JotCast | Notre Dame hoops chat - January

Notre Dame hoops chat - January

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Phil

10:54

The ND basketball program is getting a little stale. What can be done to revive it?

Thomas Noie

10:47

Ralph: A little of everything. Lost in last season was just how good he was as a point guard. He was asked to do a lot and for the most part, delivered even as someone who'd missed his senior year of high school with a knee injury. He's been even more solid this season. yeah, you have to live with those questionable shots when he can go get you 20 points in the second half like he did at Georgia Tech. And he plays with some swagger, something this program hasn't had since Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell.

ralph, glencoe, IL

10:45

A couple of weeks ago I use to yell "Noooooooo!!" everytime Prentiss Hubb shot the ball from 3 (can his rainbow shot really be consistent long term?), he will lose his court awareness and make silly turnovers at times, and his technical at Syracuse was bemusing. Then, all of a sudden, right after that technical, the rainbow shot starts falling and he seems to be a different person offensively (he still doesn't always seem aware of the court and he needs to as the point guard). In your opinion, which is the real Prentiss Hubb?

Thomas Noie

10:44

jack: That was a note in my column last week before the Louisville game....Notre Dame has now lost its last 18 games to ranked teams dating back to beating Wichita State in Maui in 2017. How come Notre Dame can't beat a ranked team? Easy, those ranked teams have just been better. Mentioned Dayton in the previous question and how they believe...I don't know how much belief there's been in this Notre Dame program that last few years. It's been more about survival and trying to figure it out on the fly than picking off ranked teams at home and on the road. Those were good days....

Jack from Wheeling, WV

10:42

I saw an article recently that said Nd has lodt i wanna say 15 or more straight games against ranked opponents. What has happened to the team that always pulled upsets off at homecourt? Why can’t the team finish off games

Thomas Noie

10:42

There's a buzz about Dayton right now. They score it and share it and play fast and come after you. A lot like the 2014-15 season for Notre Dame. The grind of watching so much more of the same right now for the Irish gets to be a grind. There's nothing like covering a program that believes, one that's on a journey to who knows what. I remember those days at Notre Dame....there's nothing like it.

10:40

Joe: Question of the day....we're all done here. Let's shut it down. Just kidding. No question, it would be Dayton, because they're coming at teams and winning and have an NBA lottery pick. There

joe from the south side

10:40

Tom: If you had a choice, who would you prefer to cover right now? The Fighting Irish or the Flyers?

Thomas Noie

10:40

jack: That's a slippery slope for him. Who does he replace? Someone who's been with him for 20 years (remember the loyalty thread earlier in the chat) or two guys who played for him and have Notre Dame degrees. He's kind of boxed himself in with his staff. Not a lot of wriggle room in any direction.

Jack from Wheeling, WV

10:39

Hey, due to the inability to fill out the roster and the teams injuries issues do you beleive theres a need for coach Brey to bring someone in the coaching staff who is a pure recruiter

Thomas Noie

10:38

Joe: Amen. Who's going to get you a bucket when you need one? Like get to the bucket?

Joe from Scottsdale, AZ

10:38

Tom - The main issue i see from this team now and going forward is they dont have one guy who can beat you off the dribble. The recruiting class coming in is not going to help in that area either. I think Brey has hit a rut in recruiting. Not saying that shooters and developing big men are a bad thing but we need to have the Jerian Grants, D. Jacksons and Pat's of the world too when you need a bucket.

Thomas Noie

10:37

Dwight: Good point. Mainly because that's where Mike Brey and associate head coach Rod Balanis and assistant coach Ryan Ayers have all their recruiting ties. They know the area, they've successfully recruited the area so you go back to what you know. Anytime Ryan Humphrey wants to bring in someone from the Midwest would be fine. Even Indiana. Hear there are players in this state as well.

Dwight from central Arkansas

10:36

The coaching philosophy in recruiting seems to be "If you don't come from NY/NJ/D.C. area you can't play at ND." I know that's not exactly true, but there are some mighty good players right here in the midwest. Why such a lovefest with the east coast?

Thomas Noie

10:36

Jack: Seems we've gone from the Nik Djogo has to play chat to the Mike Brey's seat is hot chat. LOL. Any coach that goes three years without an NCAA tournament trip should be on the hot seat. First one to say that would be Mike Brey.

Jack from Wheeling, WV

10:35

Hey, with how the team has been struggling the past couple years It makes me wonder if Mike Brey is in the hotseat. Is he?

Thomas Noie

10:34

Joe: Really none right now. There's been no indication they won't...and as mentioned, they'd both leave or are on track to leave with their degrees, so it's hard to argue if they want to do something else.

joe from the south side

10:34

Tom: Speaking of a thin roster, what is your take on Djogo and JD returning next year?

Thomas Noie

10:33

Joe: Just gotta get a home win now....staggering to think it's been that hard. And that loss to Boston College? Woof!

joe from the south side

10:33

Tom: For what it's worth, they have 2 league road wins. Huge for this team! Other than FSU, 4 of the next 5 are manageable. Maybe close to .500 with some breaks.

Thomas Noie

10:33

It's still hard and awkward for him to get around with the full-length brace and crutches and scooter that he has to ride. Don't know if there's a safe or comfortable place for him on the bench. Think after he passes a certain point in recovery, he'll be around the team during games. He's at the practice facility all the time....that red scooter is the first indication. It's like, yep, Carmody's here...

Andrew from Plymouth, IN

10:31

Why haven’t we seen Robby Carmody on the bench at home games?

Thomas Noie

10:31

Andrew: Part of that is his makeup. He's quiet, says next to nothing, doesn't really show emotion. Think he's a guy who's still trying to figure out this college basketball thing. Like, it's hard. Imagine - you're a 6-9 guy who had it relatively easy in high school. Now 6-9 guys are a dime a dozen. Everyone has size. Everyone can play. How do you elevate your game? It's a process. Yeah, we'd all like to see it sooner than later, but he'll get there. Maybe.

Andrew from Plymouth, IN

10:29

Why does Nate Laszewski look like he doesn’t want to be here? His body language is terrible, he looks lost and sluggish, and just uninterested in being in the floor. Is there something mentally or physically going on that we aren't aware of?

Thomas Noie

10:28

Nick: No extra credit for multiple questions at once...sorry my man! LOL Carmody is still in the early stages of rehab. Every indication is that he's on schedule for a full recovery. I hope to get with him in the coming weeks to see where he's at psychologically and how two season-ending injuries will affect him moving forward. Didn't know there were Durham/Djogo transfer rumors. Both are on track to graduate, so they'd technically not be transfers. They can go do whatever they want with that final year. Think Goodwin's in a good flow as the sixth man. Brey doesn't want to mess with that until absolutely necessary. How many more years of Brey? Maybe fewer than any expects.

Nick South Bend

10:26

How is Robby doing? Whats the recovery looking like ? Does he want to keep playing ? Any more Durham or Djojo transfer rumors ? Will Goodwin ever start this ysars How many more years of Brey can we hope for (huge brey guy)? Sorry, guess I have alot of questions this time around!

Thomas Noie

10:25

Joe: Let's save that for the spring....

joe from the south side

10:25

Tom: Should we go down the path of Brey's replacement? I could toss out a few names and would welcome your response.

Thomas Noie

10:24

Andrew: Rex Pflueger played 32 minutes last night. What would lead you to believe that he's headed for the shelf the rest of the season? Granted, he hasn't made more than two shots in seemingly forever, but I don't see him limping through games and think, gotta sit him. I see him not offering much on the offensive end and think, gotta play Goodwin more.

Andrew from Plymouth, IN

10:23

Is there a plan for when Pflueger has to be shut down for the rest of the season? It’s becoming clear that he won’t physically make it through the entire season and our depth is already non-existent.

Thomas Noie

10:22

Darn return key.....When there's nothing else there, you're not going to play. Brey would rather have a guy out there for an extra two or three or four minutes than go with someone he can't trust, even for 120 seconds.

10:21

Liam: Here's the thing with Nik Djogo, and let's be clear on this - it's not a knock on the kid. Good dude. Always been good with me when I've asked him to talk. But in Mike Brey's system, if you want to be a main guy, you better at least do one thing really well and prove you can do that consistently. Take care of the ball. Defend. Make a shot. Everyone likes to say that Brey has Djogo in the doghouse and and he's doing him dirty and this and that and that and this, but Brey plays only the guys he trusts. You don't play? Coach doesn't trust you. It's been hard for Djogo to do that one thing really well. Then on top of that, what ELSE can you do well? When there

Liam from London

10:19

Seven guys played in last night's win ..... and watching Nate Laszewki clang three point attempts is just painful. NC State played 8 guys. Louisville played 9. Surely Nikola Djogo can get in a guard rotation where he gives 3-4 minutes a half to rest legs. Does anyone else think Djogo can be solid with a +/- of close to zero, no turnovers and no points to provide valuable rest?

Thomas Noie

10:19

Liam: Too early to tell on the grad transfers, but as we've discussed earlier, think you have to take at least one this season, just to have that option of if another injury occurs. T.J. Gibbs' limp was just banging knees with someone. He waved off the trainer right away, so you kind of figured it wasn't an issue.

Liam from London

10:18

Great win last night. When TJ Gibbs held his knee in the 4th quarter, (and with Rex limping at times) I thought, 'this team is one knee injury or high ankle sprain from complete catastrophe.' Besides Elijah Taylor and Matt Zona, are there any other likely new arrivals coming in next year? Grad transfers who want to do an MBA at the Mendoza?

Thomas Noie

10:18

Phil: That's the thing with young guys....gotta stick with them through their ups and downs. There's a lot there to like about Hubb. Think we're going to see it. I don't know if Mike Brey's ever carried a max amount of scholarship guys. He comes from the less is enough philosophy of coaching. Carrying more guys leads to more issues of trying to keep them all happy. The recent run of transfers (Burns, Doherty, Harvey) caught up to him and caught him off guard. Still, I think he and his staff are too selective when trying to fill those roster spots. How are they going to fit in the locker room? In the classroom? Every once in a while, you've just got to take a chance to max out your program's potential. For whatever reason, this staff has been hesitant to do that.

Phil from Basking Ridge

10:15

Great win last night. Have to give props to Hubb since Syracuse, you were right. Question- How long has it been since ND had all 13 scholarships filled and why? Can understand leaving 1 or 2 open sometimes but it seems like years since they've had any depth.

Thomas Noie

10:14

Fair question, but let's see how the rest of the season plays out before offering an answer. If the Irish get going, it's an easy answer. If they stay stuck in neutral.....it's also an easy answer. Stay tuned!

NDFan

10:13

Why should Mike Brey still be coach after this season?

Thomas Noie

10:13

Nick: No idea on all of the above. When you figure out where this league is going, let the rest of us know. Talk about a WEIRD year in the ACC. No, it's not the best basketball conference in the country. Maybe not the second best. Or third. And that's going to hurt Notre Dame. Usually, you'd say if the Irish can finish 10-10 or 11-9 they'd be in the discussion come Selection Sunday. But in such a down year for the league, 10-10 might not move the selection meter. And then when you see there's so little in the non-conference, it's going to be really hard to snag a bid. First-round bye? Double bye? This year? For this team? Love the optimism, but that might be a bit of a reach. Let's see where the Irish are at this point next month.

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