JotCast | Notre Dame Hoops Chat - April | 4/23/2020

Notre Dame Hoops Chat - April

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Ryan, Alliance OH

12:36

With the recent hire of Coach Ivey, is there any possibility of her son, Jaden, coming with his mom back to ND. Not sure if that can even happen. Thanks for doing a great job keeping us informed.

Thomas Noie

12:18

Going to slide out for couple minutes to watch Niele Ivey press conference....keep the questions coming....we've got all afternoon to talk hoops!

12:11

Jake: Too much too soon for Carmody....he's gotta take it slowly and, most importantly, get through a season without getting hurt. Mike Brey wants Nik Djogo to get the first chance as sixth man. We'll see where it goes from there.

Jake

12:10

If you had to guess the order of the bench next season, what would it be. I think Carmody has gotta be the 6th man, but beyond that, who knows? Not me for sure.

Thomas Noie

12:10

Kevin: Man, now I'm hungry. Dinosaur was a must-get every time in Syracuse. Manhattan" Virgil's and Might Quinn's. Greensboro is great, but if you've read my stuff, you know there's nothing like a Big East semifinal Friday night at the Garden.

Kevin

12:09

I'm an Upstate NY resident, how does Dinosaur compete with NC BBQ joints in your opinion? As a followup to the ACC/BE question would you prefer the ACC Tourny in Greensboro experience or the BE at The Garden??? I think I know the answer as there is nothing like The BE Tourny at The Garden in my opinion.

Thomas Noie

12:08

Both do...it's more of a team effort than what many realize.

Justin, Fort Wayne

12:07

It looks like Coach Humphrey does most of the recruiting from a coaching stand point, then Brey gets involved. Why doesn’t Ayres or Balanis do any recruiting?

Thomas Noie

11:53

Kevin: Maybe the best question of the day to date. Been thinking about that a lot the last couple days as I do my retrospective Notre Dame hoops columns. I love the ACC and getting to some of the cities I'm able to get to in the league, but you almost forget about what the Big East was all about. Especially that 2010-11 season when 11 teams made the NCAA tournament and Notre Dame went 14-4 in the league. That was a hell of a ride. If I had to pick, I'd say Big East for this reason - there were more home games that mattered to this fan base than what they currently get. Georgetown was big. Syracuse was big. Villanova and UConn and Marquette and DePaul. Louisville had become a rival in those latter years. People knew about Providence and Seton Hall and St. John's. ACC? It's Duke and Carolina and Virginia and Louisville and the 'Cuse and then......not many others that move the fan meter. The ACC's been good to Notre Dame, but from a juice standpoint, the Big East might've been best.

Kevin

11:49

As the ND beat writer do you prefer the ACC or BE days????

Thomas Noie

11:49

Joey: At least it would be two "good" years, as opposed to two average years, right? Think Mike Brey would take that....the grad transfer is part of the college basketball landscape. It's going to be a factor both ways for schools. Just kinda gotta roll with it.

Joey from Highland, IN

11:48

With this transfer portal and grad transfers, let’s hope Ryan isn’t a play 2 good years at Notre Dame then grad at a powerhouse school.

Thomas Noie

11:48

All want to play professionally, but will go three different routes. Don't know how much Rex Pflueger has left. it was painful watching him at times late in the year. Everything looked like it creaked on him. Gibbs and Mooney were set to participate in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational pre-NBA draft showcase for college seniors. Not that it would lead to being selected in the draft (whenever that might be) but it might've opened up additional opportunities for them. Gibbs is a fringe guy (G league, Europe), while Mooney should at least get a look.

Todd

11:46

Feel bad for Rex, TJ and Mooney with how the season ended, especially how well the team was playing at the time. What have you heard about those 3 and their next steps?

Thomas Noie

11:46

Yes, if I were a betting man (and for the record, not even close to one) I'd say they're going to the NCAA tournament next year. As I mentioned earlier, it's the next step - from 3-15 (bad) to 10-10 (average) and now it's time for an above-average year that includes the NCAA tournament. Let's go!

Guest

11:44

Johnny from Dallas Tx. Would you bet, if you where a betting man and allowed to, on ND getting in the tournament next year? If so how long would they stay in it?

Thomas Noie

11:40

Kevin: No idea. No, really. What does college basketball, what does college athletics look like in five years? Who's the athletic director at Notre Dame? Is the program ascending or descending at that point? Too many unknowns to know.

Kevin

11:39

Clearly Brey isn't going to be at ND much longer than 3 to 5 years depending on circumstances, if you had to put odds on the field in terms of replacements how would it look?

Thomas Noie

11:39

Todd: Cormac Ryan is Ben Hansbrough Lite. He's got some swagger to his game, which is something the program really needs. He tends to play too fast sometimes, but that will come. He's a main guy from the jump. And Juwan Durham? You're a fifth-year senior and main guy. Go play like one.

Todd

11:38

Hey Tom, thanks for the chats! With Cormac Ryan, what former Irish player can you compare him to and what can we expect from him next year? Also, what do you see out of Durham next year?

Thomas Noie

11:38

Kevin: Haven't dived too deeply into what the league will look like next year....we're just trying to get through the next week without any NBA playoffs or pickup hoops! I did see one early projection that had Notre Dame 11th. No way that happens. This team will be better than 11th. Maybe not better than the top four of usual suspects - Duke, Carolina, Louisville and Virginia. Think Duke and Virginia are both repeat opponents next season, so there's that. As down as the league was last year, it may not be THAT much better in 2020-21.

Kevin

11:35

What's your early take on the ACC this coming season? Can't believe how weak it was last year and can't imagine it will be that way the coming season but with the transfer portal and such it's hard to know year to year who will be difficult to beat other than the usual blue bloods.

Thomas Noie

11:33

Joey: Whoa....think everybody would take that in a heartbeat. That's a great call, and maybe too big of a jump, yet one that probably has to be made. I'll still ride with the belief that Martin Geben was the team most valuable player his senior season. He was really good that year. Durham needs to do the same. Like, this is it, go be a player. Don't pout. Don't let anything hold you back. Go grab it.

Joey from Highland, IN

11:31

Do you think Durham can be as good as Geben was his senior year? That would be amazing. Geben was nothing then turned into a nice player his senior year.

Thomas Noie

11:31

Dennis: I agree, but his thinking is this - recruit the proverbial High IQ guys who can think on their feet in close situations. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But there are times when Brey will eschew a timeout in favor of just playing, in part because he doesn't want to overthink the situation where it's paralysis by analysis. Understood, but there are times, like the Kentucky game, where he's got to be more assertive than putting it in the hands of his guys.

Dennis

11:30

Tom one of the things dislike about Brey is his strategy in the last minute of close games. Take the Elite 8 game against Kentucky as an example. Why does he continue to have one player hold the ball at the top of the key and then shoot a 25 footer at the end of the shot clock? Why not call time out and make a play so we get off a high percentage shot.

Thomas Noie

11:29

Troy: Usually when I'm asked this question, I ask it back, and often never receive a response. Say you're a Top 20-30 kid. You've got people in your ear for years about going to the NBA. You're that good. What is it about Notre Dame that makes you choose that school over any of the bluebloods? Duke? Carolina? Kentucky? Even Gonzaga? Notre Dame's likely never going to get a one-and-done guy. A two-and-done guy? It would have to be someone along the likes of Obi Toppin, who was an unknown until blowing up to national player of the year. But the elite of the elite, why choose Notre Dame?

Troy

11:27

With success in the 2 elite 8 runs, and an ACC title, why can't ND get any top players. While I like the grooming of players and watching them grow and get better, we still need a one and done or just a 2 year talent type guy.

Thomas Noie

11:27

Knights: Great question. I've seen J.R. Konieczny play twice in person. First time, he played against Mishawaka and was, let's just say, OK. I expected him to take over the game, but he just kind of floated out there. I was a little skeptical of his game. I spent some time with him two days later, got to know him a little bit and then watched him put on that display against Marian in the Jimtown Sectional. It was like the proverbial light bulb had gone on - for the both of us. He was everything that night that he wasn't the previous week. You could see the skills and the potential and what Mike Brey saw in him. He's going to need to get a lot stronger to survive and eventually thrive in the ACC, and he knows that. But the skills are there. I'm interested to see what he does his senior season. There's a whole lot there.

Knights in South Bend

11:24

My son plays at Marian and has played alot against Jr in ICCL. I was not sold on him being D1 talent but after this season have changed my mind, especially after he dropped 40+ on us in sectional! Interested if you've seen him play much and your impression?

Thomas Noie

11:24

We were?

GQ

11:24

We we’re told we would be in midst of a coaching search, appears not?

Thomas Noie

11:24

The plan is for him to sit

IrishWay96 - Denver

11:24

Tom, thanks for hosting another chat during these fluid times. If the NCAA waives the transfer sit out rule next month, that would immediately impact Wertz and the rotation this season. If he was on campus this summer playing with the team, getting acclimated to the system, that would be a positive. However, as talented as he is, my preference would be to have him sit out this year and have 2 full years where he could hit the ground running in 2021-22 and we have better guard roster balance after Hubb, Goodwin, etc, graduate.

Thomas Noie

11:23

Justin: Nearly two hours in and finally, a Nik Djogo question. Mike Brey has said he doesn't see why Djogo can't be the sixth man this season. We'll see. I think the season starts with Djogo in the rotation, maybe even high up in the rotation, until we see what the other pieces look like.

Justin, Fort Wayne

11:22

Do you see Nik Djogo getting any minutes off the bench next year?

Thomas Noie

11:22

Brian: It's going to make recruiting that much more difficult for Notre Dame if the potential one-and-done guys now make the jump to the G League.

Brian (South Bend)

11:21

Hey Tom, If more one and done type players start going to the G-League will that be a net positive or a net negative for the Irish when it comes to recruiting?Do you think ND will now be competing with Duke and North Carolina for players that those teams normally wouldn't prioritize as recruits?

Thomas Noie

11:21

No, no, no, a thousand times no. It was time, and Mike Brey has said it, for those guys to go and start the next chapter in their basketball lives. It wasn't ever going to be an option. As Mike Brey has said, he loves each of those three like sons, but it was time they leave. Hard to argue.

Dennis

11:20

Second question if the NCAA had decided to let the seniors have an additional year would Gibbs and Mooney have stayed? I'm sure they were probably leaning one way if this had happened.

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