JotCast | Notre Dame December hoops chat

Notre Dame December hoops chat

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Michael

10:17

Are there any indications that Coach Brey is on the hot seat or getting ready to move on? 4 years in a row without a tournament quality team is a long time.

Thomas Noie

10:17

Joey: On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe a 5. The expectations were steep for Cormac Ryan right from the jump. He was an older guy. He made the most of his sit-out season. He was named a captain before he ever played in a game. Mike Brey talked him up as Ben Hansbrough 2.0. He eventually may be that, but like the rest of the season for the Irish to date, it's been a struggle for Ryan. he's averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 36.7 minutes. Solid numbers. But he's shooting .333 percent from the field and .357 percent from 3. He's taken the second most 3s (37), which I would shave for more drives and potential drawn fouls to get to the line, where he's at .923 percent. Watched a little of the Purdue game on tape last night, and there was one possession where he seemed to shoot a 3 for the sake of shooting a 3. He's had issues defensively (they all have), especially against more athletic guards. Have to keep reminding ourselves it's only six games in.

Joey from Highland, IN

10:11

How would you gauge Cormac Ryan so far?

Thomas Noie

10:11

Mike: Great question, and totally agree. No reason and no excuse not to have at least 10 guys that you can go to on a given night. Injuries have been a factor in Robby Carmody not being available until likely February and Elijah Taylor lost for the year with an ankle issue. That said, the trust that Mike Brey so leans on and gives his core guys eventually has to go both ways. Brey decides he's not going to bring in another big behind Juwan Durham, guess what? If I'm Juwan Durham I better understand that I have to produce. If I'm Prentiss Hubb, I have to realize I can't go for no points against Purdue. Those situations get magnified when there's no second option on the bench.

Mike,New Jersey

10:08

Hey Tom I know it has been emphasized that Brey likes a short rotation and doesn't use the max scholarship amount but after three years of poor play how can he not reevaluate his roster construction? Look at teams like Rutgers that have giants like Myles Johnson coming off the bench and we are left with one center who is a 5th year senior and two freshman forwards (one who can't play this year). Its one thing to miss out on top talent but its a whole other issue when you aren't filling out the roster with anyone at all. Hope you and your family have a great holiday and appreciate all the content you put out for ND basketball.

Thomas Noie

10:07

Dave: It is true that this year is a free year. It's too early in the process to project who wants that extra year and who doesn't. It's a question that will need to be asked, but you have to pick your spots on when and how to ask it. Ask Prentiss Hubb or Dane Goodwin about it now, and they're likely going to say that they haven't thought about it. That question was asked throughout football season and only one guy (Jonathan Doerer) actually admitted that yeah, he's definitely coming back. The additional year is there, but that doesn't always mean guys want to take it, or coaches want to have it. There was a push from some last spring to get winter sports athletes an extra year when COVID shut down the NCAA tournament. But the feeling around Notre Dame was yeah, no thanks. The departing guys on last year's team (Gibbs, Pflueger, Mooney) all were ready to move on, or the program was ready to move on from them. At some point, it's time to start fresh. That might be the case with fifth-year guys (Djogo, Durham).

Dave

10:03

I recently heard that the NCAA is allowing fall athletes to not count this year towards their 4 years of eligibility. If this is true, do you see any of our guys taking advantage of this?

Thomas Noie

10:03

Last but not least, No. 3. Kind of like No. 1. Notre Dame hasn't been good enough to beat a ranked team. As Mike Brey has mentioned the last few weeks, it's been a process. They were overwhelmed by ranked teams while going 3-15 two years ago. They were never in position mentally or physically to beat a ranked team. Even last year, that team had guys who didn't really KNOW how to do it. Even the veteran guys in Gibbs and Pflueger and Mooney. This has to be the year they get at least one, right? You'd think. But again, how do they handle the crusher schedule? Does it kill their confidence? We'll see.

10:00

On to No. 2. This schedule was all be design by Mike Brey with the blessing from his players. They didn't know what this season would be like. Would there be games? Would there be shutdowns? Ah, heck, let's just roll the dice and schedule all power teams. Looked good on paper and sounded good as the fall became winter, but looking back, don't know if that was the smartest move. Notre Dame's best win to date is Kentucky. In any other year, the Irish would get out of Rupp with that win, then get home and play two or three non-league games to build up their confidence. What happened? Next up was Duke in the ACC opener. Confidence crusher. Brey banked on his team being mature enough to handle the schedule. To date, they haven't. It's been hard for them to get any traction. The schedule's not going to let up. It's what they wanted, so go play it.

9:57

Matt: Nothing like a three-parter to get us off and running. Good stuff my man. We'll take each one separately, which might mean a few response threads once we run out of space, but here it goes. 1. The answer as to why Notre Dame underwhelms so often against legit teams so often (currently 0-24 against ranked team since November 2017). The Irish just aren't good enough. Or talented enough. Or experienced enough. Even last year, that team had guys who didn't know how to win. They had veteran guys, but fit-in guys. Not front-line guys. That was the difference. That foundation for an OK year (20-12; 10-10) was laid the previous year after the Irish went 3-15 and finished last in the ACC. After that trainwreck, EVERY single option should've been not only explored but utilized to get better. Bring in a couple transfers to shake up the locker room. Bring in a graduate transfer to shake up the rotation. Take a chance where you normally wouldn't take a chance. Notre Dame did ... nothing.

Matt

9:53

Appreciate all your hard work Tom. Three things if you don't mind: 1) Why does this team underwhelm against legitimate competition so often? I understand @ Michigan St, Ohio St etc. Purdue is a very average team that just got beat at Miami, who lost to Florida Gulf Coast. The game never really felt it was going to go our way. 2) Why on earth are we not playing some weaker teams. If anything, this team needs confidence and more Detroit Mercy games. With Syracuse getting cancelled, Brey should schedule two free wins and get the guys shooting confidence back. 3) I appreciate football is first and there is a ceiling with hoops at ND, however, even Northwestern beat Michigan State the other day... how does Brey not get a ranked win in like 4 years. Seriously. Thanks Tom.

Thomas Noie

9:53

Welcome to a non-planned but (hopefully) entertaining Notre Dame men's basketball hoops chat. Had this not been a pandemic year, the Irish would be in Syracuse now in prep for tonight's game in the Carrier Dome. That was scrapped Monday because of contact tracing, which gives us a little free time, which gives us....this. You know the drill. Make sure to include your name and hometown with your question or comment and with that, let's light this holiday hoops chat candle...

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