JotCast | Notre Dame men's hoops chat - May | 5/5/2022

Notre Dame men's hoops chat - May

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JT from Gulf Shores

1:16

Hey Tom, If no true bigs, will the Irish have kind talent to press and play uptempo for 40 minutes? I could see playing more of the bench since some more interchangeable/equal type talent?

Thomas Noie

1:16

Mike: The "official" word will be that the teams agreed to dissolve the third and final game of the series because of (insert reason). Maybe they'll say they each played a home and home and that's enough. But this is all Cal not wanting to be saddled with another early-season non-league loss to a program that he shouldn't be losing to three straight seasons. Mike Brey's like fine, we won at Rupp, we won at Purcell. I'll sit on a two-game win streak.

Mike from PA

1:14

Tom - Thanks for answering all of the questions! Good to talk hoops in May (and year round). What's the latest with the Kentucky game? Is it officially cancelled? If so, was it a mutual decision or was Cal tired of getting whipped...

Thomas Noie

1:08

Have just received word that Blake Wesley (has anyone asked about him? LOL) has been invited to the NBA draft combine, May 16-22 in Chicago. He will participate in the individual drills and testing and interviews with NBA GMs but will NOT participate in any five-on-five scrimmages. Thoughts???

1:07

Joe: Knew it was only a matter of time until you brought the voice of reason angle to the chat. I get it, but there was similar skepticism with Blake Wesley last year and look what he did as a freshman. I watched him play plenty in high school and shred Northern Indiana Conference guards. That all looked good in the box score, but what would he do at the next level? Now, he's going to be the program's first one and done. We didn't know about Blake Wesley this time last year and now we don't know about Ven-Allen Lubin. Won't know until maybe December, and likely later. That's the way this works. Notre Dame rarely gets guys whose games are college ready as freshmen. Might have to go all the way back to Chris Thomas. As for mining the portal, it's also been about staying OLD. That's no knock/concern about the freshmen. You have a chance to stay old, you take it.

joe from the south side

1:03

Tom, I would suggest to all to temper the enthusiasm of VAL. Yes, there is a lot to like. Probably fair to say the last big with that much athleticism was Coach Hump. The kind of athlete Brey doesn't get. But he is a FR playing in the ACC. Maybe that works at Duke or NC, but that is a stretch here. He will be an impactful player at the D1 level eventually, but there are some rough edges to his game. And, he won't be able to defend a guy like Bacot or Lively. You are almost guaranteeing you are willing to give up 2 to get three. If ND was so sure of his plug and play talent, they wouldn't be surfing the portal for a seasoned big.

Thomas Noie

1:02

There'd never be a shortage of conversation, that's for sure. Can Mike Brey help close the deal with Dante Moore? (ducks)

Mike from the west coast

1:01

Serious question - is there a cooler coaching combo in D1 sports than Marcus Freeman and Mike Brey? Both those guys should be together in the living room for both bball and football recruits.

Thomas Noie

12:49

Mike: LOL....LOL...If last November-December didn't teach us this already, you need to know this about all coaches at any level in any sport - they ALL believe deep down that they have one more move left in them. To this school or to that team. One final jump before they call it a career. We saw that with Brian Kelly. We've seen that throughout college athletics. We may see it with Mike Brey. We might not. Brey used to be of that mindset that fall football weekends were good for hoops - and then he started bringing guys in last year on non-football weekends. J.J. Starling made his official visit over Labor Day weekend when Notre Dame football was in Tallahassee. He's kind of moved away from the thinking that football helps basketball - more like his program should stand on its own. But a football weekend never hurts.

Mike from PA

12:45

Tom - Are you certain Blake Wesley isn't coming back (I kidd, I kidd). Do you ever see Mike Brey pulling a Brian Kelly and unexpectedly taking the money and running or is ND his last stop? Did he have a good relationship with Brian Kelly? What about with Marcus Freeman? I remember Brey saying when the football team is good, it helps the basketball team. Lots of juice on campus and provides great fall recruiting weekends when there is excitement in the air.

Thomas Noie

12:45

Johnny: Word from those who should know and definitely are smarter than me that Notre Dame would feel (relatively) confident moving forward with Ven-Allen Lubin as the main big in a bigger helping of four-around-one lineups.

Johnny

12:44

I really think lubin is going to be very underrated. On rivals he’s top 50. Let me know your thoughts if him potentially being a main big if nd cannot find anyone else, or Nate elects to leave.

Thomas Noie

12:29

Mike: A lot of Mikes this session. A lot of good stuff too. Ven-Allen Lubin as I mentioned is penciled in as a rotation guy. Maybe a big one if Nate Laszewski chooses to go another direction. Dom Campbell is kind of a wild card. He seems like he'd benefit from a slow-play season, but what if he's the most surprising of the bunch? What then? Starling's going to play; Lubin's going to play. Campbell will have to prove he belongs.

Mike from PA

12:27

Tom - we all expect JJ Starling to make a Blake Wesley like impact next year. What about the other incoming freshman? Is it expected they will be a part of the rotation?

Thomas Noie

12:27

Mike: That's basketball. Not just college, but NBA as well. The final two minutes of games sometimes takes 20. That's part of the game.

Mike, Rochester, NY

12:27

Sort of off topic, but any momentum at all among the coaches or administrators to reduce the number of timeouts or curtail replay? There are too many games where the most pivotal moment (i.e., the end) becomes an unwatchable slog.

Thomas Noie

12:26

Mike: Zero. I usually wait to see freshmen until they get to campus and play against actual college players. Then you see that, yeah, this guy fits or that guy is going to go the long game route. Word from inside ND is that Lubin should be ready as a freshman. What does that translate into? Wait and see.

California Mike

12:25

Tommy, have you seen much from Ven Allen Lubin? Is there potential he will get a lot of tick in his first year? If yes this could end up being one of our more athletic teams in a while with JJ, Hammond, Lubin, JR, and Osun (yes I am speaking it into existence)

Thomas Noie

Always.

12:22

Robert from Mishawaka

12:22

As always thanks for these chats, and answering curious minds. Football is always the talk of the town, but we have you to keep us informed! "WELL DONE"

Thomas Noie

12:21

Mike: Just look at the guard depth chart. You have Cormac Ryan. Going to play A LOT. You have Dane Goodwin. Going to play A LOT. You bring in J.J. Starling. Going to play A LOT. You bring in Marcus Hammond as a transfer guard. What do we know about transfers and Mike Brey - they play A LOT. We haven't even gotten to Trey Wertz or J.R. Konieczny, both of whom it's safe to say are expecting larger roles than the ones they played last year. There's no more room for another guard. No, the minute they signed Hammond, it was over in terms of Wesley returning. You don't take a grad transfer guard who's going to play major minutes if you don't have a hole with major minutes. Taking Marcus Hammond doesn't impact Blake Wesley's decision - it confirms that there's no chance he's coming back. It's common sense. Wesley coming back? You don't sign Hammond. Wesley's not coming back? Get yourself another veteran guard. Notre Dame did that.

Mike from PA

12:18

Tom - Why does the addition of Hammond shut the door on Wesley? If Blake calls Mike Brey tomorrow and says coach I'm coming back, as unlikely as that is, they would take him back, no? I think the NBA shuts the door, but not sure what how Hammond would have any impact on Blake's decision.

Thomas Noie

12:17

Yessir!

Robert from Mishawaka

12:17

Potential fits for this Notre Dame program will always be difficult. Thanks for confirming that!

Thomas Noie

12:17

Bret: Though it seems otherwise, the college basketball sky's not falling. Relax. They'll figure it out. There's at least one of these posts every single season. Probably a few last year. How'd that turn out.

face_with_rolling_eyes

bret

12:16

Hi Tom if Laz does not return and Brey does not sign a good big from the portal we could be in big trouble next season. I'm sure Brey knows this and therefore you would have to figure he will sign someone from the portal. Otherwise we will get killed in the paint and a once promising season could be over before it starts.

Thomas Noie

12:16

That he never entered the portal answers that question, no?

joe from the south side

12:16

Tom, With Jay Wright walking away, did anyone reach out to Whitmore to see if he had a change of mind? On paper, he fits the ND mold and has a pretty big upside.

Thomas Noie

12:15

Bobby: The transfer portal and the ever-changing landscape of college basketball won't be the reason Mike Brey decides that he's had enough. He'll walk away because he's done it for so many years and just doesn't have the juice to keep doing it. Mike Brey has accepted, and arguably, answered, so many challenges just during his 22 seasons at Notre Dame - the Big East changing formats, then moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference, etc. Adaptability has been one of his strengths. This is just the lasted example. Notre Dame won't ever be full portal or full NIL. It still will be a program kids choose for more than that. Always has been.

Bobby

12:12

Hey Tom - ND has not been hit as hard as other programs who have lost one or multiple key players to the transfer portal. Credit to Brey and the coaching staff for creating an environment that it seems the guys enjoy playing in. Question is do you think the landscape of college hoops shifting away from 3-4 year player development and toward an emphasis on the portal and re-recruiting your roster is cause for Brey to retire soon, or is he embracing the change more than others?

Thomas Noie

12:12

Tom: Former Notre Dame swingman Dan Miller played three years at Maryland before transferring in for one season (2002-03). Don't know if the policy has changed since. If a guy fits, he fits. Think it's more about fit than any policy.

TOM-SOUTH BEND

12:11

Can ND accept a transfer who has completed 3 years of college? I've heard the Admissions Office has a policy against that.

Thomas Noie

12:10

Mickey: PR? Might you mean PT - playing time? J.J. Starling and Ven-Allen Lubin will be major-minute guys (more than 18) next season. The others? Matt Zona? J.R. Konieczny? Tony Sanders? Prove it time. You want more minutes? More responsibility? More of a role? Prove you're ready. None were last season.

Mickey, NY

12:08

With the uncertainty around returns/transfers are we looking at a significant increase in PR for players who haven’t had to do that up until now? Zona, JR, JJ, VAL…other than JJ, do any of them avg 10-15 min a game next season? And will one/two of them have to in order to be successful?
Hope you are gearing up for summer and some down time. See you at UBS in November.

Thomas Noie

12:07

Vince: Great question. And thanks for asking it. It was 1000 percent a participation trophy. Like, it was grade school stuff. Hey, look, EVERYBODY wins! Ice cream all around. Come on, guys. Make a decision. You could argue, and be right, there were a whole host of guys who deserved most valuable player. The steadiness of Dane Goodwin? Yep. The late-season surge of Cormac Ryan? Check. Prentiss Hubb? The unsung/lunch pail stuff of Nate Laszewski? Worthy. The one-year shooting star of Blake Wesley? Check. And Paul Atkinson. All six were worthy. But name an MVP. Come on, guys. I voted Goodwin a first team All-League guy, so I'd go with Goodwin. Next year? I'm looking at you, Cormac Ryan. He could be the second coming of Ben Hansbrough.

Vince

12:03

Tom: Not sure if you addressed this or not but how did you feel about the entire team receiving the MVP award at their post season award celebration? Feels like a participation trophy.

cool

1

Thomas Noie

12:03

Tim: Blake Wesley leaving (and he's leaving) after one year for the NBA is such a crapshoot for so many reasons. Look at the mock drafts, and he's all over the place - late lottery, middle first round, back end of first round. He's going to have to land in a perfect situation to make this work. Bad team? Ugh. Good team? Cool, but minutes will be minimal. Better be ready to season your game in the G League. If that outweighs another year of college, nothing you can do about it. But as we've seen with several former Irish (Jerian Grant, Demetrius Jackson, Bonzie Colson) that NBA window opens only a crack and only for a really, really, really short time. Better max out the chance you have, because when it closes, man, it closes for good.

Tim from Chicago

12:00

Hi Tom, thanks for chatting with us, seems like the perfect time to reconnect. I keep seeing Blake Wesley going anywhere from mid first round to the 40's. I hope he made the right decision. This would have been his team next season if he stayed, will he really develop more as a bench guy in the NBA who will probably get shuffled back and forth between the parent team and the G League for most of the season?

Thomas Noie

12:00

Mike: Addressed the delete this bruh post a little earlier. It's just a kid being a kid and not understanding exactly how the business works - but in his defense, I don't think Blake clicked on the link, which contained a story about Mike Brey going on Chicago radio and saying he at the least would test the waters. We all knew that would happen. So I wrote it up. Blake saw the Tweet and took it as if NDI was breaking news of him leaving. We weren't. Blake wants to be first, he really should've posted his plan the minute Brey left his house the previous night. And no, player and coach weren't on the same page, because listening to those to Wesley, there never is/was/will be a contingency plan of returning. He's all in. College basketball is in the rearview mirror.

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