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Notre Dame Hoops Chat

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Thomas Noie

2:12

Thanks to everyone who joined today's marathon chat. We went for nearly five hours. We'll circle back around to this early in January. Maybe the second week. If you have a question or comment that cannot wait, drop me a note at tnoie@sbtinfo.com. Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year! Talk to you again in 2020!

2:11

Collin: A great way to end today's chat. But without a great answer.....ready? I don't know. I wrote as much pre-Boston College, like I have no idea where this program's headed. Even more so now that we've seen what's happened around the Atlantic Coast Conference. How good is anyone? Louisville? Duke? North Carolina? Virginia? Every team has had pretty low moments to date, which means we have no idea what league play will mean. There might be some highs for Notre Dame - running off some really powerful/resume-like home wins. There might be some real lows - losing at Wake Forest? At Georgia Tech? Usually I have a good idea what to expect with this team and this league. This year? Not a chance. It's going to be crazy, and Notre Dame may be right in the middle of the crazy.

Collin Elkhart, IN

2:08

Having seen what you have seen this year, how do you think this year finish’s?

Thomas Noie

2:08

Wade: That Ball State game was No. 2 on my list....turns out that one basically kept Notre Dame out of the NCAA tournament that year. Notre Dame was No. 69 in a 68-team field, which means one swing game here or there did it. Here's my take on Brey getting his guys to play hard - he kind of thinks they're going to play hard on their own. But as Goodwin's said, he needs Brey to push him more. Hae didn't have to push Jerian Grant or Pat Connaughton or Steve Vasturia. Or Bonzie Colson or Matt Farrell. Those dudes were different. Brey realizes that this group may need to be pushed more than previous guys.

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

2:05

Honorable mention loss was Ball State. ND had a healthy roster. I just don't think at times Brey gets his guys to play hard enough. ND beats a ky bowman team last with just 6 healthy scholarship guys and loses to a BC team with bowman and popovic out. Hubb just plays too casual too often. If he's not making treys this season he adds very little else.

Thomas Noie

2:01

Bill: Not at all. Notre Dame's been down this road before. Rex Pflueger and Robby Carmody both were hurt on floors other than Notre Dame. Remember, Scott Martin and Tim Abromaitis both blew their ACLs out on jump-stops in the Pit. Just one of those stretches of fluky stuff. Notre Dame went a long time without a serious injury. Now it seems like it can't get through a year without one or two. Everything at Rolfs Hall is state of the art and Tony Rolinski is one of the best in the business.

Bill

1:59

With all of the injuries in the last few years, do you see Brey taking a look at the strength and conditioning program? I know an aspect of it is bad luck, but it has been a lot of bad luck

Thomas Noie

1:59

Ray: I'm in the minority here, maybe the extremely minority, but if there's a game with Bill Walton on the call, I'm watching. I find him refreshing in a weird sort of way. He's not breaking down the Xs and Os and not pumping up this guy or that guy as a future NBA star. He's funny without overly trying to be. He doesn't take the game or himself very seriously. And my admiration for Walton grew after I watched him hang around nearly an hour after Saturday's game ended to take pictures and talk with whoever wanted to take a picture and talk. Totally chill guy. Genuine. Refreshing.

Ray From Mishawaka

1:55

Did you have a chance to see the replay of the UCLA ND Game with Digger and Bill Walton? Honestly, if they would have stuck to the game they could have given good insight. I did enjoy when Bill Walton asked about Digger about his cancer and Digger said they would discuss it later, and then I think play by play announcer Dave Pasch said "that's why we have production meetings Bill"! Great Line!

Thomas Noie

1:50

Justin: No idea....and it's still so early to project. Think Furst would be there ahead of Wesley. I've seen Wesley play several times, and he's really talented, but have heard through multiple sources that grades might be an issue. We'll see.

Justin from Fort Wayne IN

1:49

Where do you see Notre Dame stand with Caleb Furst and Blake Wesley?

Thomas Noie

1:49

Ray: Don't even know if it's on their radar. In today's tech world, it's kind of like, ah, people will figure out some way to watch it, even if there were (and there were) a lot of people confused/upset about not being able to watch it. Totally off the subject, but having Notre Dame football on the ACC Network is another reason (maybe further down the list) why Notre Dame will stick to independence as long as possible. Could you imagine the ACC Network assigning Notre Dame a home game against Georgia Tech that kicks at noon? Or say Notre Dame joins the Big Ten, then has to play an 11 a.m. game at Minnesota on the Big Ten Network? Don't ever see that happening. But there's no excuse for Comcast not to have the ACC Network. None

Ray From Mishawaka

1:45

Is Notre Dame getting any feedback with the ACC Network not available on Comcast? I had to subcribe to another streaming service just to get the ND road games not on the regular Espn Stations. I would have thought with the Duke football game being on ACC Network there would have been alot of upset people.

Thomas Noie

1:33

Wade: Central Michigan was my No. 1 choice. Chris Thomas gets schooled on a last-second 3 from a guy who was 5-7 from a team that would finish 6-24. Said it when I walked out of the old Joyce Center that night that it would keep Notre Dame out of the tournament that year. It did. It was like all the air went out of the program after going to the Swet 16 the previous season. That was a tough one to take.

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

1:31

Worst loss is Central Michigan. No other is close. The IU loss is up there because apparently expecting your star player to block out on free throws is a lot to ask.

Thomas Noie

1:31

Wade: I felt after Carmody went down and Notre Dame lost the way it did to Maryland to throw every possibility out there. Play Djogo more. Play walk-on guard Elijah Morgan more. What was there to lose? The status quo remained and the Irish lost to Boston College. Shows you what I know.

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

1:30

Tom, this team looks like they could full court press a bit more and force some turnovers. Oh wait, Brey has only 8 scholarship players with just 7 he trusts as an excuse not. Imo he still could with Djogo and even Harris. I've seen roy Williams and bill self actually play walk ons in short spurts in legitimate game situations. It seems fairly clear that Harris is a more talented walk on than what we have seen with Brey. Nah, let's just stick to the current plan of passing the ball around the perimeter and hoping the treys are going in.

Thomas Noie

1:30

Mark: Good stuff. Sorry, Austin Torres, but gotta make at least one free throw. Think about what a story that would've been - an Indiana kid in Indianapolis making a free throw to beat the state school. That one was more heartbreaking that head-scratching given what we talked about earlier in the the Crossroads game really is a road game. That NIT loss to Holy Cross? I'd counter by saying playing an NIT home game already is a failure. The outcome's not going to matter. After you've experienced the NCAA tournament, there's nothing worse than the NIT. I tried to wipe that from my memory! lol

Mark Kruz

1:26

Tom the other day I heard you on Sportsbeat 960 discuss the worst losses in the Mike Brey era. I have 2 for the (dis)honorable list. One is the loss to an average IU team 2 years ago with the missed free throws at the end. Also the NIT loss to Holy Cross played in front of family and friends. I don't think there was 400 people in attendance.

Thomas Noie

1:26

Woof: I don't have the same sense of "WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HE DOING BY SIGNING NOBODY!!!!!!" when the 2018 class went empty. I understood why Notre Dame did what it did - when it recruited for the 2018 class, it had no idea what it had in the freshman class. Would they hit the ground running and be really good right away? If that were the case, and Brey said as much about signing nobody, it was going to be really difficult to land even a single prospect. He couldn't point to something EVERYONE wanted - playing time. So he went a different route and shot as high as he could - try to land a five-star one-and-done guy (Stewart, Anthony, Robinson-Earl). That didn't turn out well, which would have been fine had Brey changed gears and gone the grad transfer route last year. That's where the big miss. You can't bring back almost the entire roster of a team that went 3-15 and think you're going to be that much better. This year's class, with Ryan in the fold next year, needed to be heavy on the front court.

WOOF COOKIES

1:22

I've come around to believe that Mike Brey is a good coach and was maximizing the possible recruiting pool for Notre Dame given it's parameters. However, I feel like in the last 2 years either A) the recruiting effort has really fallen off or B) Brey has had really bad luck. Thoughts?

Thomas Noie

1:14

BIll: It's so multi-layered why the roster looked like it did last year and why it looks like does this year. Guys who were counted on to be main guys (Ryan, Harvey) leave. Guys get hurt (Pflueger). Guys who are supposed to develop into leaders (Gibbs) don't. Everything Mike Brey knew about his program went out the window last year. He's still trying to get it back on track where the old guys are your best guys. Won't be like that until next year. As for the transfers, that's systematic of college basketball, not necessarily Notre Dame. Take Matt Ryan, who left because he saw D.J. Harvey taking his spot. Ryan wanted to be a starter and a major shot guy. Didn't think it was going to happen, but imagine for a moment had he stuck it out. How many shots would he have gotten his last two years? We're taking like record-breaking attempts when the injuries hit in 2017-18 and then again next year. But kids today don't want to wait. They want it now. Not just at Notre Dame.

Bill

1:11

Kids transfer for all different reasons, but do you see the transfers of the last few years since Matt Ryan as something systematic with the program or poor fits? You have also mentioned the team having some older guys that would allow the sophomores to come along, what do you attribute most to that roster/recruiting mismanagement?

Thomas Noie

1:11

WDE: Mainly because guys haven't been able to consistently finish. Try it once or twice or three times and you miss or your shot gets swatted, you're more apt to stay out on the perimeter where it's safe. I don't see a lot of true cutters on this team. Consistent cutters. Cutters with the capability of finishing.

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

1:09

Tom, with Mooney at the 5 in a 5 out line up, why are we not seeing more hard cuts to the basket? I did see Mooney find Hubb late in the UCLA game.

Thomas Noie

1:09

Ray: Still in the developmental stages. It's harder to figure out for hoops because there are so many times during the week where they play. But the possibility is on the table. Honestly, though, both teams need to be better for it to happen. Kind of a dead-end to go down if the NCAA tournament isn't a possibility at season's end. Will let you know if it gets the go-ahead.

Ray From Mishawaka

1:07

Any chance you could do a weekly Podcast like "Pot of Gold" except this would be for men's and women's basketball. The pot of gold podcast is great and I think a basketball one would be great also. Thanks.

Thomas Noie

1:07

JT: Get. To. The. Basket. There's going to be a point where there 3s stop falling, likely in league play. Then what? Will Notre Dame have figured it out or will it look like Maryland? Say what you want to say about how good it was to beat Detroit Mercy and UCLA, but Notre Dame still struggles with size and athleticism and length, and that's coming in waves in the ACC. Hubb or Gibbs or Pflueger or someone need to loosen up the defense more by getting in the lane. Shoot the floater, kick it to a shooter, get Durham a lob at the rim. Gotta add another dimension other than, we can't penetrate or finish, so let's just shoot some 3s.

JT Abilene TX

1:04

I know the percentages worked out well for the game, but I saw some awful looking missed 3s in the second half against UCLA. Does this team need to try something different on offense than shooting 3s and if so, what is it?

Thomas Noie

1:03

Drew: Yes, last year especially when it should've been Gibbs' time to take the ball and run with it.....then he didn't. It was like, no, you do it....no you do it....somebody had to do it....then nobody really did. It also goes back to how everyone's role was out of whack in a program where it was always about the old guys. Then last year it was about the young guys....but still old guys around. It wasn't so much a power struggle as a power outage. Nobody really knew what to do. The leadership wasn't the best. The losses started coming and nobody really knew how to handle it. That's on the old guys.

Drew

1:00

Do you think you can attribute some of the offensive struggles over the last couple years to a lack of a true floor general? I honestly thought Gibbs would be a better PG but hasn't really shown great decision making. Hubb CAN be that guy but i don't know if he's there yet.

Thomas Noie

12:56

Justin: Would have to absolutely be the right fit with the right team at the right time as a free agent. There have been plenty of NBA scouts through Purcell Pavilion already - and they're often there to watch someone else.

Justin from Fort Wayne IN

12:55

You see any way John Mooney works his way on a NBA team?

Thomas Noie

12:51

Drew: Ideally, yes. But Hubb's not shown that he can properly see the floor spaced the way it's spaced when he drives. Pflueger could drive it in a previous basketball life. They're going to have to do something with the offense. You can't expect to drop 17.5 3s per game as they have the last two and survive in the ACC. Then again, this league season has the potential to get really wacky, so maybe they can!

Drew

12:49

I had a late arrival to the chat so I apologize if I'm repeating anything. Do you think they could get Hubb or Pflueger in some more high ball screen actions and look for more drive and kick threes or opportunities in the paint?

Thomas Noie

12:45

And Wadelite has spoken......agree with all of it.

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

12:45

Couple things. IMO Durham leaves if Dickinson picks ND. Translation: Durham returns. Also, next year on the perimeter Brey likely returns 5 guys with one being someone coming back from a serious injury and a fifth year senior he does not trust. If he does bring in another wing or preferably a combo guard than its sheer negligence on his part as he will be running Hubb, Ryan and Goodwin into the ground. Oh yeah I hope Ryan can drive it to the basket because Hubb has no interest in that.

Thomas Noie

12:44

Bill: Yeah, it's time to end the Crossroads Classic after the deal runs out in 2021. Its had a nice run, but it's done. That would open a possible return of the UCLA series or another home game in December. Everything's changed now that you're playing 20-game league schedules. Not playing Indiana or Purdue in the Crossroads also would open those teams up to possible ACC/Big Ten Challenge opponents.

Bill

12:42

Is it probable that the crossroads only has two years left? If so, how do you see ND replacing it on their schedule. More annual tournaments in Nov and Dec or one more home and home matchup?

Thomas Noie

12:39

Bill: Fair observation, but probably more than just Ingelsby leaving. It was Ingelsby leaving and Solomon leaving and recruiting not panning out in ways it needed to pan out and the hangover of 2015 and 2016 looming and injuries, which cost Notre Dame one NCAA tournament trip. it was Notre Dame coming off that three-year run of 2015-16-17 and not knowing for sure how to keep everything fresh and humming and moving in the right direction. This program was a Bonzie Colson ankle sprain away from winning two Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships in three years. Think about that for a minute. That's staggering. It really hasn't recovered from that near-miss for many reasons - coaching, player development, injuries, etc.

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