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

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Jeff from Schererville, IN

3:19

My second question would be why do you think Shrewsberry would make what some might consider to be a lateral move from PSU to ND. Maybe because he has strong ties to Indiana and even IUSB? He does seem to check all the boxes. Thanks!

Thomas Noie

3:19

Jeff: Honestly, I don't know if it's any better with Blake Wesley back, because, well, he wasn't ever coming back. He's said it himself, so it's not news, but he basically quit going to class second semester because he knew he was a one-and-done. So what would have his buy in been at he returned? Say he had a Starling kind of season where he HAD to come back. That means Wertz wouldn't have returned and Hammond wouldn't have transferred in. Maybe they'd have been better, but still, too many guards and not enough dudes.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

3:16

Tom, thanks for hosting this marathon chat. I'll start by saying I'm an alum and season ticket holder, and when I got the chance to meet the team after an open practice this year, they could not have been nicer or more sincere about my support and driving 90 minutes each way to see them play, and I don't think that was an act. That kindness and sincerity hasn't always translated to wins, but I think it deserves a mention. As individuals, they seem to me to be a good group of guys regardless of basketball skills. My first question is would we be in this situation right now had Wesley decided to return? I'm not blaming him for doing what's best for him and his family, but I think Hubb and Atkinson couldn't come back and Wesley could have. I know you're a Hubb fan, but the team dearly misses Atkinson's inside presence too. Laszewski just isn't built to bang inside with Bacot and other taller and bulkier players.

Thomas Noie

3:13

Tom: You know that that means a lot. I don't care about being first or being this or being that. I care about being honest, about not telling what you WANT to hear, but what you HAVE to hear. Some people get it, some people don't. Thanks my man!

Tom D.

3:12

By the way, Tom, one of the reasons I have followed you for years and occasionally exchanged emails with you is your forthright and honest reporting of ND sports. If I wanted a commercial I would just go to the ND website. Most of us trust appreciate your honesty and frankness.

Thomas Noie

3:12

Craig: Mike Brey's thinking probably runs along the lines of, haven't done it, why start now?

Craig in NJ

3:11

BTW I think Mike Brey did a good job with what he had to work with through out the years. I hope someone whispers to him that loyalty is a two way street. Play the kids so your successors knows what he has to work with.

Thomas Noie

3:11

Tom: Confront probably not the right word to use. We're not in the confronting business (seriously). I've had plenty of talks with Jack Swarbrick, particularly about the basketball program. He'll give the standard middle of the road all is well AD kind of answer. Even though you both know that's not true. It's not in his nature, or job description, to ever admit that, yeah, we need to be better in that area. That's media relations 101.

Tom D.

3:09

Does anyone ever confront Jack Swarbrick about ND's lack of commitment to basketball success. If so, what is his reply? Thanks!

Thomas Noie

3:09

It's all good. Just consider the source. Some people get it, some don't.

Wadelite

3:08

Tom, I am still mystified on the parent of a former player taking a cheap shot at you on Twitter. Garbage about you "not being supportive". What a crock as you have considerably more grief about being the opposite.

Thomas Noie

3:06

Please, only in your dream. Or nightmare. Let's not make this more of a clown show than it already has been. Please.

Matt

3:06

For the last game, if Brey isn't wearing a mock turtleneck underneath a Hawaiian shirt, I will be upset.

Thomas Noie

3:06

True, but if you get a coach worth anything, he'll be like, forget job security and no pressure. I want to freakin win.

Craig in NJ

3:05

Sorry Tom. I need a sarcasm font. The primary appeal of this position is job security.

Thomas Noie

3:05

Wanna bet...we crossed the "this can't get any worse" the afternoon of the North Carolina loss. My response to Dane Goodwin when he said it was, really? Sure it can get worse. Remember the core of this team was on the court when it trailed North Carolina by 52 in an ACC tournament game. Just when you think it can't get worse, it gets worse.

Matt

3:03

I really hope Brey just empties what bench he has and let them all play at this point. Give the incoming coach some game film on them. They can't do any worse.

Thomas Noie

3:03

Jim: Lightness? Around these parts? Not feeling that. If anything, I've been told I'm too hard on the coach and the players and the program. Gotta pat 'em on the back for giving it the old college try. As has been mentioned, Brey owns everything about this tire fire, but the players don't skate. Look at some of the end-of-game/close-game decisions they've made. That's not a coach thing. It's a player thing. Brey has talked a lot about this team taking ownership of itself, but no player has said, hey, this one's on us. We've failed Coach.

Jim from Charlottesville VA

3:01

Hello Tom & All. I observe a lightness about the Coach retiring—both here and throughout college basketball— that does not extend to the players in this disastrous season. There’s something misguided about that. The Irish roster proved in over its head in November. In the flow of play this year, they too often get beaten by better players (who are better coached) to be pinned with beating themselves. Brey particularly should not throw them under that bus.

Thomas Noie

3:00

Joe: J.R. Konieczny strikes me as someone who will wait and see how all this shakes out. He has to get this next move right - stay or go? He can't afford to be like, ah, it's never going to happen here, so I'm out, when it MIGHT happen here. See Matt Ryan. He was soooooo anxious to go and start his clock that he missed out on a potential gold-mine of an opportunity at Notre Dame. You know what they say - grass ain't always greener.

joe from the south side

2:59

Tom, The Parker, Brady, Markus recruiting class was never meant to be a "Homerun" class. Brey's poor roster management backed him into a corner. That class was intended to lend stability to the program so that it didn't become an annual revolving door. Those 3 were likely multi-year guys. BTW, what is your read on JRK? I would think the local boy sticks it out. Yes?

Thomas Noie

2:58

Craig: Are you sure it's Top 50? Now, it can be if there's a buy-in from the university. Jack Swarbrick comes to the new guy and says, we've decided to do it the way Duke and Villanova and Gonzaga do it. Then everything's there - the national name, the facilities, the league, everything. If nothing changes, or very little changes, it remains a really difficult job. Even worse for a young guy who doesn't know any better and won't push for any additional support.

Craig in NJ

2:57

The coach who will take this job is a young guy at a smaller school like Digger (Fordham) or Mike (Delaware). ND may provide job secuirty but it is not one of the top twenty jobs in the country. Well, top 30. Okay, maybe top 50

Thomas Noie

2:57

Joe: Agreed. It's more difficult to win these days, let alone getting out of it for a year or two, then trying to get back up to speed. Like, wait, THIS is what I came back for? Forget that. He's run his race. It's time to live a good life, a better life.

joe from the south side

2:56

Tom, I don't see Brey coaching college ball again. He never embraced the changes that we now have to live with and he never shouwed the hunger necessary on the recruiting trail. As much as he sees himself as a teacher, and I think he is, I just don't think he is willing to put up with all of the "distractions" that prevent him from teaching. And they are hear to stay.

Thomas Noie

2:55

Matt: Yes, especially given how their last seasons at Notre Dame went, they won't/don't want that to be their last organized basketball experience. They'll find a place to play overseas for a few years, then fall back on those MBAs. It's a nice option to have.

Matt from St. Louis

2:54

Think any of the current super seniors continue to play after this year? Nate and/or Dane good enough to play some overseas? Do you think any of them have interest in that?

Thomas Noie

2:50

Paul: Solid coach, along the lines of Matt Langel from Colgate. Would be on my second Top 15 list. Might be someone to at least effort.

Paul R

2:49

What do you think about John Becker from Vermont? Consistent winner, teams play hard and come close to big upsets in the NCAA tourney almost every year

Thomas Noie

2:42

Mike: Mike Brey's answer the other day for what's next was along the lines of being at a party/gathering for an extended time, enjoying the hell of out of it, but then ducking out to take care of something and promising to return. Everyone at the party is telling you/begging you not to leave the party yet. It's still a good time. But you leave anyway and when you return, the vibe's different. Nothing is the same. You kick yourself for not just going home. That's what it is with Brey right now - just go home. The thought right now about coaching sounds like a good time, but get him away from the grind, and then have him jump back into it at some other school. He'll realize it's just not the same. He says he wants to coach, but I don't see it. The time and the effort and the energy that it takes, yeah, he's a competitive SOB, but he's also someone who had looked forward to unplugging from coaching and all that it entails. Don't know if TV is the next move. Can see him in more of an advisory/consultant role.

Mike in PA

2:38

Tom - what do you think Mike Brey's next move is? He said he wouldn't rule out coaching again. Everyone, and I agree, says he would be great on TV. Do you get the sense that is something he would want to do? If he did coach again, do you see it at a Power 5? Or would he go somewhere like, Iona?

Thomas Noie

2:35

Little different deal there, my man.

Wadelite

2:35

If Darian Devries were hired at his coach, do you really think his sophomore son averaging 19 ppg at Drake is not admitted as a transfer? The PTB would find a way.

Thomas Noie

2:34

Or he can have them refurbish a farmhouse for him out on Mayflower Road...IYKYK

Wadelite

2:33

On Scott Drew, at ND he would just have to play second fiddle to Marcus Freeman. In Waco he has to play second fiddle to Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Thomas Noie

2:23

That's great, but from what I understand, getting a freshman out of the portal today is akin to Mike Brey playing 12 guys - impossible. The portal the way it's currently constructed works against Notre Dame. A freshman's transcript better look almost identical to that of a freshman at Notre Dame. The chances of that happening? Good luck.

Wadelite

2:21

Based on what you noted on transfers, is it likely ND will only be able to look at freshman transfers besides graduate transfers. FWIW I can come with at least 4 that ND recruited who are buried at better programs and will be recruited over. There are also at least 2 ivy league potential transfers who have a 5th year option. Last seasons poty and the second leading scorer this season.

Thomas Noie

2:21

I'd look hard at him. You win at Rutgers the way he's won at Rutgers, it's impressive. So is he. Has been since his days at Stony Brook.

Bobby

2:21

Steve Pikiell?

Thomas Noie

2:15

Why? He's built Baylor into his own, and can get anybody he wants into school. He gets here and learns how it works and thinks, yeah, Waco ain't that bad.

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