JotCast | Notre Dame Men's Basketball May chat

Notre Dame Men's Basketball May chat

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Thomas Noie

10:09

Rob: This feels like an answer I'd give about the starting lineup, but if the season started tonight, Rod Balanis would be the associate head coach, Anthony Solomon and Ryan Humphrey would be the assistants and Mike Brey would be the head coach. Still think there has to be one more move - if they could create a different role (non-coaching) for Balanis and bring in another veteran assistant coach as another voice/recruiter that would align nicely I believe there's value in having Rod Balanis on this staff, but maybe in a different kind of role at this stage of his career.

Real Rob in Dallas

10:06

Tom, now that Coach Solomon has been brought back for the 3rd time and this time as an Associate Head Coach, it sure looks like Balanis is the odd man out. Do u see him moving into an ops role so we don't have too many cooks in the kitchen?

Thomas Noie

10:06

Jim: Good to hear from you. Let's get a "normal" season to really drill down on where this is all headed for Mike Brey and the future of the Notre Dame men's basketball program. Missing four straight NCAA Tournaments is inexcusable and unacceptable, and everything else, but rewind to each of those seasons - Notre Dame lost Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell to injury in 2017-18 yet still was the first team out of the Field of 68. Lose those two guys, and it's a tough sell to get back to the NCAA. Next year, lose Rex Pflueger and turn the program over to freshmen who weren't ready. Yeah, they weren't getting in that year, or the following. You just don't go from 3-15 in the ACC to tournament team in one year. 2019-20, pandemic aside, that team should've done more to get in with seniors T.J. Gibbs and John Mooney and Rex Pflueger. Last year? Too many unknowns in a pandemic to point to the NCAA and say gotta get there. Let's have a "normal" season when everyone stays healthy (on and off the court).

Jim from Berlin, CT

10:02

Tom it's great to hear from you after a long pause following the end of the basketball season. In your opinion has Mike Brey basically worn out his welcome in South Bend? I worry that mediocrity has now become the norm for Irish men's basketball and reaching the Big Dance is now nothing more than a pipe dream. How many more losing seasons do we have to put up with before Brey finally calls it quits?

Thomas Noie

10:02

Bill: The baseline expectation for this program should be to make the NCAA Tournament. Will they in 2021-22? I want to say yes, but the core of this group is going to have to show something and do something that it has yet to do the last three years. Maybe the additions of Paul Atkinson at center and Anthony Solomon on the coaching staff should be enough to push this program back to Selection Sunday. Unless there's marked improvement from the core, it's going to be difficult to get there.

Guest

9:59

Do you expect notre dame to make the tournament next year. Bill Tinley park

Thomas Noie

9:59

ND Hoops: look around at what's happening elsewhere in college football. And even, NFL or Major League Baseball. News that Pro Team A, B and C or college D, E and F are slowly upping attendance capacities or opening them up to 100 percent is a really good sign for Notre Dame. I'd be shocked if Notre Dame wasn't close to 100 percent by the Sept. 11 home opener against Toledo and at capacity for all sports for the 2021-22 school year. That's where all this is trending. If - and that's a big IF - there are no setbacks from coronavirus numbers, it should be business as usual from a fan experience at Notre Dame this season. In all sports.

ND Hoops Addict, South Bend

9:57

Any news or rumblings on crowd expectations for football or basketball games? Will I get to use my season tickets this year?

Thomas Noie

9:57

Eddie: Robby Carmody has yet to play a full season of college basketball, which means he has at least four years of eligibility remaining - five if you count the additional year the NCAA has given student-athletes because of the pandemic, but that's sort of silly. He's not going to be in college - be it at Notre Dame or somewhere else if he chooses to reset his college experience - for eight years. Carmody was close enough health-wise to contribute last season, but it got too late in the season where there was little benefit to bring him into the mix. He's expected to be full go certainly for preseason camp in fall. Maybe for summer pickup sessions.

Eddie

9:55

What is the status of Robby Carmody? How many years of eligibility does he have left?

Thomas Noie

9:55

Dwight: Good points on knowing this culture and this university, but it would be a hard sell to the Irish hoops fan base to bring in someone who went 24-88 in his only head coaching stint at Saint Bonaventure. And the Atlantic 10 as we know is nowhere near the Atlantic Coast Conference. No, I think Solomon's best as an assistant who can be a great resource for the head coach.

Dwight, NC Arkansas

9:52

I believe having Anthony Solomon returning to the staff is a real positive. Given Mike Brey's age, is it conceivable that Solomon was getting valuable coaching experience elsewhere and is now returning as a viable head coach at ND at some point in the future? He certainly knows ND as well as anyone not named Brey.

Thomas Noie

9:52

Joe: On a scale of 1 to 10, how about a 12? He'll go get guys that guys on the current staff haven't been able to get.

Joe /Granger

9:52

How big of an addition will Coach Slo be on the recruiting trail!!...

Thomas Noie

9:52

One reason - maybe one big reason - Notre Dame has found itself on the outside of the NCAA tournament looking in for the last four years is there was nobody on the staff that could/would really challenge Mike Brey or the players. Solomon will do that. He has an edge. He has experience. he has wisdom. He has an attitude and mentality that this program has lacked, really since he left following the 2015-16 season. If you want to say he's the "bad cop" on the staff, that fits. He just has that something that can reach guys. He's tough. He's fair. People respond to him. Notre Dame hoops hasn't been past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament under Brey without Solomon. That's not a coincidence.

9:49

Bob: First, let's cover this base - Anthony Solomon is expected to return for his third stint as an assistant coach. He'll replace Scott Martin, who will rotate back to video/recruiting coordinator. Martin was supposed to serve in that role last year before Ryan Ayers left for personal reasons. Solomon's hiring could be official as soon as the end of the week. What does he bring that the current assistants lack? How about everything?

Bob

9:47

What does Anthony Solomon bring that some of the other assistant coaches have lacked ?

Thomas Noie

9:47

But, alas, it's not that easy given where we are in college basketball. Notre Dame will have seven players - Paul Atkinson, Robby Carmody, Dane Goodwin, Prentiss Hubb, Nate Laszewski, Cormac Ryan and Trey Wertz - in line to graduate in the spring of 2022. Seven guys is a lot, but hold on. Of those seven, only Atkinson is out of eligibility. The other six have the option of returning for another year (and maybe more). That kind of muddles the recruiting crystal ball. What if Hubb returns? What if Ryan and Wertz? Do the Irish still need to find a point guard? Dane Goodwin already has indicated a desire to return for a fifth year. Then, with all that, there's also the ever-present transfer portal. This offseason, there were some 1,500 players in the portal. How will Notre Dame use that moving forward? Some schools will recruit the portal with more of an emphasis than high school kids. It will be fascinating moving forward how the Irish will construct their roster.

9:44

Bob: Buckle up, because this answer might take some time to chew through. Deep breath. OK, let's go...Notre Dame currently has around 20-25 names on its recruiting board for the Class of 2022. Topping that list are Donovan Clingan, a 6-10, 220-pound center from Bristol, Conn. and guard Rodney Rice, 6-4 from Potomac, Md. Notre Dame's immediate needs are twofold - a point guard and a big man. Who else might be on the short list? It's odd to say but it's true - it's too early to tell given that the staff has not been allowed to recruit off campus, really for the last two recruiting cycles, because of the pandemic. Recruiting finally will get back to some semblance of normalcy when college coaching staffs can get back out on the road in July. The Irish staff wants/needs that time to actually see kids in person. Recruiting solely off video and getting to know kids through Zoom is a tricky proposition. So July's going to be big to focus even more on a core group of maybe 10 guys that they feel are best fits.

Bob

9:39

Who are some of the top recruits ND has a realistic chance with ? Donovan Clingan a possibility ?

Thomas Noie

9:29

We're back....and suddenly, it's summer around these here parts. Think it actually snowed the last time we chatted about Notre Dame hoops. None of that today in Northern Indiana, where temperatures will push toward 90. Weather aside, it's always basketball season in these parts. There's plenty to ponder and discuss when it comes to the Irish. To join, be sure to include your name and hometown. And with that, you know the drill - let's light this chat candle.

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