JotCast | Notre Dame basketball - June 2026 chat

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Tom Noie

10:19

IF: A ton. We spent about 40 minutes together and touched on a variety of topics. Her candor was so refreshing. As a head coach, she was often so guarded. You could tell she had about 40 other items on her agenda during those days. Her mind went so many different directions that sitting down for an interview no matter the time of year was just something else she had to get through. She was more programmed, almost on auto pilot. When we talked in May, she was in the moment, as she's been since leaving coaching. It was surprising to learn that when she left, that was it. That part of her life was over. Forever. No second thoughts. No regrets. Was also surprised by what lit the fuse for her to take such a strong stand for women as she did at the 2019 Final Four. For those of who missed them, there's a column, a Q and A and a feature on that Final Four stance at ndinsider.com and southbendtribune.com. Check them out.

Illinois Fool

10:15

Loved your articles on Muffet McGraw. Was there anything you learned about her or something that surprised you?

Tom Noie

10:05

Ryan: Great to hear from you. Keep the faith in the Irish this season. They may surprise. Notre Dame is overdue for one of those out of nowhere seasons - why not this year and this team?

Ryan Frankfort Illinois

10:04

Tom how do you think the team will look during the season with all the new transfers i think they will look good GO IRISH ☘️☘️🏀🏀

Tom Noie

9:50

Kling: Until we see or maybe hear differently, the starting lineup should be pretty well set before summer school ends. Braeden Smith at point guard. Braeden Shrewsberry at shooting guard. Ethan Roberts at wing guard. Brady Koehler at small forward and Logan Duncomb at power forward. Any potential ceilings for 2026-27 start and end (for now) with getting to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. That would be a big step, and something this program couldn't do last season.

Kling from Orlandoland

9:48

Early thoughts on a starting lineup? Early thoughts on what this team's ceiling might be?

Tom Noie

9:48

Kling: You asked, so here is a sort of summer primer for Notre Dame basketball that appeared in the Sunday, June 7 print edition (and on-line) of the Tribune - https://tinyurl.com/j8mmdxec. Team chemistry will be a yearly issue with so many teams overhauling rosters. I like what Notre Dame could be with this group. It got older. It got more experienced. It got guys who have to extent done it at that level. Now go do it together. That will be the trick...

Kling from Orlandoland

9:46

Seems like team chemistry (on the court) could be a challenge this season with so many new pieces. What do the coaches need to do during the remainder of the off season to mitigate this?

Tom Noie

9:45

Mike: You lost me with your second sentence. Notre Dame basketball general manager Pat Garrity is not tasked with making sure Notre Dame lands "top" talent. Rather, his job is to find the "right" talent. Players who fit Notre Dame from an academic/athletic standpoint. Players whose skills fit the program and a certain salary slot. Let's also understand that the job of general manager of a college basketball program, let alone two, is still relatively new. It's not like the position has been around for 20 years and everyone knows exactly what the duties entail. This was a learn on the job kind of position for Garrity, who has a ton of NBA-level front-office experience, but that doesn't translate to college. Like with Bevacqua, it would be nice to sit with Garrity and reach a point where you say....ahhhh...so that's what you do.

Mike from Rochester, NY

9:40

What does Pat Garrity do? If he's truly handcuffed from helping land top talent, then I'm not sure why he's bothering to stick around.

Tom Noie

9:35

Pat: Welcome to my world. I addressed this issue earlier in the chat. Let's just say that it's not from a lack of effort from the South Bend Tribune.

Pat/ Mississaiga Ont

9:34

I’m not aware of any news conference from Peter Bevacqua or Pat Garrity about the state of the Men’s BB program, and if they have any plans for its future success. Regarding the Women’s BB no news from both on the run that this team went on in the Tournament.

Tom Noie

9:33

Mike: Good one. Travel 4,775 miles to watch a bad basketball team. Try getting that pitch past the decision-makers at the South Bend Tribune. Now, to be fair, there's really no reason to bother even asking. If Notre Dame basketball was rolling, if it went to the NCAA Tournament the last three years, if it was ranked, if it had the potential to do something special this year, we'd be there. The interest would be there. The demand to read about the program would be there. It's simple - if Notre Dame is good, we're going on the road. If Notre Dame isn't good, we're saving those funds and covering from the couch.

Mike from Rochester, NY

9:30

Are you making the trip to Rome for the Villanova game?

Tom Noie

9:30

Mike: No idea. None. Recruit and develop four-year guys was a nice notion last year, until Notre Dame saw half those guys from that Top 10 recruiting class leave. It will remain hopeless until Notre Dame proves it can do what it hasn't done since 2021-22 - win.

Mike from Rochester, NY

9:29

We know from the caliber of transfer prospect that NIL funds are limited with respect to portal entries. Is there any indication that ND will be able to buttress its player retention funding? The "recruit and develop" strategy can work, but it is hopeless if guys are going to leave after a year or two.

Tom Noie

9:28

If a change is made with the Notre Dame head coach, don't expect a "name" hire. If anything, expect Notre Dame to go the opposite direction. Where are the most $$$ committed to in college basketball today? The head coach? Nope. The roster. Notre Dame already shops down a different aisle in the transfer portal. It will also shop down a different aisle when it comes to the next head coach, whenever that might happen.

9:26

Tony: One question with about 35 different acceptable answers. The easiest would be to say that if this season looks anything like last season, it will be time to go a different direction. But ... How can anyone look at that roster and look at what college basketball is today in terms of having to spend serious $$$ to get to the NCAA Tournament and decide it's time for a change. When that day comes, will Pete Bevacqua be able to look Micah Shrewsberry in the eye and say to him, Micah, we gave you every opportunity to succeed here. We gave you resources. We gave you unlimited support and confidence and an ability to keep up with college basketball and you haven't done it. That's nowhere near the case. Knowing what Bevacqua considers a "bad" year also would help. This is a program that hasn't had a winning season in any of the previous three years. But now THIS is the team and the year? Not sure that's entirely fair, but then again, neither is this business.

Tony

9:22

If this is another bad year? Does Shrews survive one more year? If they made a change and went for an asst coach. What about Ryan Humphrey?

Tom Noie

9:07

Stephen: In fairness, that would be a great, great, great question for Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. For the record, this must be said for any discussion moving forward - the South Bend Tribune has had a standing request of Notre Dame to speak on the record with Pete Bevacqua about the Notre Dame basketball program. That request has been denied. Bevacqua believes it is not in the best interest of Notre Dame to discuss the basketball program with the Tribune. So the questions and the concerns linger.

Stephen

9:03

Tom, do you expect Pete Bevacqua to do more than sit on the courtside seats with Garrity this season and actually improve the program if (when) Shrewsberry doesn’t turn this around?

Tom Noie

9:03

Jim: It's difficult to get any hard numbers for what schools spend what in any sport, but an educated guess would be that Notre Dame was in the bottom three of Atlantic Coast Conference last season in terms of money spent to build out the roster. Figure that's still the case this year, with the Irish maybe even last after Boston College and Georgia Tech hired new coaches. With new coaches comes a new "commitment." If Notre Dame were in the Big East, it likely would rank near the bottom of that league with maybe Butler and Seton Hall.

Jim Reagan, Charlottesville VA

9:01

Hello Tom and All. Glad for this Chat! Tom, what’s your feel for 🏀 Programs swimming in the same NIL Soup as the Irish? BC? Syracuse? Wake Forest? Pitt, which did not fire Capel? Big East Teams other than St.John’s?

Tom Noie

8:57

Tony: Ask me after this season in terms of what classifies as "solid" players. I think three of the six transfers classify as solid - the law firm of Duncomb, Smith and Roberts. Old. Experienced. Seen a lot. Done a lot. Not sure any coach has much of a handle of what it takes to keep players at their respective schools. It's a transactional sport. Micah Shrewsberry and his staff believed they had the pulse on last year's team until the portal opened. The majority of college coaches have to work under the assumption that the next year's roster won't look anything like that year's roster. It's just patching holes and plugging leaks the best you can.

Tony

8:53

Tom, do you think Coach Shrews has a better handle of raising money to keep his players at Notre Dame? Going to need at least 5 recruits in the 2027 class. With the noise that he won’t be brought back. Do you think it will be hard to get solid players?

Tom Noie

8:52

Joe: That would be the Notre Dame men's and women's basketball openers against Villanova in Rome - yes, THAT Rome - on November 1. It's billed as the "Eternal City Tip-off." If last year's Notre Dame team was returning intact, it would be an interesting matchup. Now, not so much. Might be too big of an ask of an Irish team that will be playing its first game together to figure it out against a Villanova team that went 24-9 overall and 15-5 in the Big East. Anyway, enough of that hype. Here is a link for the official travel packages - https://www.eternalcitytip-off.com/ - which doesn't go live until Thursday, June 18. And no, the South Bend Tribune will not be making the sojourn. Hear this Notre Dame football season might be one for the ages, so our attention, at least until January, will be on that.

Joe H. Mechanicsburg, PA

8:47

Hi Tom, Any word on travel packages to go to Rome to see the Men’s and Women’s basketball games in November? Thank you for all you do.

Tom Noie

8:46

Coach: Hard to argue with any of that, but aren't you just a little bit intrigued by how this might all look this season? What if the Big South player of the year (Logan Duncomb) does what he believes he can do and is better on a bigger stage this season? What if Braeden Smith and Ethan Roberts bring a knowledge and an experience that this program hasn't seen since what, 2021-22? What if the unknowns of Devin Brown, Yoro Diallo and Bryce Dortch become knowns? What if Micah Shrewsberry strips down the playbook and realizes THIS is path back to success? Not saying it's going to happen, but with this group, not saying it won't. We don't know, but we will find out. That right there should keep you interested.

coachb2003@gmail.com

8:42

It is hard to build a quality team to battle in the ACC when it is around a transfer from Winthrop. Notre Dame hoops enthusiasts need to realize the administration knows there is only one sport that matters, and all financial resources are headed that way. Maybe Father Jenkins was right. Put Notre Dame men's hoops in D3. There would be much more hope there

Tom Noie

8:37

Billy: He has to. Any discussion of the Notre Dame basketball program starts with this - Micah Shrewsberry needs to be a better coach. In all phases. In every way. He knows that. We know that. The shortcomings this program has had in simply taking care of the ball are well documented. Goes to your point of not being fundamentally sound. Maybe that happens this season with a trio of transfers - Logan Duncomb, Ethan Roberts and Braeden Smith - who give the Irish something they haven't really had in Shrewsberry's first three seasons. Experience. Don't discount how that might help everything look better and be better. Including the head coach.

BillyMc from Naples, FL

8:34

Tom - Last year I felt like we were the less smart team (players and coaches) in most games, which was the opposite of the Brey era. I’m actually looking forward to watching more fundamentally sound players this year. Do you think Coach Shrewsberry can do a better job strategically with more fundamentally sound players developed by other coaches to avoid the strategic collapses we saw in a lot of games the last couple of years?

Tom Noie

8:33

Tom: In an ideal world, Notre Dame athletics has enough money to compensate its athletes (sorry, PB, we're not going to cling to the student-athlete notion) and challenge for the national championship in football and be competitive enough to dream big March Madness dreams in men's AND women's basketball. Then, there's the reality, and the reality is this - Notre Dame has chosen not to commit to what's needed to compete at the highest level. Notre Dame is not going to spend $10-plus million (which is the baseline) to be a legit NCAA Tournament team that can get to the second and maybe, if everything breaks right right, third weekend of the NCAA Tournament. It would be better served (seriously) going all in with football and being on the fringe of the elite for women's basketball. The numbers needed there are nowhere near as inflated as men's basketball. Won't go as far as saying it's easier, but it is far more manageable. There's no way to expect a whole lot of this year's roster. You just hope it hits.

Tom D., Lansing MI

8:29

What is the likelihood of ND increasing NIL money for the men's basketball program to the level necessary to challenge for the NCAA tournament and the upper tier of the ACC? Is there greater interest in maintaining the high level of the women's program and just letting the men scrape by? Surely they can't be expecting much with the roster they will be taking into next season. Thanks, Tom!

Tom Noie

8:27

ssss

7:47

To join today's chat, please be sure to include your name and hometown with your question or comment. And with that, you know the rest ... let's light this Notre Dame basketball summer chat candle ...

7:46

Don't look now, but the 2026-27 Notre Dame basketball season has officially gone green. Kind of. Sort of. Games and everything else that matters are still months away, but the Irish are back on campus, the nine newcomers are on campus and summer school has started, which means, so has the marathon of 2026-27. What will this journey look like? More ups? Fewer downs? Plenty to ponder as the heat index around these parts pushing toward triple digits.

*** Wednesday, June 10 ***

Tom Noie

3:33

Who will be the breakout newbie this season for Notre Dame?

Logan Duncomb (34.8% | 8 votes)

Devin Brown (4.3% | 1 vote)

Jonathan Sanderson (17.4% | 4 votes)

Ethan Roberts (4.3% | 1 vote)

Yoro Diallo (4.3% | 1 vote)

Braeden Smith (34.8% | 8 votes)

Total Votes: 23

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