JotCast | Notre Dame men's basketball March chat

Notre Dame men's basketball March chat

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Chet from Indiana

12:18

I was going to ask how excited you are to cover good basketball and the ncaa tourney but then I realized there are only like 4 good teams. College b-ball right now is pretty bleh. Give me a team or 2 outside the top 20 that, given the right draw, you think has the makings of a deep run team

Thomas Noie

12:17

Lee: No dawgs, no chance. You need at least a few. Notre Dame doesn't have any.

Lee from Lancaster

12:17

Tom, in my opinion this team is made up of a bunch of nice guys. They need a player or two with a little mean streak in him. Someone who will fight for every rebound, guard their man like he said your girlfriend was ugly, and hold teammates accountable. In other words, play hard and tough. Do you agree?

Thomas Noie

12:16

Mike: Preach! It's an adjustment nobody really understands. The length and athleticism they saw last night, from the guards to the forwards, yeah, they don't see that....only in games.

Mike from Charlotte

12:14

They can practice defense 3 hours a day if they want...but until they can practice against the types of athletes they're facing, it won't be good enough :(

Thomas Noie

12:14

Morgan: Duly noted. One more year certainly works from my end, but again, you open yourself up to a whole lot more of the foolishness we saw last night next year. Like after every loss, it will be the same refrain.

Morgan Mac - DC

12:13

Tom - I’ll give my 2c surrounded by calls to can Brey. I do believe ND isn’t a WIN at all costs school like many are. Brey will get one more year, mainly from Covid, also respect and I do believe next year’s team could be like 2014-15 coming off a horrible year. Will the senior class, new guys, transfers, guys from IR, this team should be a NCAA lock and if they have chemistry they could go on a roll. It would also give Jack time to evaluate a replacement if Brey if given an ultimatum of success or you’re out. ND would rather do that then rush hire someone who won’t last. Unless they already know who they definitely can get. Otherwise it messes up recruiting and more as you know. The defense rests, your honor.

Thomas Noie

12:12

Caleb: Paul Atkinson, who will bring something different to the equation. Old guy. Veteran. Experienced. Has done it at the collegiate level. Might be a good leader. Now, does he follow through with graduate school plan or go back to Yale after the Ivy League announced it would accept graduate students to play sports? So much drama....

Caleb from Charlotte

12:08

Hi Tom, I think it's fair to say that both the men's and women's team have had disappointing seasons. However, the women have young star players like Maddy Westbeld and Olivia Miles that give you optimism about the future. What player(s) that will be on next years team gives you hope that next year's team will be significantly better?

Thomas Noie

12:08

Section 115 still shouting from the shadows!

ND Harvey Philly

12:08

Fire Brey!!!

Thomas Noie

12:08

Tim: This one, and it's not even close. People want to talk about chaos. And drama. If there's none of that, people aren't taking time out of work. Too busy. When there's drama, people come out of the woodwork.

Tim from Chicago

12:07

Tom, over the years which chat of yours had the highest # of questions, curious what might have caused the spike, and wondering if Brey's reaction in the press conference last night has led to this being the busiest chat you've ever held?

Thomas Noie

12:07

IW: Everyone will have that chance if the one-time transfer rule goes through. Same goes for every other team in college basketball. The most important recruit won't be the incoming freshman hotshot but the three-year veteran who's played his share of high-level games.

IrishWay

12:06

Tom, thanks for your coverage. This past year has been a complete disappointment to say the least. Whether Brey stays or goes, I’m curious how many on the roster want to stick around? The body language on the floor is atrocious. How many are at risk of transferring with or without Brey?

Thomas Noie

12:02

Wade: Agree. With everything.

Wadelite

12:02

Tom, the efficient ND offense philosophy over a committed effort on defense has been flawed for years. Since 2010, ND has had 3 very good seasons with great shooters or more athleticism, but without either they are toast. Wisconsin is often a comparison used. They do not have a great team this season, but they are going to make the NCAAT. Their talent is not better than ND and their athleticism is about the same and they play 7 guys. The difference is defensive commitment. Also, is there a void on this coaching staff in recognizing under the radar talent aka RKG's. It seems apparent when you compare the 2018 class to former players who were not in top 100 lists.

Thomas Noie

12:01

Not even worth discussing. Same rules apply as the possible next head coach. There's time for that down the road. Breathe.

Joey from Highland, IN

12:01

in your opinion, who are transfer candidates? Goodwin? Laszewski?

Thomas Noie

12:01

Joe: The fan thing first - it's the social media society. Fans, students, are going to read/hear something on a message board or a social media forum and run with it. Ah, let's yell Fire Brey....won't that be funny? Yeah, not so much. Voice your opinion, but as I wrote today, it was a whole lot uncomfortable to hear that. Thing is, put those same students in the room with Mike Brey and I can pretty well guess nobody's saying anything like that. It will be all back slaps and hand shakes. As for the sit-out, it's not a pandemic-related rule. And I believe it applies only to current college players. Not incoming freshmen.

Joe, DC

11:58

So if Brey leaves, in this special year, ahead, people can transfer out and not have to sit out, right? ND can both gain and lose from that and the three incoming guys can go elsewhere right? I don't know about you but the screaming of a few entitled punks at last night's game is the call of the student body. That is an extreme. Let's face it, the ND students are very fickle. Was at a reception on campus a few years ago and ND great terry hanratty was there he talked how embarrassing it was that the students do not support the basketball team with the exception of a a few games.

Thomas Noie

11:57

Leader > dunker. As I said, off top of my head. Can't throw him in every category.

Morgan Mac - DC

11:57

Tom - no need to reply but no Pat for dunkers??

Thomas Noie

11:57

Morgan: Said it I think on the day's first question. Prentiss Hubb entered the week the league leader in assists (6.09) and 15th in scoring, where four other point guards were above him in that category. Hubb takes a lot of bullets from fans, and not all of it warranted. Wrote after the first game of the year that Hubb's not like any point guard the Irish have had. So don't get caught up in what he's not. Hasn't worked.

Morgan Mac - DC

11:55

Tom - I do believe ND is without a PG and has been since Farrell. Brey was a PG and from Chris Thomas on we’ve had a solid PG (correct me if that’s wrong) and now without one (Hubb is not that’s clear) the team is without a leader and it shows. What are your thoughts on that?

Thomas Noie

11:55

Notre Dame basketball, where the freshmen at the end of the bench are the second comings of the backup quarterback and the belief is that they're ready and just as good as the guys out there. I'll never understand that. It happens every year. Find the one or two guys who don't play and pine for them. If only they played more, what a difference it would make.

Joey from Highland, IN

11:54

Also, i've been saying this...play Zona, he shows toughness, maybe more than anyone else. I was glad to see him get some time last night.

Thomas Noie

11:52

Chris: If the one-time transfer rule goes through and players are allowed to transfer once and play immediately, every possibility is on the table. For everyone.

Chris, virginia

11:51

Tom, Do you think of Brey does return could someone like Hubb transfer out?

Thomas Noie

11:51

Mark: They tried that whole defense creating offense earlier this season with the whole stop-score stat. There were those who rejoiced, like, finally, Notre Dame is going to play some defense. But that's not how this program was built. It was going to be a hard sell for these guys. We've seen how it's played out. it's back to indifference. Give up 94 at Boston College and 80 last night at home. What's the next solution?

Mark Kruz from Mishawaka

11:49

Tom how does ND approach the offseason defensively? We know they don't have the athletes to play any 3/4 or half court pressure and it seems like playing zone defenses are more ineffective now since the 3pt stripe was moved back a few years ago. I'm hoping Atkinson will provide a certain toughness in the middle like Moses Wright has done this season for Georgia Tech. Hopefully with off season conditioning Hughes can also add some toughness inside which this team seriously lacked. Maybe the offseason should be spent on having the defense create some of your offense instead of getting into shootouts. Getting kids into buying in to play defense is tough for ANY coach! Hope you get your shot soon and back to playing pickup!

Thomas Noie

11:49

Mike: A lot of it starts similarly to playing defense. You've got to WANT to go and recruit. Spend the hours on the wooden bleachers watching games. Going from school to school. Camp to camp. Tournament to tournament. Build a wish-list that runs really deep. Take some chances on some guys. That doesn't seem like it always was the case.

Mike from the Chicago Burbs

11:47

Tom: seems to me that even if Brey were to get another year, assuming the now-junior class starts leaving, the cupboard is really bare after 2021-22. Some young players here and there, but we'd probably need to recruit 2-3 more players AND hit the transfer portal in the next recruiting cycle. Seems like a tall order even for a new coach who is a talented recruiter much less one who doesn't really seem to get after it on the trail. With all the talk of football trying to improve its recruiting operation, what specifically does the basketball program need to do to similarly step their game up?

Thomas Noie

11:47

Chet: Right now, today, at 11:45 a.m., hard to say. Think he takes a year off to recharge and reassess, but every coach believes they have one more move left in him. Whether that's at his current school or a new one that no one sees coming. The itch is too great not to scratch. Brey talked last offseason about finishing out his current deal and maybe even extending it, or going somewhere else. Every coach believes he can still do it, even after he's told he can't do it at said school. Want someone to run a clean program? Graduate his guys? Connect? He'd be the guy.

Chet from Indiana

11:45

You say there are two options: a Brey tear down and revamped staff or start over with a new coach. I don’t disagree. But as someone who has stated they believe Brey still has the coaching itch, what are the odds we see him coaching somewhere else?

Thomas Noie

11:44

Gary: And that's worked...when?

Gary from Hamilton

11:44

I see the cancel culture references are even being applied to (a reasonable) reactions to coaching in sports now...PLEASE! As for five years of Beilein and going through this again, he coached at Canisius in Buffalo (just across the river from me) and was very supportive of developing players AND assistant coaches...why not have him coach for five years, and have a younger guy that can be developed into "the coach in waiting"?

Thomas Noie

11:44

Dan: And that's on who? The head coach who can't coach? The point guard who can't be the point guard? Some of it's on Nate Laszewski, who seems to play more to protect his shot percentages than offer something more to the team. He doesn't get many shots and doesn't do much, mainly because he chooses not to. He's one of those guys who seems to shoot only when he's open. WIDE open. Guy closing out on him? Not going up. And the book's out on Laszewski. Body him up. Be physical. Get into him. What's his counter? There is none. Why were his percentages so good for a chunk of the season? He'd rarely shoot. It's not just a Brey thing or a Hubb thing. It's a Laszewski thing. It's a Ryan thing. It's a Goodwin and a Durham and a Wertz thing.

Dan from Indy

11:41

Basketball wise, what happened to Nate's productivity and shot volume the second half of the conference season? He's only taken 10+ shots once in the last 9 games (27 point outburst against GT is the one game)

Thomas Noie

11:40

Add a guy who's a walking double double and a consistent post threat? Yes, please.

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