JotCast | Notre Dame hoops chat - January

Notre Dame hoops chat - January

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Justin from Fort Wayne IN

12:23

So there was some runors swirling around between ND and Devin Carter. Anything from there that should raise an eyebrow?

Thomas Noie

12:12

Dylan: Woof! Toledo's 9-8 and has lost five in a row and six of seven. That's a bad team, and a bad mark on the resume. Imagine had Notre Dame lost that one. Don't think getting to 10-10 gets a middle of the road ACC in this season. Resume's waaaaaay too light.

Dylan from MN

12:11

Have you seen what Toledo has done since our OT win? Yikes. We need to beef up that resume if we want to get in the dance near.500 in league play. The Louisville game would have been a great chance.

Thomas Noie

12:09

Mark: In fairness, Chris Thomas fell into that rut because his knee fell apart. He had microfracture surgery at a time when guys didn't really get back from microfracture surgery. So there's that. Hubb may shoot a little too much, but when you can go for 20 in a half, I say shoot away! And keep that swagger

Mark Kruz from Mishawaka

12:08

Tom is watching Prentiss Hubb like watching Chris Thomas 2.0? I hope Prentiss doesn't fall in the same rut as Chris Thomas did after his sophomore season. It seemed like Thomas regressed due to Brey giving him too much free reign?? Looking forward to a backcourt next season with a lot of swag in Hubb and Cormac Ryan!

Thomas Noie

12:03

Joe: All true, which was why the losses at home to Boston College and Louisville and the Indiana non-league loss were crushers. Notre Dame snapped that streak at Georgia Tech, think they could - stress, could - do the same at Virginia. That would be the one place you'd think they could steal one. At Cameron? Not this group. At Florida State? Just as tall a task.

joe from the south side

12:02

Tom: I think the other thing to consider is the NCAA really looks at record vs. the Top 50. You already lost to LOUIE. Duke will kill them at Cameron, they play scared against UVA, and you get FSU twice. Must win at home against FSU. Must! Then you have to take care of business with the borderline teams VTECH and SYR. Realistically, I think they need a road win against Duke, UVA, or FSU, because beating Wake and GTECH at home does not carry weight. That is a tall order for this squad.

Thomas Noie

11:52

Sam: Going 11-9 would get the Irish in Selection Sunday discussion. Any other year, 11-9 would get them in, but the ACC is down this year. Are they going to beat at least one ranked league team along the way? The non-league resume is so thin. Still, 11-9 is a hard sell right now given that the Irish need to start winning some home games. Like, all of them.

Sam

11:50

Hi Tom, sorry if a question like this has been asked already. Histoically, it seems an unofficial mark to make the Tourney was .500 in ACC play, with a 10-8 record a virtual guarantee to get in. Given the ACC’s down this year, do you think 11-9 would be enough, particularly if there are no really strong wins either in-conference or out of conference? The Irish can get to 11-9 even with losses to Duke and both games to FSU. Would that be enough this year, do you think?

Thomas Noie

11:42

Tom: Love that Hubb has that swagger about him where he's now starting to play better (minus the Maryland game) when the road crowd gets on him. It gets his game and him going. More swagger, please!

Tom from ATL

11:41

Went to last night's game. The haunted Gibbs of 2018-19 is gone and that, with Goodwin's and Hubb's growth, makes this a formidable outfit. Hubb's Colson-style toughness stands out. Crowd started taunting him and, well, it backfired.

Thomas Noie

11:41

And with those four scholarships - go get two graduate transfers and a high school senior guard, maybe a traditional perimeter transfer if the right one comes along. Five perimeter guys too thin? In a system where he plays no more than three? Gotta think the injury thing's gotta turn around, right?

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

11:40

Tom. Next season Brey has 5 perimeter players which includes Carmody coming back from a serious injury and a guy he does not trust in Djogo. Even with a healthy Carmody, 4 trusted perimeter guys and Djogo for next season is razor thin and oh yeah, there are 4 open scholarships!. Does Brey get a kick back on scholarships not utilized,

Thomas Noie

11:40

Scott: Next season....lol

scott

11:40

when will we see dane in starting lineup and rex off the bench

Thomas Noie

11:30

Coach: Ha...John Mooney's not even on the Wooden Award preseason watch list (an omission of utter stupidity, but that's another story). He's not projected to be selected on any of the mock drafts I've seen. He'll get in a camp, get to play summer league and have a chance at a possible two-way contract down the line. And Bill Laimbeer wasn't mellow? LOL

11:28

From Twitter: Tom. Nice win at Georgia Tech. Where is John Mooney projected in the draft? He’s a really solid player. He can help somebody. If he works on his three, he could be a more mellow Bill Laimbeer. Coach from Reading, PA.

11:27

Wade: No, they don't see it because they recruited only bigs. They figured the FOUR years they put in with Dickinson would mean a commitment. Recruit another guard? Where can you show him playing time on next year's roster with that perimeter? You weren't going to get another guard in that class. Now, maybe you can with a grad transfer....

Wadelite from Long Beach, CA

11:24

Next year's roster has 9 on scholarship and yet i see for 2020 recruiting, 247 sports has ND ranked 15th out of 15 schools. Does the coaching staff realize how embarrassingly bad that it is and it should not have been attributed solely to Dickinson going with a first year head coach.

Thomas Noie

11:24

Ralph: Notre Dame went a different recruiting route only one season - the year after it signed five players to what is now the sophomore class. Mike Brey was forthcoming in why he chose that route. There was little chance of signing anyone, mainly because the prospects all sought the same thing - immediate playing time. Brey couldn't offer that because he was still trying to figure out what he had in Hubb and Goodwin and Carmody and Laszewski. So he went the extreme route of chasing one-and-done guys. That didn't work out either. This year, it was mainly bigs because the perimeter was thought to be solid with Hubb and Ryan and Goodwin and Carmody (pre-injury).

ralph, glencoe, IL

11:19

After ND went to the Elite 8 those two years, and looking back now at recruiting over the past 4 or 5 years, do you sense Mike Brey and his staff went after higher rated recruits hoping they would see the program in a different light and that when these kids didn't come (Isaiah Stewart a few years ago, Cole Anthony last year, Hunter Dickinson this year), and they didn't fill out classes because of that, that they are going back to the old system of finding the 'good' players who they can develop (the Zona's and Taylor's of the basketball world)?

Thomas Noie

11:19

Mike: We continue to be teased by Juwan Durham. You'd think he has a strong inside presence, but there are times when that size and length and presence kind of disappears in league play. The two-big man lineup never really has worked at Notre Dame, which made it an odd way for Mike Brey to go this season. This team's better going four-around-one instead of two bigs. Durham's also still really learning about life at that level. He may be a fourth-year junior, but he's not played a lot of basketball since his junior year of high school. He runs into the same issue as Nate Laszewski - it was easier for them when they were younger, but at this level, everybody's just as long and just as tall. Gotta be better to figure it all out.

Mike from Rochester NY

11:16

Why doesn’t Juwan Durham see more playyng time? He seems to give us a strong inside presence we’ve lacked for some years now.

Thomas Noie

11:16

Boom...there you go....or UVerse....lol

joe from the south side

11:16

Tom: ACC network...subscribe to Sling $30/month

Thomas Noie

11:16

JT: An NCAA run every day and twice on Sundays. There's really nothing redeeming worthwhile of being in the NIT. Nobody cares. They'll say they do, but they don't. Last time Notre Dame was in the NIT, players needed nearly an hour to decide whether or not they even wanted to play.

JT from South Bend

11:15

Which would mean more for the program’s future? A great NIT run (wining or runner up) or barely makimg the NCAA and losing the first game?

Thomas Noie

11:05

JT: Talked with a former college assistant coach who worked at Notre Dame and the standard guideline has been this - take the top 100 college basketball prospects every year, and maybe - MAYBE - 10 would have the academic profile that would fit at Notre Dame. Of those 10, you might have three that are interested in having to balance the academic and athletic side of Notre Dame. That's a big reason why Notre Dame doesn't get the one-and-dones and struggle to get the Top 100 kids. You have to want to be at Notre Dame for the full college experience in a world where today's basketball player wants to go somewhere (especially in the ACC) that's going to fast-track him to the NBA.

JT from South Bend

11:03

ND is a challenge when it comes to academics. How many ESPN top 100 recruits do you think would ever consider ND in a given year?

Thomas Noie

11:03

Ralph: Hate to break it to you, but the ACC Network did arrive in Northern Indiana on AT&T UVerse back in the fall. But that's the way of the cable world today. Some providers jump all over it, some slow-play it until the carriage fees drop. Will be interesting to see what happens moving forward around your parts with Marquee. Don't think every cable provider is going to grab that right away...imagine living here or there and not being able to see the Cubs....for someone raised on WGN, that's staggering.

ralph, glencoe, IL

11:01

Not having the ACC Network on the cable system to watch these games has been really frustrating. Not that you are a TV mogul or anything, but do you hear about any momentum with the ACC Network getting into the Notre Dame area (northern Indiana/Chicago) a little bit more?

Thomas Noie

11:00

Joe: There are several pieces missing from this team right now. You're right, if Mooney not doing damage down low and the 3s aren't falling, there's not a lot of there there. That's where they really miss Carmody, who wasn't afraid to get to the basket. He's not a point guard. Hubb's done a little more of that recently, but that's not his game.

joe from the south side

10:59

Tom: You have Johnny Mooney inside and a bunch of 3 point chuckers. If the shots fall, they are in it. If not, well......As a proud and self proclaimed gunner (in my youth) when the shots aren't falling sometimes taking an uncontested 15 footer for 1 point isn't so bad. That's what's missing. That should be Carmody. He needs that and a penetrate and kick PG.

Thomas Noie

10:59

Tom: Really, no idea there, and nobody really does, no matter what they say. It's just weird to discuss possible replacements when there's nobody to replace. We'll get there in due time. Maybe this year. Maybe next. Maybe.

Tom

10:57

You mentioned a couple times Mike Brey's seat being warm. While I find it hard to phathom ND ever getting rid of him since he had a period of success, is pretty well liked and since basketball is the red headed step child that does not get money thrown at it. Who would even be a repalcement option if that were to happen?

Thomas Noie

10:57

Joe: NOW we're done here. Still might be too early to tell with Wesley. Academics could mean Notre Dame will have to play the long game with Wesley, who I hope to have a column on for the Tribune next week.

joe from the south side

10:56

Tom: Not official until I ask a recruiting question. Any traction with Blake Wesley? He looked good in the ND gear.

Thomas Noie

10:56

Mike: Love it. There's not been enough of that the last few seasons. I know a lot more of that comes out when you win, but there were times when too many main guys were just going through the motions. Robotic. Good to have some swagger (really, another S word is more appropriate) to your game.

mike - fort worth, tx

10:55

hey tom- wanted to know what you thought of all the emotion from prentiss and TJ down the stretch? It seemed clear how much this meant to those two in particular- I loved it personally. Maybe a win like this can keep it going into a very soft conference slate for next 3 weeks

Thomas Noie

10:54

Phil: Easy. Win more games. That doesn't happen, then make a change with the head coach, who'd be the first to admit as much.

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