afterward, wouldn't that be considered a success? Even if they're from out of town, they may go back to places that once were strong Notre Dame hoops areas and say, so-and-so is my new favorite player because of this and that...

Frank from The Bend

12:39

Wasn't that Eddy St event held before a football game? Doesn't really keep build a fanbase when these people are from all over the country. Love your answer though!

Tom Noie

12:39

Tom: Not sure that Pete Bevacqua is hiding, let along hiding from me, but just think that somewhere along the way, somewhere over there believed it best that if they were going to have a relationship with the media, it was going to be with the ESPNs and the SI.coms of the world. That works when you have a program that's humming along and on the verge of doing stuff it hasn't done since, say, 1988. OK, that's fine. But when you have other programs that need the attention of your fan base, and you're choking that off for various reasons, you lose the benefit of the doubt from your fan base. I'm not saying give the Tribune more access just for the sake of access, but if reading, hearing, learning about even two or three players you would otherwise not know can help build some care in the community, how is that not a win?

Tom D., Lansing MI

12:35

Not talking to the media about the basketball program is outrageous. Can alumni/friends put pressure on Bevacqua to come out of hiding?

Tom Noie

12:35

Frank: Awesome, awesome question and really, one of the answers as to why and how and where this has all gone sideways for Notre Dame basketball. Missed opportunities everywhere. By everyone. Mostly those who earn their paychecks at Notre Dame. Quick story - remember the Hoops event that Notre Dame held outside last October on Eddy Street? Cool thing. Great night. No players were made available to the media afterward to speak on it. If your own guys aren't going to promote it, why bother with it? Again, there are dozens of examples where Notre Dame (the men's program specifically) has fumbled away a 3-on-1 break when it comes to getting people in the community to care.

Frank from The Bend

12:31

After reading the question from P. Rose from ST. P and your answer I question you this. Many times, throughout the off season and for special events football players are out and about doing signings. Why doesn't the university do this for the basketball program? In the past they held an open pre-season practice, followed by a get to know the players meal where 1 player sat at a table with season ticket holders. Post season events were held as well, even silent auctions for the chance winning photos, tickets etc. The administration has actually divided the fans from getting to know the players and backing them in what is now a half empty arena, Time to build the fanbase back.

Tom Noie

12:31

Jeff: This answer is really a two-part question - What do I WANT to do entering Year 29 as the Notre Dame basketball beat writer for the South Bend Tribune? What do I NEED to do entering Year 10 as the sports columnist for the South Bend Tribune? As a hoops beat guy and a 1990 graduate of the University of Dayton, I would like nothing more than to cover the college basketball team that I've covered for three decades in a game (albeit exhibition) at UD Arena. I've been back plenty of times, and back to the arena for hoops (the 2022 NCAA Tournament ranks right there as the greatest week on the beat). I've never covered a Notre Dame-Dayton game, so there's that. There's also the matter of Notre Dame football playing what could be a pretty important game that same day (likely at night) in Provo, Utah. Metrics dictate that I NEED to be at BYU, though my hoops heart will be on Edwin C. Moses Drive in the Miami Valley...

Jeff from Schererville, IN

12:26

Please tell us longtime chat fans that you're going to Notre Dame at Dayton. :)

Tom Noie

12:15

Personally, would have liked to see Oklahoma at Notre Dame. A Ryan Humphrey homecoming. Need all the good vibes around that Irish program, and Hump certainly was that. Good player, even better person. Miss that guy.

12:14

Jeff: Stunning to see Notre Dame draw Vanderbilt at home for the ACC/SEC Challenge. Notre Dame will be picked toward the bottom of the ACC. Maybe the bottom near Boston College and Georgia Tech. Look at the teams expected to be picked near the bottom of the SEC and those would've fit. Ole Miss. Mississippi State. South Carolina is not expected to be good, but Notre Dame has already done the ACC/SEC Challenge with the Gamecocks, so cross them off. Vanderbilt may have "suggested" that it would like to be challenged with a true road game somewhere in the non-conference and the Notre Dame game just fit. But generally, this is a made-for-TV matchup. Not sure anyone at ESPN rushed into the matchup meeting thinking, I've got it!!!! Vanderbilt at Notre Dame!!! Let's do it. Not sure what Irish fans will do with themselves. A "quality" non-conference opponent so early in the year? At home? They might actually have to show up and show out. Vanderbilt, TCU AND Ohio State in non-league home games ... whoa!

Jeff from Schererville, IN

12:10

Thanks for the chats, Tom. Were you surprised to see ND draw Vandy in the ACC-SEC Challenge? The Commodores are thought of as a preseason top 25 team and ND is not exactly that right now. It could be an opportunity for a holy bleep game though! Also, do you think schools have any say in who or where they might play or is it just a television show with all the matchups picked by ESPN? Thanks!

Tom Noie

12:06

Chris: Be a serviceable backup big. The next time we actually see him doing basketball stuff on a basketball court will be the first time. Hopefully last season was one of osmosis for him. He was able to observe and absorb the level bigs must play at in the Atlantic Coast Conference to be something more than just lunchmeat for the elite. I THINK there's something to work with there, but again, he's done nothing of consequence since high school. Logan Duncomb will be the starting power forward, but if Ahneman can give them say six points and four rebounds in 10-15 minutes, that would be a good first step.

Chris, Columbus, Ohio

12:04

Tom: what do think expectations should be for Tommy Ahneman? He was out last season, but should be healthy this year, and at 6’10” could help around the basket.

Tom Noie

11:49

We saw that Holy #@%$ type of game, what, once last season? At TCU when Markus Burton goes down and the Irish are down nine at halftime and are going to get run out of the gym...what happens? Notre Dame wins in overtime, a game that featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes and featured 27 Irish assists against a TCU team that went to the NCAA Tournament. We saw stuff that night we'd only read about in books, then rarely saw it again. Not going to count that win over North Carolina State as a Holy #@*& moment. Will Wade. Enough said. How many times will we see it this year? Will we see it on TV from Rome? Home against Ohio State or Vanderbilt? On the road in league play?

11:43

P: Agree times 10. What was Shrewsberry's rep that helped get him the Notre Dame job? His basketball IQ. His mind. His creativity and ingenuity. The one thing I thought was, cool, it's going to be a rough ride those first few years, but there will be times when we expect Notre Dame to get boat-raced, but instead Shrewsberry schemes up something nobody saw coming and the Irish win a game they had no business winning. How many times has that happened over the last three years? Forget an identity or a culture or any of that stuff that once mattered in a different time of college basketball. Take a group of guys who might need to wear "Hi, My Name is..." tags until November and do something nobody expects/believes you can do. That might be the true sign of a coach today. Shock us. Stun us. Right?

P.Rose from ST.P

11:40

Everything you are saying about the world of college bball makes sense and obviously affects who might choose ND. And yet still....you can have average talent and athleticism and play smart, efficient basketball. We didn't see that. In my mind, this year is the last pass for Shrewsberry. If he can't put something together this year and/or if he continues to tantrum, he should be asked to leave.

Tom Noie

11:40

Phil: That's really been the theme of the last three seasons - bad basketball. Stuff we hadn't seen around that program very much. Some of the stuff, never before. So does that flip this season? There's no other option.

Phil from South Bend

11:38

I know it was said earlier in the chat, but I never thought last years team had any sustained period of playing hard or smart. Ball security and fundamental team defense was a rarity. While Towt played hard, having a big man who can score in the post (and doesn't turn down 2 foot shots primarily out of fear of being fouled) changes the offense dramatically. As does a pass first point guard. A lot of bad basketball was on display last season bailed out on rare times by Haralson overpowering small guards and Certa going on a heater.

Tom Noie

11:24

Notre Dame basketball? Ah, the last guy did this and this and that without this and this and that, so the new guy could do it. Something happened on the way back to a route that included a few Sweet 16s and Elite Eights and a lot of national rankings and attention - the world of college basketball, the world of college athletics changed. Almost overnight. It was no longer about finding the guys with basketball chips on their shoulders who believed they were underrecruited or overlooked. It was about money. Lots of it. Spend a lot to be a lot. And like that, just like when Notre Dame stayed independent too long, the game passed by a once-proud program. What's it going to look like if it ever swings back around? Will be interesting to find out.

11:21

Kling: Nothing, and, honestly, everything. This is a question I let sit for a minute or two or 20 so I could give it the proper attention. There is no one answer. Or maybe even one right one. It's nuanced over decades. Through independence. Life in the Big East. Life in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The fact that arguably the most prestigious college football program in the country shares a campus address also factors into why you feel that way. As does fandom in general. Listen to fans of any school's athletic program - and every one of them will believe to some extent that their team has underachieved. Four Final Fours should be five. One national championship should be three. It's everywhere, in every sport. That's what makes fans fans and sports sports. For Notre Dame, it's a program that for the longest time under a certain head coach who was around for 23 seasons, it often did more with less. Sometimes a lot less. Somewhere along the line, that thinking carried over to the 2020s and the new head coach.

Kling from Orlandoland

11:17

The Irish are a top 10 program in all time wins. They have a pretty rich and exciting history. Still, I can't get over this feeling I've had most of my adult life, that it's an underachieving program. I don't expect to be counted among the perennial blue bloods of college basketball year in and year out, but to reach a final four again, or even to win it all once has never felt to me like it should be an impossibility. It feels like the men's program is an afterthought, even when it's deserving of a great deal more support than it receives. Is this the administration's fault? Too many recruiting obstacles? NIL era insufficiency? What am I missing?

Tom Noie

11:16

Phil: And the only reason Roberts didn't return is that the Ivy League does not allow graduate transfers. It's how Notre Dame landed Paul Atkinson. It's how Notre Dame landed Matt Allocco. It's how Notre Dame landed Ethan Roberts. Hope the third time around is as productive as the first and nothing like the second...

Phil from South Bend

11:14

It will be interesting to see how Ethan Roberts and Sir Mohammad fare this season since they essentially did a team swap. Penn actually returns most of the 25-26 team except Roberts.

Tom Noie

11:09

Phil: Everyone is on campus. Summer school started Monday and will run for the next six weeks. Think we'll be allowed in sometime during that stretch, though it has historically been toward the last week. Last year, I think we were allowed in on the day six or seven players were either hurt or sick, which meant we saw next to nothing. Here's a primer for what Notre Dame needs to accomplish during the summer session: https://tinyurl.com/j8mmdxec

Phil from South Bend

11:06

When do all the team members report to campus for the summer and any idea when you will be allowed to attend a summer practice/scrimmage?

Tom Noie

11:00

Phil: Thanks for the early scout. I'd feel better about Notre Dame going that far and opening against a team like that if the Irish still had last year's roster. Never too early to make a first impression, though. I'll say it here and say it now - Notre Dame plays well enough to have a chance in Rome, and that sets the stage for an interesting 2026-27. How's that for optimism?

Phil from South Bend

10:58

Tom, FWIW Villanovs returns their leading scorer, but they have lost scorers 2 to 11. Their transfer portal team ranking is higher than ND (better athletes) and they have a more proven coach (low bar).

Tom Noie

10:28

Sean: Notre Dame often operates in this manner. From an athletics standpoint, they believe it best to talk with the national outlets who can best deliver its message. The local press? Thanks for asking, but no thanks. In this case, you'd think Notre Dame would want everyone locally to understand what the plan is, so they buy in and believe. Unless, there is too little to buy into and believe.

sean,Greensboro

10:26

Tom, thanks for all you do to keep us informed.It cannot be easy.Not to beat a dead horse, but how can Pete get away with not talking to the local press?It would seem that somebody above him would say do it.Is Pete not answerable to anyone? Hang in there., and keep the pressure on.

Tom Noie

10:26

Pete: Not at all. At the least, Logan Duncomb and Braeden Smith should give Notre Dame several options that it hasn't had since the days of Paul Atkinson and Prentiss Hubb and Company in 2021-22. An effective pick and roll option with a big who can score and a guard who can decide. Drop to Duncomb on the roll. Drive and kick. Send it to the wing and reverse it. Playing with no big the last three years was a choice, but it also was made with the belief that the guards and the wings would consistently deliver. When that didn't happen, Notre Dame really had nothing it could rely on. It might have something this season.

Pete from Berrien

10:23

Tom, hope you are enjoying this start to summer. It would be nice to Shrewsberry utilize Duncomb in the post like Brey did with Atkinson and develop a 2 man game with Braeden Smith as well as wing players that can cut to the basket as well as shoot. Am I asking too much? Your thoughts

Tom Noie

10:22

Frank: On paper, and in June, that answer is yes. On the court and in January, maybe that answer is absolutely yes. Or maybe. Or not a chance. We won't know, but I've likened Notre Dame's performance in the portal like this - consider the college basketball transfer portal like the waters of nearby Lake Michigan. The bluebloods and the deep-pocket programs are going out in their cabin cruisers and their fancy rods and reels and heavy test lines and going deep-sea fishing. Notre Dame is stuck on the dock with a cane pole fishing in a five-gallon bucket with a few other programs. It's so limited in what it can do, what it can be. It plays the same game as the Kentuckys and the Louisvilles and the Tennessees and the Dukes, but it has to play it a different way. Let's see how this way fares this season. It might work. It might not. But it's what Notre Dame basketball is in 2026-27.

Frank from The Bend

10:19

Considering the lack of NIL that the program has to operate with, do you think the staff did a good job getting the players they did in the portal?

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