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Notre Dame hoops chat - February 2022
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AvatarThomas Noie
9:44
Well, it's been a minute since we've done this, but we're back. It's Notre Dame hoops chat time. Just a little bit has changed (OK, a whole lot has changed) since we were last here around these parts in mid-November. You have to have questions. You have to have comments. We're here for you, for however long it takes. To participate, make sure to include your name and hometown. And with that, you know the rest... let's light this chat candle.
Wayne
9:51
I hate to think about next season already, but depending on who is back and the great class coming in, who do you think does come back?
AvatarThomas Noie
9:54
Wayne: There's a LOT to like about what next season might look like. How about this - what if EVERYBODY decides to come back? That would include graduate transfer Paul Atkinson if - and that's a big if - the NCAA eventually rules that Ivy League players past and present can get that COVID year back. It was generally assumed that Dane Goodwin, Cormac Ryan and Trey Wertz would return for their fifth years. Nate Laszewski was a question mark and Prentiss Hubb was a doubtful. But what if they all decide to run it back. And Blake Wesley realizes he really needs another year. What then? Nobody on the current roster will 100 percent commit to next season, but it is there.
Tyler B
9:54
Another year (though it's been awhile) where ND hoops is showing they can play with the best of the best in the ACC. What can they be doing better to turn on-court success into recruiting success to help everything snowball for the better?
AvatarThomas Noie
9:56
Tyler: Getting the highest-ranked recruiting class in Mike Brey's tenure is a good place to start. J.J. Starling is generational good. Ven-Allen Lubin might be really good. Dom Campbell can be really good down the line. Now build on it with the right pieces. It wasn't that recruiting took a total backseat the last few years. It was Mike Brey putting all his trust and belief and confidence into this current senior class. He wasn't going to recruit over them, believing that they would deliver. They're delivering. This staff will recruit.
Tyler B
9:56
Are you surprised that Trey Wertz hasn't had a larger/role bigger impact at ND? Do we just always have too high of expectations for transfers?
AvatarThomas Noie
9:58
Tyler: Trey Wertz was really good at North Carolina State in the second half (which forced Blake Wesley to sit and watch) and helped win the Louisville game. Wertz's arc at Notre Dame is similar to Cormac Ryan. That neither had the benefit prior to the 2020-21 season of playing summer pickup with their veteran teammates (there was no summer program that year) really put him and Ryan behind. It's taken this long for them to figure out where they fit, where their games fit. They're both part of a really crowded perimeter. It's been hard at times, but they've both persevered. Maybe now we're seeing what they truly can do.
Tyler B
9:58
Even when ND is kicking butt in the ACC, there are always naturally skeptics questioning whether its fool's gold or not. How's the feeling around the locker room by comparison -- do the guys truly believe they can go out and win some big games? Felt like the previous Elite Eight teams had true, deep believes in themselves
AvatarThomas Noie
10:01
Tyler: There's a belief, a swagger, a confidence that might even border on cockiness, that these guys are just going to get it done. On the court, it's gone from, here we go again when other teams make a run and make it close or take a lead to yeah, they're going to figure it out. The North Carolina State and Louisville games are the most recent examples. Notre Dame would've likely lost those games the last two/three years. But the Irish insist they don't get rattled. They embrace having to figure it out in close games. Like, how's it all going to unfold? Then they go and get another one. It's been a really intriguing group to watch grow and kind of just believe that, yeah, we're pretty good.
Joe from St. Petersburg
10:02
Hi Tom - I understand the short bench and I know you dislike hearing about it. But We all know how this ends. When the tourney comes (ACC and NCAA tourney) it becomes a major issue. I just don't understand how Brey doesn't start at least giving others some run if they want make serious noise. If its just about getting a bid, fine. But if you want to make it to, dare I say, the second weekend - this group will be burnt out before that happens.
AvatarThomas Noie
10:07
Joe: I knew this topic was going to be a hot one today. It really shouldn't be. Look at the current minutes played in the ACC. You'd think that with playing only seven guys with Nate Laszewski healthy that Notre Dame would dominate that statistical category. Dane Goodwin the only Irish in the top 10 for minutes played. Goodwin and Wesley the only Irish in the top 25. Mike Brey made it crystal clear from the start of the season - he was going with those seven guys and only those seven guys. Everybody knew that. The guys in the 8-9-10 spots didn't necessarily like it, but they accepted it. Like, OK, this is the way this season is going to go. Mike Brey isn't alone in when it comes to shorter rotations. The fewer, he feels, the better. It leads to the cohesiveness and continuity that Notre Dame has shown the last three league wins. The other guys, they'll have their time. They know it. They accept it. They don't have to like it, but it's working....
10:08
...However this season unfolds, it's not going to be because Matt Zona didn't play more or Tony Sanders didn't play more or J.R. Konieczny didn't play more. It just isn't. Mike Brey believes the Irish are better with the seven in the rotation.
Eric G
10:08
Why do you think that Brey didn’t insert Zona when Atkinson had to go to bench with foul trouble, when ND was having trouble with that small lineup?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:08
Eric: His seven are on the floor (or the rotation). Again, if he believed that Matt Zona could help, he'd play. Right now, Notre Dame is best having only those seven guys.
EricD
10:08
Hi Tom, looking at rest of schedule, if ND loses the  Wake Forest and FSU games on the road, do you think they will still have enough juice to make the Big Dance?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:10
Eric: Losing those games (and are we really sure Florida State is that formidable at home? It just lost to Pittsburgh) and none other would give Notre Dame a 15-5 league record. Down year or not, 15 wins in the ACC gets you into the NCAA tournament. Book it.
Mike, Rochester, NY
10:10
Any idea whether we might be looking to add another HS recruit to the excellent class coming in next year?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:11
Mike: Not likely, mainly because you need to see how the returning player decisions shake out. Are Goodwin-Ryan-Wertz all coming back? Seems to trend that way. What about Laszewski? Heck, what about Hubb? Paul Atkinson? You have three really talented freshmen coming in next season. There's no room. Or need.
Jim in Charlottesville
10:12
How did the Irish simplify the Offense to make it more efficient and effective--cleaner-- as it looks to have become? Should Cormac Ryan hunt shots more than he seems to be doing now?  Do you think Mike Brey makes this harder to do by not incorporating man screens into the Offense?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:14
Jim: Great question. More motion, less standing around. Get guys moving and cutting and passing and screening, then rolling. It was really trial and error early. Notre Dame didn't know what it had in Paul Atkinson and how his game would translate in the ACC. It didn't know if Blake Wesley was ready to do what he's done. Once Mike Brey saw it, it was like, OK, now we're doing this...and playing this way....get the ball in Wesley's hands more, get it out of Hubb's and let him be a spot-up guy on occasion. Get Goodwin to his sweet spots. Play screen and roll with Atkinson. Mike Brey mentioned last night that the game offensively has finally slowed down for Cormac Ryan to the point where he believes Ryan has another level to hit offensively. That's something to keep an eye on as we move toward March.
Morgan McKinley
10:15
Tom - I missed these. You might remember me as The Front Line Brey Defender. Because there are idiots across the country and we get to read comments from some of them over the years that Mike’s a horrible coach and should be fired because they have a better coach who will without a doubt do better than he has for the past 20+ years, I’d like to get your take on why this year (obviously Atkinson & Wesley) and 2015 & 16 teams and 2011 (Ben?) and others are successful and others are okay and a few bad seasons?? Of course the top level guys almost never if ever come to ND, and athletically is Blake his best and maybe only elite athlete (besides Pat I can’t think of one but Pat couldn’t slash to the hoop as well)
AvatarThomas Noie
10:20
Morgan: A voice of reason! We still need to have that around these parts. Everybody wanted those Elite Eight runs of 2015 and 2016 to be the norm instead of the exception, but they never were going to be that. They just weren't. Let's look at what happened since 2016 and why it happened - the Irish piggy-backed the Elite Eight runs by going 12-6 and getting to the NCAA tournament in 2017 before running into the West Virginia buzzsaw. That's going to happen. Following year, they win Maui but lose their two best players (Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell) for extended time to injuries. Still, they were the 69th team in the 68-team field. They should've gotten in. Next year, they lose the one veteran perimeter guy they couldn't afford to lose to injury (Rex Pflueger) and have to play freshmen who were nowhere near ready. They go 3-15 in the league, but improve their league win total by seven (10-10) the following year. That was a huge bounce-back step...
10:23
...But then the pandemic hit and it wiped out any chance of tasting postseason, if it was the NIT. Then last year was a complete wash. Notre Dame was holding on for its collective life during COVID. The Irish weren't living day to day as they were hour to hour. Still, they go 7-11 in the league and no postseason. This year was supposed to be what last year was and what last year could've been but wasn't. Mike Brey waited on this senior core to get it. Now they get it. They weren't that far off but when you're mired in what the Irish have been mired in since 2018-19, it feels like a lifetime. People get impatient, people get mad, people want coaches fired and players shown the door. Notre Dame stayed the course, and here's the payoff.
Dave from Alpha,NJ
10:23
Hi Tom. Thanks for having this hoops chat. Couple questions: any idea on the injury status of Robby Carmody?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:25
Dave: Robby Carmody likely will never play for Notre Dame, which is tough. Too many injuries, too much lost time. That train had to leave the station without him. He'll have to decide come spring what he wants out of his remaining seasons of eligibility - stay at Notre Dame and likely never play or transfer to a lower level of competition and get something out of his playing career. He's been a great teammate even during a bad situation. You feel for him, but understand that the Irish just had to keep moving.
Dave from Alpha,NJ
10:25
and do you think Greg Zona will ever get any meaningful playing time down the stretch?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:26
Dave: Greg Zona certainly isn't going to get any time, and likely neither will Matt Zona. Not this year. Keep working on his game, keep staying ready and see where that takes him.
Mark Oliver
10:26
Hi Tom, It sure looks like a top 4 seed in the ACC tourney and an NCAA bid are certainly in play for this team. Never would have thought that after the BC game. What do you think the team's ceiling can be this year - possible run to Sweet 16 with a few things and matchups going their way? And do you think at some point Brey needs to get at least a little bit more from players 8 on down?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:30
Mark: Great to hear from you again. Hard no on the idea of going deeper on the bench. Mike Brey has mentioned it several times over the last few months - it was going to be those seven guys and only those seven guys. Add an eighth or a ninth, and it disrupts the cohesion and continuity that we've seen from the seven (particularly in the first Louisville game). Mike Brey's not about to sacrifice that just to play more guys. It's seven and that's it. Today. Tomorrow. Next week.
Ronbo
10:30
What affect will Notre Dame’s conference opponents have in their chances of making the tourney? Do you realize that the six home and homes they have in the conference are against the bottom six teams in the standings. They play none of the top 9 more than once
AvatarThomas Noie
10:33
Ronbo: Notre Dame can only play the schedule that the league hands it. Like, they can't say, oh, let's shuffle out repeaters against Clemson and Boston College and Georgia Tech for Virginia and Wake and Duke. Just like it can only play an ACC schedule. It can't say, yeah, let's move to the Big Ten or the Big 12 and play some of those teams. The league is what it is. Down? Sure, but you win 13-14-15 games in the ACC no matter the year, you're an NCAA tournament team. What will separate Notre Dame from some of its league colleagues is its non-league schedule. It went out of league play and played people. That's going to be a big boost in about four weeks when a certain Sunday of selection surfaces.
Ronbo
10:33
Which of the academic seniors will be back next year? Is there anyway they could pull an extra year out of the hat for Atkinson? I love him and his hand and foot work around the hoop offensively .
AvatarThomas Noie
10:33
Ronbo: Asked and answered earlier, but it wouldn't be too far fetched that every single one of the seniors (and Atkinson depending on the NCAA) has a decision to make. Maybe some return. Maybe all return. Stay tuned.
Howard, Gainesville, VA
10:34
You may have answered this at one point but … how did Jaden Ivey get away from Brey?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:37
Howard: You new around these parts? Matt Painter was the first to offer Jaden Ivey at a time when Notre Dame wasn't in position to offer at that point. That stayed with Ivey. The more Brey talked with Ivey, a player he's seen basically grow up on campus, the more he got the impression that Ivey wanted to get out of the shadow of the Golden Dome, where both of his parents were athletes, and set out on his own. Sometimes, you get a kid like that. You look at his hometown and say, well, why would he NOT go to Notre Dame? All the while, the kid is looking at it and wondering what else is out there in the world outside of Saint Joseph County? What it would be like to make a name for himself somewhere different than where his mother and father made theirs. Sometimes, you get a kid in Demetrius Jackson and know that he has no desire to go anywhere but Notre Dame. Sometimes you get a kid like Ivey and realize, yeah, he wants to see what's outside the Notre Dame bubble. Brey really had zero shot.
Christian, Chicago IL
10:37
Tom, I am shocked more teams don’t press ND. Our ball handling under pressure is a real liability and we have escaped a few times with a lucky plays late in games (Virginia). Brey is rather casual on this topic but I am concerned we might blow a must win down the stretch here. Interested to hear your thoughts and hopefully I am overreacting…
AvatarThomas Noie
10:40
Christian: It's reached a point in league games of late where you just know the press and the traps and freneticism (is that even a word???) is coming from the opponent. Notre Dame still cannot figure it out to the point where it's not adventure, though there was a sign of hope last night against Louisville when it moved Dane Goodwin closer into the backcourt to be a pressure release guy. He's their best foul shooter, so he should always be involved in any press break. It's still an adventure. Like, buckle up, here it comes.
joe from the south side
10:40
At the beginning of each of Mike Brey's, post-game, press conferences, you ask the first question.  Is that due to seniority, talent, money, looks or some combination thereof?  Part 2.  The reporters' questions are inaudible in that situation and the listener is left to try to piece together info. based on Brey's response.  Any chance you guys could get closer to the mike or ask Brey to repeat the question?
AvatarThomas Noie
10:44
Joe: When you've been on the beat for 24 years, it's an unwritten rule that you have the option of asking the first question. You just do. When they're on the road, I'm often the only local media guy there, so it's kind of up to me to get everything going. Happens also in football where I defer to the football guys who've been around the program longer. But no, it has nothing to do with money (I'll take more of it) or definitely not looks. The quiet mike thing is an in-house Notre Dame issues. Coaches and players want to get out of there ASAP. Not going to make them repeat questions.
joe from the south side
10:44
Tom, Your thoughts on Wesley leaving for the NBA?  My observation is that he is a year or two away. 1. His build is too slight.  He is wearing down after a few dozen college games.  Imagine playing 80 or 90 in the pros.  He needs more muscle.  2. While he exhibits athleticism and some wiggle in his hips, I don't find him to be explosive.  You can make 2 star guys from Pitt or BC look bad.  Those kinds of players do not exist in the NBA.  3. Lastly, I thought the Duke game was a litmus test.  That is as close to NBA level talent, top to bottom, as you will see in the ACC.  Bad night for him, but also a talent level he couldn't solve.  I think he needs at least one more year in school, in which case he may explode like Ivey did at Purdue.  Right now, he is G League for a year or two.  Your thoughts?
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