JotCast | Notre Dame men's basketball 2024-25 season wrap chat

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Tom Noie

2:28

Win, win and win. Enough with the sideshow gimmicks and shenanigans we've had to sit through at Purcell Pavilion. Winning cures everything, even at Notre Dame, though the student body will still find a way to explain away their indifference. What would an ND chat be without a shot at the students, right?

JBarney from LA

2:27

if you were in charge of nd bball what are the first 3 things you would do to get some life back into the nd bball program from the community (apart from the obvious of improving the product on the court)? the general apathy, especially from the student body, is very sad to see

Tom Noie

2:27

The best middle ground is whatever works at that specific time. It might be the portal. It might be traditional recruiting. What does your roster look like at the time? That will dictate your direction. In today's college basketball world, you can't be married to strictly one way. Flexibility is critical.

J.J. P

2:26

A lot of the questions/comments in this chat are complaining about the men's and women's teams each going through, ironically, two very different offseason roster struggles. Ivey taking two recruits in two years means a steep climb to rebuilding a roster with transfers. Shrewsberry has been a very active high school recruiter, but fans seem to be yearning for more success in adding supplementary pieces in the portal. I think it's fair to say there are merits to both a high school or transfer-oriented approach -- in your eyes, what's the best middle ground (if there is one) between the two?

Tom Noie

2:25

Agree on Garrett Sundra. There's a lot there. He just needs to LOOK like an ACC stretch-4 before becoming a stretch-4.

Patrick from Granger

2:25

I'm hoping for a good off-season of strength and development from Sundra. He definitely was not ready physically to play as a 4/5 in a major conference like the ACC (though after this season, maybe they get their status relegated to a mid-major). However, if he gains the necessary strength to defend ACC-caliber bigs and develops either a low post game or pick-and-roll game to compliment his shooting ability, he will be a guy that can hurt opponents offensively and stretch the floor. I know that's a lot of ifs, but I thought he showed flashes of being able to develop into this type of player this past season.

Tom Noie

2:04

That recruiting class is considered Top 15. That has to count for something, right? And some sort of identifiable progress has to be made in Year Three, doesn't it?

Michael

2:03

Tom, my perception is that public feelings about the program are worse right now than they were exactly 1 year ago. There's a lot of "I don't knows" right now, but what is one known thing that should give folks hope about the direction of the program and increase the excitement or at least intrigue about the 25-26 season?

Tom Noie

2:03

JJ: Whew, that's a lot. Honestly, to be determined and too early to tell. Who fills the Tae Davis roster spot? A small forward? A traditional big? If that's the case,. can Jalen Haralson play that small forward/secondary handler spot? Then you have Markus Burton and Sir Mohammed as the point guards, Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa as the shooting guards. Maybe Ryder Frost as your backup swing guard. There are pieces. There are enough minutes and enough shots. Who shows to be most consistent? Who can/will defend? It's always good to have options. There are more of them next year.

J.J. P

2:01

Apologies for the long question, but I'm curious about how the guard rotation shakes out next year. For a team that didn't have a ton of success last year... there's a lot options that merit minutes in the backcourt. Burton obviously is the star of the show. One would imagine Haralson is going to command floor time. Shrewsberry didn't make "the leap" from where he ended in 2024, but at the end of the day he's still a quality player with a shooting stroke that can't be taken for granted on this roster. Certa and Mohammed had different freshman trajectories, but both still feel like players that showed enough upside to merit continued minutes as sophs. And as you've mentioned, an experienced guard from the portal feels like it would be a big help as well. So you may need to carve out a few more minutes there. And that's just assuming Logan Imes and Ryder Frost are completely out of the picture. How do you see the backcourt minutes next year being divyed up?

Tom Noie

1:50

Bob: There may not have been an option early, or even midway through the season. Now with Cole Certa, no reason for Braeden Shrewsberry to play 34.6 minutes per game. Gotta trust your roster. Your entire roster.

Bob

1:49

Tom, it appears to me that Braeden Shrewsberry gets tired at the end of games because he plays too many minutes. Do you think he should have played fewer minutes, or did ND not have good enough choices to take some of his minutes?

Tom Noie

1:49

The later it goes, the less likely change is coming.

Bill

1:49

Thanks Tom as always. Any indications on upcoming changes to the coaching staff? I had heard Coach Getter was in the running for at least one HC job.

Tom Noie

1:49

Mike: Pass. Five-man recruiting class is a bit too big. Notre Dame had interest early. That faded.

Mike from WI

1:48

Dezmon Briscoe has set visits to Kent St., Duquesne, and College of Charleston after de-committing from Iowa. I think he's better than a mid-major player with shades of Bonzie to his game. Hope ND gives him another look.

Tom Noie

1:45

Pray?

Patrick from Granger

1:44

Message for Jersey kid: Much of this whole chat has been about IF we can get good transfers in the portal, and many question that possibility. If we can't build from the portal, what's the other options? Only one I see is to TRY to build from recruiting, and I completely agree that's not a winning formula in the college basketball landscape as it exists today. Despite all that, Coach Shrewsberry held this current highly rated freshman class together and has another highly rated class coming in. Is that likely to work without defections? Most likely not, but what else should Coach Shrews do if he's not able to compete in the NIL era the way the SEC programs and select others can?

Tom Noie

1:31

Isn't everybody?

Mike

1:31

Any word on if Markus Burton was close to portaling after this season?

Tom Noie

1:27

JK: If you can get the right combination to stay...you might have something. But not everybody is going to stay, and that's nobody's fault. It's the system. Don't want to wait? Leave and start over.

Jersey kid

1:26

Message for Patrick: in this era "waiting for underclassmen to become upperclassmen" is an impossibility. Just doesn't exist. Because if team and personal success isn't there, they won't stay. Even if success is there, some won't stay.

Tom Noie

1:25

Bob: In two years at Notre Dame? Not a chance.

Bob

1:25

Tom, while it probably doesn’t matter anymore because college basketball is de facto professional, do you know if Tae Davis completed his degree requirements?

Tom Noie

1:25

Mark: The bottom line that was supposed to be this year - 12-8/13-7 in the league. Be even better at home. Win a road game that you don't see coming. Beat a ranked team for the first time in Shrewsberry's tenure. Make mid-February and beyond matter. Show progress.

Mark

1:23

what do you see as the bottom line for the season next year? What do you believe the team should accomplish?

Tom Noie

1:23

Jim: They never will, as long as football is football. Ever.

Jim Tal, Valley Center CA

1:23

Hey Tom, the bottom line is this. Over the past three seasons, ND has gone a stunningly bad 37-60. And this from one of the top 10 winningest programs in NCAA history. Under no circumstances, no matter if the sky is falling, should ND ever suffer through this kind of drought. It's totally inexcusable. And while I'm at, I just wonder what more this program might have achieved if someone with some backbone had taken a stand and made Irish basketball a top priority as it should have been all along given its rich history. Too often, the powers that be haven't come close to nurturing the gift that has been ND hoops.

Tom Noie

1:22

Patrick: Thought that us Granger guys have to stick together, but I digress. It's fascinating/frustrating to hear the same old narrative that everyone wants to hold onto that Mike Brey is to blame for this. Blame Brey. Blame Brey. Blame Brey. Know how many of those who say that, also say in the same sentence that Brey left Micah Shrewsberry one Markus Burton? Not one. It has nothing to do with anyone being critical of Mike Brey. It has everything to do with holding on to a narrative that doesn't exist to explain the issues that do.

Patrick from Granger

1:19

I think Andrew from Plymouth had some good points and substance in his comments/questions. The fact is that Coach Shrewsberry came in with a roster that had very little returning scoring production in his first season. He managed that first season by retaining Burton and convincing the guys he recruited to PSU to come over to ND with him (I'm sure it wasn't hard to convince his son) for incoming freshmen, along with the transfers he got. The next 2 classes have been highly rated (those that will be freshmen and sophomores next season). Giving Coach a couple more years until those recruits are upper classmen seemed to be one of Andrew's main points. However, it seems you have a trigger with anything you perceive to be critical of Brey, specifically how the roster ended up after he left, regardless of the fact that Andrew wasn't going there.

Tom Noie

1:18

JK: No, because we're back in the don't know boat. I haven't seen enough or know Micah Shrewsberry well enough that I can say, he's going to change this and this and tweak that. Let's not tweak those media interactions, though. If anything, it provided some comic relief to watching too much bad basketball.

Jersey kid

1:16

Confidence is a necessity. Self-awareness is a super power. And stubbornness is a death sentence. Any clues you can provide on whether Shrews has enough self-awareness to rethink a number of aspects of his approach from managing the rotation, offensive philosophy, game management, media interactions, etc? Or will it be same inputs (+ Haralson) and hope for a different output?

Tom Noie

1:16

JB: Terrifying. Great word. An accurate. As much as this past season was about lack of progress in the process, it was about missed opportunities in the dumpster fire that was the Atlantic Coast Conference. You had average/below average teams (we're looking at you Wake Forest and Steve Forbes) chasing down top-four finishes. I've never seen the league that down.

JBarney from LA

1:14

people aren't talking enough about how the ACC has been absolute GARBAGE the last couple years. it's the weakest we've ever seen it and yet ND is still finishing in the bottom 3rd. that's terrifying. I'm rooting hard for Shrews but lack of player development and success in these ACCs makes me uneasy. everyone loves to hate brey but his middling 2019/20 team would be getting double byes

Tom Noie

1:14

Coaches have long said that they never say never. Mike Brey hoped to get involved in the North Carolina State search. He was in the mix at Navy. The want-to might still be there, but the hire-you may not.

San Diego Mike

1:13

Any chance Uncle Mike Brey comes back to College Hoops and takes a mid major job??

Tom Noie

1:13

Jeff: Hard answer because I don't follow a program as closely as the one I'm paid to follow. I'm sure there's more than a few that are struggling to find their collective footing in this new college basketball world.

Jeff

1:12

Is there another program in the country you see building out its roster the way Micah Shrewsberry envisions building out his? I worry that there really isn't a path towards rebuilding to NCAA Tournament caliber without using the portal a lot more effectively than he has to date (and maybe more than ND is willing to full-stop). Purdue is a great example but that's more a case of keeping things rolling rather than rebuilding a failing program.

Tom Noie

12:45

Bruce: Of course, because it's Notre Dame. The former strength coach, Tony Rolinski, I believe, has four or five different athletic teams that he's responsible for. That's not going to work. It's the old jack of all trades, master of none concept. Notre Dame does more with less. In the end, it doesn't work.

Bruce

12:44

Tom: Who runs the MBB strength and conditioning program? Most of the MBB team could benefit from off-season weight training. Does MBB share this person with other sports?

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