JotCast | Notre Dame men's basketball chat - August 2022 | 8/4/2022

Notre Dame men's basketball chat - August 2022

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p.rose, st. paul

10:17

What did you see from Trey Wertz this summer, and do you expect to see him in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season?

Thomas Noie

10:16

An interesting aside given the poll just posted about the Notre Dame schedule - Kentucky bailed on the third game of its series with Notre Dame this season (the teams have said they would revisit for 2023-24 but that's probably not happening). Word is John Calipari has had enough of losing to Notre Dame in December (has happened the last two years), but Cal green-lighted a game in Spokane against Gonzaga as part of his non-league schedule. That means Kentucky would rather play a non-league game in Eastern Washington than play Notre Dame at say, Madison Square Garden. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Uh....no.

10:11

You are in charge of adding one team to the Notre Dame home schedule for 2022-23. Who are you adding?

DePaul (12% | 6 votes)

Gonzaga (26% | 13 votes)

Indiana (16% | 8 votes)

Villanova (24% | 12 votes)

UCLA (18% | 9 votes)

Other (4% | 2 votes)

Total Votes: 50

10:10

Dave: I'd say no, unless he undergoes a complete body transformation between now and November 2023. Markus Burton was someone you had to get in your own backyard given what he did as a junior, but when you meet him face-to-face, it feels like he's 14 years old. He's small. He's so young and doesn't look like he's ever seen the business end of a weight room in his life. Blake Wesley was ready as a freshman. J.J. Starling will be ready as a freshman. Markus Burton might need a little more time to get there, but given his performance arc to date, he can get there.

Dave

10:07

Is Markus Burton potentially starting next year assuming JJ leaves?

Thomas Noie

10:07

Zach: I'll go one-for-two on those predictions. Notre Dame has only won 25 or more games five times during Mike Brey's tenure. The last time that happened was 2016-17. Twenty-five wins this season might be a little too ambitious. Top four finish? There's North Carolina and everybody else, and yes, I throw Duke into that with Mike K riding off into the retirement sunset. There's no reason to think that Notre Dame cannot be in that second tier with Duke and Virginia Tech and Virginia and Florida State. Virginia and Florida State were sub-par last season. Notre Dame finished second last year and might be better this season. The Irish are fifth at worst entering 2022-23.

Zach P

10:04

Based on what you’ve seen and heard from summer practice, and assuming everyone stays healthy—over or under 25 wins this coming season, and a top 4 ACC finish?

Thomas Noie

10:03

I see it as, let's worry about 22-23 first, right? I get the concern, but that's a long way away. And if J.J. Starling returns for 23-24, those concerns are lessened a whole lot. Yes, 2023-24 will be interesting in terms of getting old and staying and getting a group of guys to learn to play together, but that just means the coaching staff will have to deliver. And a foreign tour should would help, wouldn't it?

joe from the south side

10:00

Tom, Question Part 2. Brey likes to run an unstructured offense for large periods of time, which is somewhat predicated on understanding what your teammates are likely to do and where they are likely to be. That's fine with all of his senior leadership in 22-23. However, and this goes back to his recruiting, if he only gets 2 recruits for next year, and then goes to the portal, that lack of familiarity, that lack of cohesion, could mean another big dropoff in 23-24. How do you see it?

Thomas Noie

9:59

Joe: Here's where the lines between fact and fiction tend to blur, at least from a public perception. You just mentioned seven guys that you believe Notre Dame has "struck out" with, and that's OK. I get it. But from what I've learned, Notre Dame's A wish list had two distinct names - Xavier Booker and T.J. Power - and one general need-to-get - at least one guard, maybe two. That's it. That's the list. Mike Brey wanted Booker. Didn't get him. He wants Power (might get him, but not all that confident). He wanted a guard, and got a local one last week in Markus Burton, who was recruited by Ryan Humphrey. He might be in the market for another guard. That's it in terms of high school kids. The rest of the roster, Brey plans to fill out through the transfer portal. Maybe he snags a late-rising prep senior that no one sees coming. Lesson to be learned? Don't believe everything (sometimes, anything) you hear in recruiting.

joe from the south side

9:53

Tom, Seems like Brey has pretty much struck out on MOST, NOT ALL, of his top 2023 recruits, (Holloway, Ames, Estrella, Booker, Rice, Rechsteiner, Zayden High (who is not coming to ND). How worried should we be? Any of thiis attributable to Hump going to Oklahoma?

Thomas Noie

9:49

George: All is good in every regard on this end. John Mooney recently completed his first season in Japan (Chiba) after playing his first season as a professional in Australia. In addition to racking up some serious airline miles, Mooney's also delivered on the court. He averaged 14.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 29.5 minutes for Chiba, which finished 35-10 and fourth place in its division. Mooney shot 59.5 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from 3 and 67.6 percent from the foul line. He's heading back to Chiba for another season in 2022-23. His NBA dream (derailed by the pandemic when there was no Portsmouth Invitational or combine for him to show his skills, likely has sailed. Mooney's making good money (mid-six figures) in Japan, which is too much to risk trying to catch on with an NBA team in summer league or camp. He goes that route and doesn't make it, it's hard to find a quality spot overseas. He's definitely one of the more underappreciated guys to come through the program.

George from El Segundo.

9:44

Hi Tom, hope you and yours remain safe and well. How about a John Mooney update? How is he doing in Japan and has his NBA dream sailed over the horizon?

Thomas Noie

9:43

I know nothing about Hamlet Tibbs. If he is indeed the guy, I'd like to see him on the practice floor, how he relates to players, his voice, his confidence, before deciding if it's a good fit. Stay tuned.

9:42

Sean: That would be Hamlet Tibbs, who is atop Mike Brey's wish list to replace Ryan Humphrey, who left in July for a similar job (but a lot more $$$) at Oklahoma. Tibbs has not been officially hired, but likely will be the guy when the human resources process over on campus is complete. He's exactly who Brey wants - a young up-and-coming assistant who has a whole lot of experience (specifically at the mid-major level). Why? Coaches like that know everybody - AAU teams, assistants and maybe most importantly, players. That's important when it comes to the transfer portal - who does Notre Dame target? Not guys looking to make lateral moves from one Power Six conference to another, but mid-major guys looking to make the jump up in competition. Mid-major assistants know those guys and that knowledge will come in handy.

Sean,Greensboro

9:38

Tom, looking forward to another great season of your insights. Now that I have buttered you up, please help me understand and get excited about our new assistant coach Hamlet, I am underwhelmed . Thanks.

Thomas Noie

9:38

Matt: There's a good chance depending what direction Mike Brey wants to go to start the season that two freshmen may be in the starting lineup. At the least, there will be one freshman in the starting five. If Brey wants to go the tradition two-bigs route, look for power forward Ven-Allen Lubin to be next to graduate student Nate Laszewski on the front line. He's that good. Maybe not that ready, but Lubin's going to be a key guy. So will former McDonald's All-American J.J. Starling. He's going to push Trey Wertz hard for the third starting guard spot alongside Dane Goodwin and Cormac Ryan. Starling might not open the season as a starter, but he'll be in a similar situation as Blake Wesley was last season - only a matter of time before he is a starter. If Brey scraps two bigs in favor of a four-around-one starting lineup, Starling likely slides into that fourth guard spot. So Starling and Lubin will play and play a lot. Dom Campbell? Wait and see. Maybe he's needed. Maybe he slow-plays his minutes this year.

9:34

We start today's session with a question from Twitter. This from Matt Riley of Granger, Indiana - What are the chances that at least two of the freshmen play significant time this year, I assume J.J. Starling will play but will either big man play?

9:30

Sure, college football season is upon us and some of us are still rapping up summer vacation, but it's never too early to talk college basketball. Let's do it on a summer Thursday. To join, make sure you include your name and hometown with your question or comment. And with that, let's light this late-summer Irish hoops chat candle!

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