JotCast | Notre Dame season wrap chat

Notre Dame season wrap chat

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Thomas Noie

11:24

Mark: Something's got to change, doesn't it? Even with the addition of Atkinson, there's still something about this core, about this team, that just doesn't do it. I'm not all in at all. Need to see it to believe it.

Mark Metzler, Rochester NY

11:23

Tom, how can next year be different with Paul Atkinson? Same core group that can’t get over the hump. Are we heading toward the definition of insanity? Is .500 in ACC play achievable?

Thomas Noie

11:22

Joe: Doesn't matter what I think. Mike Brey believes it's a make or break year for him and his program. That's a start, right?

Joe from St. Petersburg

11:22

Tom, thanks for doing this as always. I would have moved on from Brey after this season but that is just me. Do you believe next year is a make it or break it year for Brey? I mean, how long can this go on?

Thomas Noie

11:16

P. Rose: Wanna bet? Sorry, too easy. No, you're 110 percent right on that. I'm right there with you when it comes to this junior class. It hasn't happened really at all for the first three years. I don't have any trust it's going to happen next year. Like, something about this core group just doesn't have it. Something's missing.

P. Rose

11:15

I can see a jump in productivity for Trey Wertz and Cormac Ryan, but the rest of that core group has had three years of playing together. How much growth can we reasonably expect from them? How different can next year be from this past year?

Thomas Noie

11:15

Joe: Slim to none with just about everybody outside of Franklin and maybe Gardner. Notre Dame is going to explore and will continue to explore the transfer portal, but with one scholarship to offer, will be very selective in bringing somebody in. My guess, they bring nobody in.

joe from the south side

11:14

Tom: Long one. The following have ties to ND BBL either because they were recruited in HS, or they have been contacted as a result of the transfer portal. In some cases, there was genuine interest, in other cases ND just kicked the tires. Can you give a status update as to interest level by either party in 2021. Chris Lykes, Earl Timberlake, Pat Tape, Jabri Abdur -Rahim, Tre Mitchell, Jayden Gardner, Nate Reuvers, Armaan Franklin, Tyler Kolek

Thomas Noie

Two big breaking news stories in college hoops - Roy Williams has retired at North Carolina and Texas has hired Chris Beard. Neither, a surprise, but both kind of.

11:11

Erik: Based solely on this season where he averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 19.2 minutes over 24 games with six starts, I'd say he met expectations. He was a zero star recruit with limited offers coming out of high school in Canada. He was a project guy who'd be given five years to figure out where/how he fit. He was the perfect program guy this year - move the ball, cut, defend, rebound, score a little, be good in the locker room. He did all that.

Erik (Granger, IN)

11:07

If you were to evaluate Nic Djogo’s ND career based entirely on his performance this year, did he exceed expectations, meet expectations, or be a bust?

Thomas Noie

11:06

Mike: Openly optimistic that Robby Carmody can give them something. What that is, nobody knows until Carmody can cut it all loose for an entire basketball season and still remain standing without a catastrophic injury. We might not see that next season, just because I don't know if the staff or this program can afford to wait on Carmody. The train's too far down the track. He just needs next year and maybe the next year to catch up - a few spot minutes here, a few more there - to kind of get back in a rhythm, which he hasn't been in since high school. J.R. Konieczny and Blake Wesley were recruited with the thought that the door had closed on Carmody. Now? Think it's still open a bit, but he's got to show something moving forward. And keep moving.

Mike from The Land of Cheese

11:03

Any sense of how the staff really views Carmody's prospects for returning to what he was? Is this a situation like your tavern league competitor, Matawan, New Jersey's own Keith Kurowski, where a very talented but snakebitten ND hoopster just will never be able to recover what he was?

Thomas Noie

11:03

Ed: Great to hear from you. As mentioned earlier, I think all three - Mike Brey, Jack Swarbrick, Father Jenkins - are kind of aligned together through 2024-25. As of last summer, there was zero talk/planning/aligning with any sort of succession plan. Mike Brey is not handing this job to someone the way Muffet McGraw did. At least, not as it stands now.

Ed, Greensboro, NC

11:02

Tom, just a thought, but is Brey being kept because Jack Swarbrick is about to retire, and feels the new A.D. should make that decision. Also, will Brey name his own replacement?

Thomas Noie

11:00

Dan: Notre Dame already has one in Paul Atkinson set to arrive in June. I'd love to see them add Earl Timberlake. He'd likely be a one-and-done, which would make it a tough sell.

Dan - Chicago

10:59

Is a transfer for next season in play for Notre Dame? It would be great to get an athletic small forward like Timberlake...

Thomas Noie

10:59

Dennis: The thinking outside the program is polar opposite than inside. Mike Brey believes he can still effectively reach this group. So does his boss, Jack Swarbrick. So does his boss, Father John Jenkins. Those three are all in this together and are determined to see this out. Together.

dennis

10:58

Hi Tom. IMO Brey needs to retire now. Having him stay another year or two will do severe damage to our program and it will lessen the chance that we hire a good coach when he finally retires. Since he's coming back does he have any plans of hiring an assistance coach that can teach our team to play tough defense and rebounding fundamentals? Since we currently have only 1 scholarship left he won't be able to improve his team much in the transfer portal.

Thomas Noie

10:57

Matt: Thing is, I've been pounding that transfer portal drum since the core of this program went 3-15. Something had to chance after that train-wreck, if only to shake up the status quo in the locker room. The coaching staff stood pat. No grad transfers. Something had to be done after they went 10-10 in the ACC the following year. Again, nothing. Figure this HAS to be a season/reason to get more than just Paul Atkinson, but with only one scholarship to give, the staff will be very selective moving forward. They don't subscribe to the theory of adding guys just to add guys, to shake the status quo, to make everything more of a competition. There is the belief within the walls of Rolfs Hall that the addition of Atkinson and Wesley and Konieczny, the return of Carmody and Elijah Taylor and the experience of that core that getting back to the NCAA Tournament is the least these guys can do. Let's see it.

Matt from MA

10:54

Tom, if there was ever a D1 team in need of a shakeup with transfer portal—coming and going—it's ND... please tell me Brey and company have some guys they are going to bring in. If they simply "run it back" with these underachieving players plus an Ivy league transfer they are going to be terrible again.

Thomas Noie

10:54

Just asked and answered, my man

Jason R

10:54

What do you expect from Robby Carmody next season? Where do you think he’ll be at after all these injuries?

Thomas Noie

10:54

Joe: In today's portal madness of a college basketball world, you never say never, but after five years, it really is time everyone moves on. Would you want Nik Djogo back for a sixth year or take a chance on a one-year possible quick fix? I'd go with Door No. 2. J.R. Konieczny and Blake Wesley will have chances to earn rotation minutes next season. Robby Carmody will have a chance to prove he can stay healthy.

Joe /Granger

10:52

Any chance Djogo returns... and where does Carmondy, JR, and Wesley fit in next year???

Thomas Noie

10:52

The one transfer he has coming next year, Paul Atkinson, was considered by many as the No. 1 transfer in the portal. And he chose Notre Dame.

10:51

peach: Wheelhouse question coming here, so buckle up. Let's first assume that there will be a trail to hit. All college coaches have been prohibited from recruiting ANYBODY off campus for now more than a year. No home visits. No gym visits. No getting to know kids face-to-face on an individual level. For a school like Notre Dame and for a guy like Mike Brey who really has to connect with a kid on a personal basis, that's been a massive challenge. And I just don't get the 15-mile recruiting radius crack. Seriously? If I had a dime for every time that somebody lit into Mike Brey and his staff for not getting Jaden Ivey this year, I could retire. HOW COULD HE NOT RECRUIT THE LOCAL GUY!!!!!????? was the standard snark. So now, he recruits TWO local guys (and legit college prospects) and the knock becomes, Pff, Mike Brey won't recruit outside Saint Joseph County. It's dizzying. As for transfers, he has two on the roster, both of whom played major minutes this year.

Peach, Staten Island

10:46

Is there any reason to suggest that Brey will be hitting the recruiting trail with extra vigor moving forward? The cupboard seems bare after this year and he hasn’t recruited beyond a 15 mile radius in sometime. Seems like he focuses on one transfer to fix all his troubles and that hasn’t panned out

Thomas Noie

10:44

Then let's see what Elijah Taylor and Robby Carmody can offer. Too early to write their names in ink because we haven't seen anything/enough from either. Same with Tony Sanders. As for grad transfers, I'd like to see someone like Jayden Gardner from East Carolina. He's 6-7, 235. Says he just wants to win. Period. Might be guy that's worried about minutes or shots or starts. Just a really good piece. Exactly what this team needs. Armaan Franklin could also be a guy, but man, that would be A LOT of guards in the rotation. Gets to the points where there's too many.

10:41

Nick: Great stuff, my man....let's take a run at next season. J.R. Konieczny and Blake Wesley will get a chance at earning rotation minutes next season. What that means depends a lot on them. And, really, the pandemic. One reason it was hard to get to Matt Zona and Tony Sanders for extended periods this season was lack of practice time. They didn't have the summer to play pickup or practice. Fall was a circus for myriad reasons. There was no time where either could earn the trust of the staff. Then the regular season arrived, when it's unfair to throw guys in there and say, yeah, now go play. Way too early starting lineup? In April, that just means going with the four remaining guys from last year - Hubb and Laszewski are locks, then any two of the three from Dane Goodwin, Trey Wertz and Cormac Ryan. The fifth starter will be Paul Atkinson. That's as much of a lock as Hubb or Laszewski. bench rotation guys will be the sixths tarter (Goodwin, Wertz or Ryan), Zona, the two freshmen.

Nick South Bend

10:36

Tom a few questions, not sure if ill be able to join in on the chat tomorrow. 1. Do you see Blake and/or JR getting minutes next season? 2. Way too early starting lineup and rotation prediction? 3. Out of the names you've seen ND reach out to transfer wise, who is most realistic at landing? Have a great chat and Go Irish.

Thomas Noie

10:36

Christian: Seriously, part of the practice plan for the spring and summer should be nothing but press break. It's not that hard, and you know every team can and will press you. That this team struggled with it so much was borderline baffling. They did everything you shouldn't do against the press. Yes, that's coaching, but at some point, it's also on the players to realize not to do the stuff they did. That goes back to ownership and overall IQ for this group, both areas that lacked this season.

Christian, Chicago IL

10:34

Hi Tom. All teams in the NCAA tournament handle the press with relative ease and seem to utilize a big man for the initial pass and break things down. We panicked against Kentucky, GA Tech, and Syracuse and led major leads slip away due to our inability to handle pressure. I am shocked more teams didn’t press us considering the game plan was to throw it in dead mans corner and just pray. Do you think Brey will develop a better strategy on this for next year? Maybe one of the assistants can be Press Break Coordinator?

Thomas Noie

10:34

Less than zero. I thought Mike Brey was close to leaving after this team 3-15. It only strengthened his resolve. I thought he was closer to leave after going 10-10 in 2019-20. Nope. Thought for sure he was done this year after the late-season fold. Again, it only reinforced that he feels he owes it to this junior class to see this through - wherever this leads. Like every head coach, Mike Brey has an escape plan for the next phase of his career...I'm not sure coaching Maryland is part of it.

SB Jimbo

10:29

Maryland's Mark Turgeon is the favorite to get the Oklahoma job. Before he went to Maryland Brey was a serious contender for the Terps job. I know Brey said he's coming back, but that doesn't mean his seat isn't warm. Seems to me this would be the perfect storm for Brey to leave without damaging his legacy, as well as leaving an experienced roster for the new guy. So if Turgeon leaves, what's the likelihood Brey would make a run at the Maryland job?

Thomas Noie

10:29

Which brings to mind - who's this team's Alpha dog? The guy that's going to be like Ben Hansbrough or Jerian Grant or Pat Connaughton or Bonzie Colson and hold everyone to a higher standard? Say this $%#& has to stop in those games mentioned above? This group doesn't have one, which means the issues we saw at the end of this year might carry over into next season.

10:27

Mike: Great question, but to rate chemistry you actually had to see it. Was there really any of it? Sure, they were collectively tied together in the road win against Pittsburgh and and Duke, but where did it go late in the year when they lost five of seven? When they let the 20-point lead get away at Syracuse? When they had the no-shows against Boston College and North Carolina State and North Carolina? It too often seemed like five guys just kind of thrown together doing their own thing.

Mike, Rockaway NY

10:25

How would you rate the team chemistry on the court this season ?

Thomas Noie

10:25

Joe: Covering the tournament as part of the Gannett team in Indy was amazing. Refreshing. Sorely needed. College hoops felt normal again. More normal than the regular season, where there were what, fewer than 100 fans in the Purcell Pavilion stands? You want to say the games mattered and everything, but it was hard even from a media standpoint to be locked in during the season. It all felt like practice games that shouldn't count, but did. Still, spending those five days in Indy was tough. You got to see some high-level basketball, but it also underscored how far away Notre Dame seems to be from it all. I had a front-row seat for the Baylor-Wisconsin game at Hinkle and watched how the Bears moved the ball, almost collectively thinking one play ahead as one. My thought was, man, that's how Notre Dame used to play. It was beautiful to watch. Then and now.

joe from the south side

10:22

Tom: As crazy as the world was, is, and will be, please share your thoughts and feelings as to what it is like covering the NCAA tourney. Weird because of small crowds and COVID protocol, or feels like we are creeping toward spring and normal and the tourney is an old friend who was sorely missed?

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Tom Noie hosts a chat