JotCast | Notre Dame men's basketball chat

Notre Dame men's basketball chat - 12-12-24

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Illinois Fool

11:08

Assuming Burton is back for ACC play, from what you've seen of ND what would be a fair prediction for their league record?

Tom Noie

11:01

Justin: Do ACC bigs even exist? Outside of Maxime Raynaud at Stanford, name another good big in the league. it's not a bigs game. Njie is serviceable. Not great at anything, but not bad, either. He had nine points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes against Syracuse. I'll take that stat line in league play. Mooney and Auguste and Atkinson were good, for sure, but don't forget some of the guys that they around them. That made them better. It made Notre Dame better.

Justin, Ft Wayne

10:59

Also was wondering your take on Kebba Njie. I personally think he has been very underwhelming this year. I know you said earlier in the chat this is kinda to be expected from him and his impact maybe more from the defensive side of things. But I don’t think he’s an ACC type big. Have a feeling in ACC play there going to struggle against good bigs. I think if they want to get back to the NCAA tournament it starts with finding an ACC big. You know the Mooney/Auguste/Atkinsons of the world.

Tom Noie

10:47

Justin: Tae Davis might disagree when I wondered earlier this year why - if he can get to the basket and finish and get to the free throw line - he would ever bother to shoot a 3-pointer, but I love, love, love what Davis has offered in Burton's absence. He can be an All-ACC type of talent (not a first- or second-team guy) but one of the league's better talents if, if, if he keeps it simple. Straight line drives to the rim. Dunks. Layups. Defend. Rebound. Get fouled. Get to the line. Switch out on anyone from one to five. There's zero reason for him to shoot a 3 other than to prove that he can be a three-level scorer at the next level (that's not who he is). Someone on press row wondered who the player (besides Burton) that Notre Dame cannot afford to lose for any time the rest of the way. It's Davis. Clearly. Not even close. You could see this in Davis in flashes last season. Next year? Not sure how all the pieces are going to fit. It won't just be Burton and Davis.

Justin, Ft Wayne

10:43

Morning Tom. Don’t see much love in this chat for Tae Davis. I very much appreciate him and what he’s done this season. With Burton out he’s basically the only one who can go create a shot on his own and he’s done really well at it. How much of a surprise if any has he been to you? Have a feeling the Davis/Burton duo next year might be really, really good.

Tom Noie

10:43

Clint: Is there such a notion as a "dominant" post player in college these days? That's not the game. It's a guards' game. A run and shoot and pass game. Post-up in the halfcourt? Not in 2024-25. Nikita Konstantynovskyi was added as a graduate transfer who could provide some backup minutes in the post - he's averaging 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 9.0 minutes while shooting .667 percent from the field - but has looked slow and unsure at times, confident and competent at others. Not sure of what ACC play holds for him.

Clint from Winnipeg

10:41

Konstantynovskyi doesn't seem to get much playing time. Do his skills not meet this level of play, or was he brought in specifically to match up with teams that have a dominant post player?

Tom Noie

10:38

How he - or anyone in his circle - believed he was ready to be something at Illinois is baffling. He's appeared in seven games, no starts and is averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.3 minutes. He still has no shot - .263 percent from the field, .267 percent from 3, .500 percent from the foul line. He played a lot last year like the ball was a grenade that would go off if he didn't do something with it. Should he have stayed? Absolutely, but it's easier to cut and run that stay and work. Feel for him.

10:36

Tim: Think Carey Booth ceased kicking himself when it was basically decided for him that he would seek the proverbial greener pastures after one year at Notre Dame - a year in which he insisted that he was going to follow Micah Shrewsberry wherever the coach decided to go after originally signing with Penn State. Booth was all in with MS, until others in his circle weren't. He's the ultimate player development prospect. There's a lot there, but it needed to be grown, nurtured. Patience had to be part of the plan. Until it wasn't. Booth played in all 33 games with 19 starts last season. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19.9 minutes. He shot .391 percent from the field, .297 from 3 and .634 percent from the foul line. He showed flashes, but man, his game was so ... untapped. Underdeveloped.

Tim from Chicago

10:33

Hi Tom, I know it's not a good use of time to worry about players who chose to transfer out of the program, but is Carey Booth kicking himself right now for leaving the Irish? Is he really in a better position at Illinois right now? Looks like he is getting minimal playing time and instead could have played a big role for ND for this year. PS, always love these chats, thank you for holding them.

Tom Noie

10:28

IF: The annual Ring of Honor was put in a holding pattern last year until the transition in the head coaching position could be a little smoother. Thought of the Ring during last night's game. Seems it's still in a TBD state. Know that the next one who was supposed to go in was John Paxson. Not sure of the timetable, or if there's one.

Illinois Fool

10:26

What's going on with the Ring of Honor? Haven't heard about an honoree for this season. Personally I want to see John Paxson's banner going up to the rafters.

Tom Noie

10:23

IF: You're alive! Been too long....hope all is well! Once you appear in a college basketball game, be it one minute in the first game or two minutes in the last, your season is official. No redshirt. You want to redshirt to preserve a year of eligibility, you have to sit out the entire season. For injuries, it had long been a percentage of the regular season - maybe six games? In that case, though, a player would have to petition the NCAA (good luck with that) and explain why they're seeking to get that season of eligibility back. So, no, it's nothing like football. Totally the opposite.

Illinois Fool

10:21

What are the rules for Red-Shirting? Is it like football where you can play X number of games and maintain a year of eligibility or something else?

Tom Noie

10:11

Clint: Brad Stevens' son, Brady, is a walk-on at Notre Dame, so there's the reason we've seen him at Georgetown earlier in the year and out in Las Vegas. The Shrewsberry and Stevens families are basically best friends from their time at Butler and in Boston. Don't know if there's anyone other than Stevens that Shrewsberry is closer to in that crazy coaching profession.

Clint from Winnipeg

10:09

Is it strange that Brad Stevens has made it to so many ND games in person this season when he has to know that his son has a minimal chance of playing in any given game? Is he there to show support to Shrewsberry? Obviously he is a very busy man with his Celtics responsibilities.

Tom Noie

10:07

Sir Mohammed was the secondary handler and more of a pure point guard than Markus Burton, which made him such a key guy. We knew nothing about what Mohammed may or may not be able to offer because he'd missed most of summer and some of fall, but two possessions in the exhibition game at Fort Wayne showed that he had what it took to be a rotation guy. He saw the floor. He found guys. He played at his own pace. That night, you were like, hey, maybe he has a chance this season. Then the "lower body" (knee) injury knocked him back. It would have been something to see what this team could've been without Burton but with Mohammed in that lead guard role.

Clint from Winnipeg

10:05

What made Sir Mohammed such a valuable piece in the rotation so early in his career?

Tom Noie

10:01

Mike: Reporting on official/unofficial visits of potential recruits is so ... how do I say this nice, or not nice ... stupid. It's such a waste of time. Has any kid every said his visit went badly. That he had a terrible time? That Nate Ament visited Notre Dame in early November means Notre Dame has a chance. Ament is a 6-9, 200-pound forward from Worrenton, Virginia who's considered a five-star prospect and among the top four or five prospects in the 2025 class. He was Micah Shrewsberry's stealth recruit. No one saw Notre Dame coming. Now, can Shrewsberry whisper some of the same things he whispered to Jalen Haralson in terms of getting him ready for the NBA with the potential to become the next Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum? If he can. Notre Dame has a chance. As we saw this past recruiting cycle, don't dismiss Micah Shrewsberry. For anyone.

San Diego Mike

9:57

I dont think I saw anything on this, how did the Nate Ament visit go? Should we keep praying to the high heavens, or should we save ourselves and order a Voodoo in case he goes elsewhere

Tom Noie

9:45

Mike: Absolutely. Great call. The defense was going to slip based on everything we heard from Micah Shrewsberry in the offseason. In the summer it was basically, nah, we haven't done anything defensively, we're going to score. Post-foreign tour, same response. Even into fall camp, this was a program that put such an emphasis on offense that the defense was bound to slide. Then the engine to everything goes down and now, you're got issues. You can't score enough to win. Now you have to go back to your defensive roots. That's a hard ask.

San Diego Mike

9:43

Do you feel like the defense has slipped since last year? Feels like we havent been as focused on that end this season, which hopefully changes due to the uncertainty of MB coming back

Tom Noie

9:43

Jeff: Think the staff would look at it as an incomplete after Markus Burton was hurt. It wasn't about winning and losing as it was about survival. There was no time to ponder what losing Burton would mean or how to get Logan Imes up to speed to what it meant when Cole Certa fouled a guy that he shouldn't have fouled. Everything was moving too fast to think about positives and negatives. True, Notre Dame played well enough to beat Rutgers and Creighton - Houston, not so much. Without Burton, though, that's who this program is as league play nears - good enough to compete, not good enough to win. Don't know how much that changes when ACC play starts.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

9:40

Thanks for having these chats, Tom. As a season ticket holder who admittedly hasn't been to as many games as I wanted to this season (live 90 minutes away and sometimes life happens) I agree with the gameday atmosphere take, but my question is about Vegas. Was the event a net positive or net negative for this team/program (and I don't mean financially)? Someone had to go 0-3 in this event and probably on paper ND was the most likely of the 8 to do that, but for the most part they hung in there without Burton against top 25 teams or teams with lottery picks or who have Final Four potential.

Tom Noie

9:28

It's the Clint Question period! Much appreciated, but it's OK for someone else to join in. Really. It's OK! Let's just say that player development wasn't really high on the priority list of the previous coaching staff....we'll leave it at that.

Clint from Winnipeg

9:27

Konieczny has made progress, no doubt, but I agree that he lacks the needed consistency. I give Shrewsberry and his staff much credit for his development. Do you agree that under the former coaching staff that level of development may not have taken place?

Tom Noie

9:25

Clint: God bless Robby Carmody. Nobody knows what could have been had he not wrecked his knee on that senseless baseline drive/dunk attempt at Maryland. Changed his whole career after he'd battled back from the labrum injury. Kudos that he's not ready to give up the game.

Clint from Winnipeg

9:24

Will there be any type of celebration when Robby Carmody returns to the Joyce Center with Le Moyne? In all seriousness, what are your thoughts on him trying to continue his playing career in spite of what injury has taken from him?

Tom Noie

9:23

Clint: Julian Roper has become the "break glass in case of emergency" rotation guy. had everything about this season held true to form, he would've been the eighth, ninth, 10th man in the rotation. Markus Burton's injury changed all of that. He's now starting, which is not his role. He's not a point guard. He's not a shooting guard. He's a defensive specialist who's best in quick bursts of playing time where he can disrupt the other team's perimeter. D up. Get some steals. Some rebounds. Bring some toughness. He's out of his element as the starting point guard, a role that he's required to play until Markus Burton returns.

Clint from Winnipeg

9:21

Did you feel that Julian Roper was outside of the regular rotation early in the season, but now is back in it due to injuries? What do you see his role being the remainder of the season?

Tom Noie

9:20

Mark: TBD. Yeah, that was a big freshman mistake against Rutgers when you don't know time and score and foul. Micah Shrewsberry defended him in the postgame, saying that he would go back to Certa the next night and the kid would hit a big shot. Certa hasn't played in the five games since. Games were coming so quickly that there just wasn't any time to work him in and figure out a rotation with him. Maybe that changes now that the schedule eases. Micah Shrewsberry has said it plenty over the last few weeks - playing time is determined by what he sees (or doesn't see) on the practice court. Want to play? Do it in practice. Playing Certa would mean fewer minutes for either Braeden Shrewsberry or Matt Allocco and I'm not sure the head coach wants to take that chance. Not yet.

Mark from Rochester, NY

9:17

Will we see more of Cole Certa at any point this season? I know he had the gaffe vs Rutgers, but it would be nice to see what he can do!

Tom Noie

9:17

Mark: Not really, in part because there are so many other issues to be concerned about - like scoring and shot making. Notre Dame is at .730 percent for the season, which ranks 11th in the 18-team ACC and tied for 133rd nationally. I almost fell out of my media seat Saturday when Matt Allocco (who shot 90 percent from the line last season) missed four. FOUR! You know he'll be better. Has to be.

Mark from Rochester, NY

9:15

Are you worried about the free throw % yet? Now that conference play is here and around the corner, can’t leave points off the board especially in road games. Thanks!

Tom Noie

9:13

Mark: Logan Imes is best when he's Logan Imes - a backup guard who can offer spot minutes. Shrewsberry values him more because he's a program guy than someone who's going to log heavy minutes. He played 35 against Rutgers when Burton went down, but that's way, way, way too many. J.R. Konieczny still cannot corner that consistency that's going to keep him at the top of Shrewsberry's mind. He goes for 15 points (13 in the first half) against Syracuse and looked like he finally felt like he belonged. Everyone hops on the JRP train. Then last night, he gets four points and one rebound in 18 minutes and looks lost and uncertain. Confidence can be a fickle force in hoops.

Mark from Rochester, NY

9:10

Will there be a bigger emphasis on having Imes and JR take more shots when they get in? Imes passes up a lot of shots and the team needs more than 3 guys to score without Burton on the floor.

Tom Noie

9:10

Mark: What Kebba Njie has offered nine games in is about what we expected from him - another step. His averages of 6.6 points and 5.9 rebounds may not be much, but they are career highs. He's been better around the rim, but still has his issues. Micah Shrewsberry has said that Njie's value lies not in what he may give them offensively, but how he anchors everything on the defensive end with his presence, his voice, his belief. That's why he's averaging 22.4 minutes per game. It's not about points and rebounds with him, but presence. And resolve. Njie's the one guy that you get the feeling Shrewsberry can call out in film or on the practice floor and respond without falling into a funk. He helps preach the gospel of Shrews in the locker room. That's why he's a main guy. Notre Dame will not be portalling in the spring for a big. Tommy Ahneman is coming in from Minneapolis as a freshman. There's your next big man.

Mark from Rochester, NY

9:08

Good Morning Tom. Thanks as always for doing this. Were you expecting more out of Njie so far this season? Still not polished around the basket. Will ND have to go to the portal to get a big next season?

Tom Noie

9:06

Chad: Asked and answered earlier in the chat. Scroll back for that answer. As far as making a run for the NCAA Tournament, the Markus Burton injury for the men's basketball program is parallel to the NIU loss by the football team. You couldn't plan for a CFP playoff spot after that game. There was too much work to be done on the field and behind the scenes and everywhere else to believe that Irish team was a playoff team. Then look what happened - they became one. The NCAA tournament was always a lofty (unrealistic) goal for hoops this season. Too big of a step after 13-20 and 7-13. Remember, they lost at home to Elon WITH Burton. Next year was the realistic chase down an NCAA bid team. This year was about growth and development and the step. The Irish were on their way there. Then Vegas happened.

Chad from Toledo

9:04

The obvious Q? When is Burton returning?? Will it be enough to make a run for a ncaa tournament?

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