JotCast | Notre Dame men's basketball chat - January 2023

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Thomas Noie

9:22

Monty Williams. But again, you have to ask yourself - why would someone who has one of the best 30 jobs in the basketball coaching world where you have the best of everything at your fingertips while coaching the best of the best decide yeah, I'm done with this lifestyle of private planes and five-star hotels and sold-out arenas and international attention to go back to college and recruit high school kids? It's a tough sell. Maybe Monty Williams or Chris Quinn or Sean Sweeney, the three possible candidates with NBA ties are looking for a career change, but that's a big jump. The NBA is the great known. College basketball in 2023 and beyond is the great unknown.

Guest

9:19

monte williams or marty inglesby?? yiour opinion...successful;

Thomas Noie

9:19

Mike: Zero. Maybe less than zero. As mentioned earlier, Jack Swarbrick, should he choose to speak with the media, would hit all the high points on what he wants from the next men's basketball coach, but does he? An elite coach, a coach who's going to make this an elite program, may be too expensive. Does Notre Dame want to pay north of $3 million for an elite coach? My guess is no.

Mike, New Jersey

9:18

Hey Tom, Do you have any sense of direction Notre Dame will be going to in looking for the next Head Coach? Personally I’d love someone with Midwest ties who builds the roster with size, physicality, and athleticism.

Thomas Noie

9:18

As for a future role for Mike Brey at Notre Dame, that was more feel-good/wishful thinking than anything. When this season ends, he can't put Michiana in his rearview mirror fast enough. Save for returning for some reunion doings during football weekends, I don't expect Mike Brey to have any future reason to return. And if the first two games since his I'm-outta-here presser is any indication, he's going to ride into the college basketball sunset his way. The rotation hasn't changed much. I don't see that changing.

9:15

Matt: Quick two-parter that doesn't have a quick answer. Last week's decision that this is it was a combination of factors. Jack Swarbrick is on record with the South Bend Tribune as saying that Mike Brey could coach at Notre Dame for as long as he wants. As December became January, that want-to waned. He just didn't feel like he could reach his guys and do the job the way the job needs to be done. I'm sure he went to Jack and Jim Fraleigh, the administrator in charge of men's basketball and they agreed. Some sort of separation agreement was reached and here we are.

Matt from Aldie, VA

9:13

Thanks, Tom. Quick two-parter: Bottom line, was Brey forced out against his will, or did he come to the realization before it got to that point? And are you hearing anything specific about what his role could be at ND in the future? He's a class act and it would be great to keep him on campus in some capacity, when he's ready. Bonus question: Since Brey has nothing to lose, do you foresee any dramatic lineup or strategic changes between now and the end of his tenure? Thanks again!

Thomas Noie

9:12

Paul: I'm glad I'm not Jack Swarbrick having to figure this out, because, as has been mentioned, this is not going to be a quick-hire situation, as it was when he needed a football coach (Marcus Freeman) and women's basketball coach (Niele Ivey). It's hard to say who is likely/realistic because we have no idea what Notre Dame wants from its next head coach. Dynamic young guy? Established older guy? Someone in between. If he were to speak to the media, which he likely won't until the process ends, Jack Swarbrick would say he wants the best possible coach to lead Notre Dame. Who is that? I'll go, in no particular order, with Darian DeVries (Drake), Micah Shrewsberry (Penn State) and Pat Kelsey (Charleston) with wild cards being Chris Quinn and Sean Sweeney. But again, a disclaimer...nobody has ANY idea what direction this is going to go. None.

Paul R

9:09

If you were Jack, who would be your pick for next head coach and who do you think is most likely/realistic?

Thomas Noie

9:09

Terry: Let's start with this - it's comparing apples to oranges. Yes, the game is the same - they play on rims that are 10 feet and courts that are 94 feet long and all that, but comparing what the Notre Dame men's program can't do compared to the Notre Dame women's program is downright silly. The Notre Dame women's program is one of the sport's bluebloods - Connecticut, Tennessee, Stanford, etc. It SHOULD recruit the elite of the elite. Asking why the men's program can't do what the women's program can do is like asking why the Notre Dame men's program can't be like Duke or North Carolina. The men's program and the women's program couldn't be more different.

Terry

9:06

How is it that the ND Women’s BB program can continually recruit the top players in the country and the men’s team can’t even sniff a top recruit?

Thomas Noie

9:06

...As for the second part of your question, I'd be surprised (stunned) if this was a quick hire. Now, if you believe Chris Quinn or Sean Sweeney (both NBA assistants) are the answer, and you can get them out of their current jobs today, you do it. But no sitting college coach is going to leave in the middle of the season for another job. I expect this process to be more exploratory for the next six, seven weeks where Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick does his due diligence, narrows his list to a select few in early March, then zeroes in on a candidate as that coach's season comes to an end. Everyone wants a timeline and wants it to be sooner than later, but it wouldn't surprise me if this pushes closer to April. And it's Jan. 25. Buckle up. This is going to be a loooooooooong haul.

9:03

Steve: A coach with a plan would be a good start. Notre Dame is going to be this kind of a team on offense, and be that kind of a team on defense. There seemed no plan the last couple of years, just kind of roll the ball out. When you watch how other teams run offense, with different actions and sets you're struck by how Notre Dame doesn't nothing like that. Same goes for defense. And then there's the overall structure of the roster. I'm all for rolling more guys through and being multiple - not the same stuff from the same five guys. So you need a little of everything from someone who's got endless energy, someone who's going to sell his program, and the sell the fans the product is worth watching...

Steve McTigue

9:01

Tom, what do you think the Irish are looking for in a new head coach?? Don’t you think they should secure that position fairly soon to avoid to many portal transfers, and to bring in new talent?

Thomas Noie

9:01

Mike: Two questions in and and we've already reached the non-believer section. That's OK. I get it. One former Irish assistant coach said years ago - a decade or so back - that even back then, in the mid-2000s, out of the top 100 high school seniors maybe 10 - maybe - would have the grades to get into Notre Dame for basketball. Of those 10, maybe two, sometimes three would actually have a passing interest in the program. That was then. Now? Maybe one or two top 100 would be seriously interested in Notre Dame. The admission standard remains the standard. I can't tell you that "none of the teams that do compete every year don't have some standards," but I will. Notre Dame often can't touch the prospects that go to Duke or Carolina or Kansas or UCLA or even Virginia. It's a harder job than anyone wants to admit, which is why it's a lot closer to Boston College and Georgia Tech than anyone wants to admit.

Mike, Nyona lake

8:58

Recruiting question. Keep hearing N.D. can't recruit because of standards. Just can not believe there are not three or four kids in the whole USA that are not smart enough to go to N.D. and still play ball. Maybe not top ten guys but 15 thru 80. Maybe not get the one or two to make you a national champ every year but good enough to be in the top twenty and at least compete for the top half in the ACC. You can not tell me that none of the teams that do compete every year don't have some standards also.

Thomas Noie

8:56

Skill and leadership and, oh, by the way, a heck of a lot of memories and games and wins that nobody thought possible back in 2000. Should this program have won more? Yes. Should it have been better in the NCAA tournament? Absolutely. But rewind back to July 2000 when Mike Brey walked in the door of the Joyce Center. How many fans of a program that was dying a slow death would've taken nearly 500 wins? Three Sweet 16s? Two Elite Eights? A freaking ACC tournament championship after beating Duke and North Carolina? How many would've taken that? How about everybody. This isn't ending the way anyone imagined, but it was one hell of a ride. That you can't argue. Roll through the 23 memories of Brey's 23 seasons for evidence.

Guest

8:53

I congratulate Tom for his fair & balanced critique of ND b-ball over these past years. I thought his article Sunday highlighting the top 23 games under Coach Brey was particularly effective to remind us all of the skill & leadership Coach has given the players & fans over his 23 seasons.

Thomas Noie

8:46

Who's the next coach of Notre Dame men's basketball?

Darian DeVries (8.2% | 5 votes)

Martin Ingelsby (11.5% | 7 votes)

Pat Kelsey (14.8% | 9 votes)

Chris Quinn (16.4% | 10 votes)

Sean Sweeney (6.6% | 4 votes)

Micah Shrewberry (8.2% | 5 votes)

Someone else (34.4% | 21 votes)

Total Votes: 61

8:44

It still doesn't seem real, the events of the past week. Here we are in late January, a time when we should be talking/plotting/dreaming about what Notre Dame needs to do the rest of the way to get back to the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Irish season has gone off the rails, the head coach has decided (likely with a nudge) that this season will be his last, and the program is staring at a future that is, at best, uncertain. Mike Brey was right - this whole college basketball thing really is fragile. We're about to find out just how much. Anyway, how's your month been? Probably better than Brey, who's set to leave after season No. 23. He'll be the first to admit that it's time, and it is. It's also time to talk Notre Dame men's basketball, which we'll do today forever however long you want to ask, vent, etc. Just make sure to include your name and hometown. And with that, you know how this goes. Let's light this chat candle...

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