JotCast | Notre Dame hoops chat - February 2022

Notre Dame hoops chat - February 2022

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Thomas Noie

10:48

Joe: This is all we need to know when it comes to Blake Wesley and the chances of his going to the NBA after this season. Does Blake Wesley have the talent right now to GO to the NBA. Yes. Given that league's penchant for drafting solely on potential, he'd fit the profile of what that league looks for and wants. But here comes the rub. Does Blake Wesley have the talent right now to STAY in the NBA? No. Just watch the last few games. There are obvious holes in his game, and in his shooting percentages that need work. He needs work. So he can go one of two ways - leave after this season and run the risk of being out of the league in three years if he doesn't go to the right team with the right coach at the right time, or come back and be good enough to follow the Jaden Ivey track. Do that, and Wesley has a chance to do what you really have to do - get to that second NBA contract. That's where the payoff is. Just getting there is enough for some, but he's talented enough to do more than that.

Tony

10:49

Tom, if we do not make the big dance. Do you think Coach Brey will be back? I don’t think Slo would come back fora one year gamble. Do you think Blake is ready for the NBA like the agents think? I think if he comes back and gets stronger it would benefit him. Thanks, go Irish!

Thomas Noie

10:50

Tony: Mike Brey has a contract at Notre Dame that runs through 2024-25. I expect him to fulfill that obligation. After 2024-25, it's anybody's guess. And no, no player today is truly ready for the NBA, which mentioned earlier drafts almost entirely on potential. They don't want to miss on the next possible can't-miss prospect. Thing is, if they swing and miss and guys who should stay in school, well, there's always another guy coming down the college pipeline. It's an easy solve for them - grab a guy and if he hits, awesome. If he doesn't, thanks for the chance, but who's next?

Tony

10:54

Any news on the 2023 recruiting? Brey has to have another solid class.

Thomas Noie

10:58

Tony: No, and it's too early for that. No, seriously. Notre Dame is in on a couple known juniors in Xavier Booker (Indianapolis Cathedral) and Aden Holloway (La Lumiere), but there's so much that still needs to shake out for Notre Dame to really zero in on what it needs. What will this current sophomore class do after this season? Can J.R. Konieczny take a big step this summer? How ready are Ven-Allen Lubin and Dom Campbell? There's also a variable that's allowed a lot of schools to take a different approach to recruiting. yeah, you have a tight wish list of main guys, but you also have the ever-evolving transfer portal, which can help teams like Notre Dame that like to get old and stay old to do just that. It's an area that will be more of a factor as we move forward, to the point where Notre Dame may spend more time mining the portal than traditional recruiting.

joe from the south side

10:58

Tom, Honestly, I thought this team was dead following the Las Vegas trip and the disasters against the Big 10 and BC. Aside from Wesley in the starting lineup, what have you observed, what can you point to where the light went on for this team?

Thomas Noie

11:01

Joe: There was just too much there for them not to be good. Or, be way better than what they were, especially early. Even in Vegas, and to an extent the Boston College game, Mike Brey wasn't sure what he had. He knew he wanted to ride that seven-man rotation, but didn't really know if he could. Maybe he'd have to go eight, nine, deep. Maybe he'd have to get those sophomores ready. The defensive principles that Anthony Solomon had preached since summer weren't all that evident. They kept drilling it and drilling it and getting those seven guys confident. More Wesley with the ball. Less of Hubb having to handle all the heavy lifting. That worked. Atkinson understanding what was expected of him in league play. That worked. Laszewski not thinking so much about being the scoring power forward and being more of the ringleader defensively who would rebound and rotate and guard guys. That worked. It was kind of like the perfect storm. You could see it brewing. It was only a matter of whether it would hit. It's hit.

joe from the south side

11:01

Tom, I am writing this before the LOUIS game. ND has a legit chance of 14 or 15 regular season league games. I know the ACC is the whipping boy of the day by the gurus and pundits, but C'MON. 15 wins in a Power 5 conference. There should be no question they are in the Tourney. I see places where MICH is in. That is a .500 team in conference and outside of the conference. Where do you feel ND fits in? To me, they look like Top 30, maybe a 7 or 8 seed, but not 11 or 12 and just barely hanging in there.

Thomas Noie

11:04

Joe: You can drive yourself bananas wondering and worrying about where Notre Dame fits TODAY. i about fell off my couch when the ACC Network actually quoted Joe Lunardi during the North Carolina State game last week when he said he had Notre Dame among his last four teams in but ONLY if it beats North Carolina State. Wait, it was Feb. 5 for crying out loud. The Irish have seven league games left - four at home, three on the road. Win your home games, steal one more on the road and get to 15-5.

joe from the south side

11:07

Tom, Couple of roster questions. ND has 12 on scholarship. Let's assume Atkinson, Hubb and Laz are gone. That is 9. What will they do with Carmody? Seems like he will never hoop for ND. Can he go to an academic scholarship or just graduate and move on? That may be 8. Any inkling Zona, Sanders or Taylor are unhappy? Next years bigs may push the incumbents for playing time. Wesley may go, who knows? My guess is ND might be down to 8 scholarship guys or even less. With only 3 coming in, he might be short on bodies. Any chance they are reaching out to Braeden Moore? I know they kicked the tires before and he committed to Rutgers. But he decommitted over 3 months ago and he is still out there. So the questions are what do you think about roster movement when the season ends and are they involved with anyone else for next year?

Thomas Noie

11:10

Joe: Roster management is coming this offseason is ways we don't realize. Not only for Notre Dame, but every college basketball team. The transfer portal has changed the dynamic of keeping your roster intact from one season to the next. Mike Brey knows it. Mike Brey gets it. Only the guys whose time had run out here last year (Nik Djogo, Juwan Durham) left but Brey said it then that he knows that's going to be an exception rather than the rule. Somebody's going to go, somebody may arrive. The portal being the portal, they're always going to keep an eye out for next year. But as of now, too hard to say because we don't know what the roster is even going to possibly look like. That's a spring exercise. A big one. The Irish will figure it out.

Lee from Lancaster

11:10

Hi Tom, I know that you're not a women's basketball fan. However, will you at least admit the ND women's team with freshmen Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron along with Maya Dodson is at least somewhat fun to watch?

Thomas Noie

11:11

Admitted.

Greg, Las Vegas

11:11

A lot of talk about Brey and this potentially being his last year if the Irish do not make the tournament. How do you reconcile this with the incoming class with huge potential, Wesley staying at least another year, plus past success. I see Coach Brey as someone who is enjoying what he does, adjusting to new staff that seems to show progress, strong recruiting for 2023. Seems ending the run now would leave a few chips on the table. I get this senior class has not met expectations, but there are many others that have exceeded expectations.

Thomas Noie

11:12

Greg: They talking among the slot machines and craps table on the Strip? There's no talk of that from the snow and cold of South Bend. Mike Brey's not going anywhere no matter how the rest of this season shakes out. Bet on it. And put $20 on 20 black for me. Or red. lol

Caleb from Charlotte

11:12

Hi Tom, Paul Atkinson is a talented basketball player that is a very effective scorer in the low post. However, he doesn't seem to be able to consistently hit the mid-range jump shot. He also seems to struggle a little bit against the bigger post players. Do you think his game will be effective in the NBA?

Thomas Noie

11:15

Caleb: Don't know and don't care. Why should we? Paul Atkinson's going to have an undergraduate degree from Yale and a Master's from Notre Dame. He'll play somewhere professionally and make some good money for a few years, then have those degrees to fall back on. You learn this when you cover Notre Dame hoops - it's not just about the NBA, and sometimes it's not about the NBA at all. Paul Atkinson is a really good college basketball player who's been exactly what the staff hoped he'd be this season, especially of late when he finally figured out how to be effective in the ACC. Don't think the NBA was ever mentioned when he was being recruited. And that's totally cool.

Greg, Las Vegas

11:15

Bench beyond the chosen 7…are they really not strong enough to provide 2-3 minute breathers? Seems like a missed opportunity to develop game time experience. Are the balling out in practice and Brey’s trusts his historically short bench…or is the talent gap that large, even from a team that was 500 at best these last few years?

Thomas Noie

11:16

Greg: Doesn't matter. Like, doesn't matter at all. Mike Brey made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was going with the main seven and the main seven. That was it. The guys on the back end don't have to like it, but they have accepted it. Get better, grow your games and be one of the guys in the mix next season. It has less than zero with not being able to play or not being good enough to play. It's where this program is - with an experienced seven who have it figured out. Ride them.

Bruce, Centralia, IL

11:17

Hello Tom, We thought Konieczny was the impact guy in this class. Instead, he has barely played, and Wesley is one of the best freshmen in the country. Two questions: (1) is defense the issue with Konieczny?; and (2) would you expect him to be in the rotation next year? Thanks for doing this.

Thomas Noie

11:20

Bruce: Whoa, wait, what? No, J.R. Konieczny was a really good high school player, but at no time did anyone around South Bend or around Notre Dame (and I'm one of the few to be around both) think that he had the higher upside as a freshman than Blake Wesley. Wesley can do things on the court, make that did things, on the court last year that Konieczny didn't do. Konieczny scored a lot of points just shooting up over the top of 5-11 defenders. Wesley attacked the rim, found guys off the dribble. His game was 10 times more college ready as a freshman than Konieczny, who has the chance to be really good next season. But that's next season. Why not now? He considers himself a guard even though he's probably closer to 6-7. If he's a guard, whose minutes would he take this year? Notre Dame's got enough guards right now.

Caleb from Charlotte

11:20

Hi Tom, when Nate L. sustained the injury and left the game and Paul A. got into foul trouble, Coach Brey chose to play with a small lineup rather than put Matt Zona into the game for a couple of minutes. Does Coach Brey trust Matt Zona or Elijah Taylor enough to play them for a couple of minutes?

Thomas Noie

11:21

Caleb: Nowhere near to the point where he trusts the main seven guys in the rotation. And Elijah Taylor, honestly, he can't be trusted at all at this point. He's academically ineligible, so we won't see him until the fall.

Lee from Lancaster

11:21

Tom, Jaden Ivey would look good in the blue and gold. Was he not interested in coming to ND or did ND not bother to recruit him? Also, with 5 seconds left in the NCAA finals and ND down by 1 with the ball, who takes the final shot, Wesley of Hubb?

Thomas Noie

11:23

Lee; Bit of both with Ivey, which was asked an answered earlier. As for the second part, there's no question. It's Prentiss Hubb. In November and December, it would've been and was Wesley, but as we saw Wednesday against Louisville, when Notre Dame needs it from Hubb in the clutch, he delivers. He may drive you completely nuts for the first 37 minutes, but then drops the dagger. Yeah, they're going to Hubb, though personally, give me Wesley with the ball near halfcourt, go one-four flat with maybe a ball screen and tell him to attack. Don't settle, which is what he tends to do. When he's attacking, he's tough to stop.

Dan

11:23

Who is coming back next year?

Thomas Noie

11:24

Hopefully, me for Year No. 25. lol

Jim in Charlottesville

11:25

Glad to see the improved Notre Dame Defense! The Irish Guards seem to me to dominate rebounding on the defensive end. Do you have numbers that show this?

Thomas Noie

11:27

Jim: The rebounding numbers were a little skewed for Wednesday's game against Louisville without Nate Laszewski, who averages 7.0. Dane Goodwin is at 5.0, Blake Wesley 3.4, Hubb 2.7, Ryan 4.6 and Wertz 2.0. They knew that without Laszewski, it had to be a collective effort. Atkinson grabbed 15, but when it's a team thing, with the guards getting on the glass, it's so much more effective. Still, it would be nice to have Laszewski back sooner than later.

Matt from Fairfax, VA

11:27

Hey Tom, it's about time you had one of these chats! Thanks! The Irish are rolling, but it's never too soon to look toward the future. Any word on if Atkinson could be eligible to return next season? When will that be sorted out? And if eligible, would he want to return? Finally, care to predict who from the long-time core will return next season and who will be ready to move on?

Thomas Noie

11:29

Matt; A popular topic today that's been asked and answered a couple times today. The possibility of Atkinson returning is intriguing. Nobody has given any indication on anything definite, saying it's something that will be sorted out when the season ends. I wouldn't be surprised if a bulk of the guys return. That could include Laszewski and even Hubb. Would be interesting.

Jim Tal, Valley Center, CA.

11:29

Hi Tom, great and timely work as always covering the Irish beat. Though things are certainly trending in a most positive direction this season after another gritty win last night, I want to ask a question as it relates to the 2022-23 campaign. Yes, it's very encouraging that Brey is bringing in a Top 20 ranked class but here's a cold, uncomfortable fact. If a number of the seniors elect to bypass the chance to return next year, it's hard to envision a scenario whereby ND doesn't suffer a huge drop off and falls right back into total mediocrity. As of now, do you have any inkling as to whom among Goodwin, Hubb, Nate, Ryan and Trey might be contemplating a return to South Bend? Lose three or more of those guys and it's time to turn out the lights because the party will probably be over!

Thomas Noie

11:30

Jim: Whoa, the glass ain't half empty with you, it's broken and spilled all over the kitchen table. Turn out the lights? Seriously. Just the opposite. The party might just now be getting started. House a rockin, don't bother knockin.

Dave from West Covina, California

11:33

Hi Tom: I really enjoy your articles out here in Southern California! Why do you think Notre Dame does not go 2 for 1 when the half is winding down? I continuously see them get the ball with about 45 seconds and the seconds melt away but they could have two possessions in those 45 seconds?

Thomas Noie

11:34

Dave: I got into writing at such an early age because I was told there'd be no math. The college shot clock is 30 seconds. That's a lot of work to do in a short time to get two possessions, no?

Victor K.

11:34

Tom, we enjoy your coverage here in Salem. What is it that makes Anthony Solomon such an effective defensive coach?

Thomas Noie

11:37

Victor: Come to town and spend five seconds around Anthony Solomon and you'd understand. You'd be ready and willing to run through a wall for the guy so as not to disappoint him. It's the perfect storm of a new coach with a new voice and new ideas with a team that was so starved to be better. They've maybe even exceeded expectations when it comes to defense. The Irish have held each of their last six league opponents to 65 or fewer points. That's never happened for them in ACC play. Cormac Ryan said it best the other day when we talked defense. He admitted that, yeah, having Slo and Antoni Wyche (zone) preach playing defense has been needed, but if the Irish didn't collectively take pride in defending, of guarding their guys and staying true to that, it wasn't going to work. It's worked.

Ryan mars pa

11:37

What do you think about this team so far go Irish can’t wait to watch the Irish play against Georgia Tech soon

Thomas Noie

11:38

Ryan: Notre Dame's on a nice little run right now where the Irish have won 13 of 15 with those two losses over the last 55 days. It's all right there in front of them. Just keep competing and believing and just maybe....

IrishHoopsFan

11:50

Who is your favorite clown?

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