JotCast | November 22 hoops chat

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Steve

1:30

Do you happen to know the price ND paid to opponents for any of the home "buy" games this season?

Thomas Noie

1:30

Clint: It's as simple as a guy listening to the feedback he was given from the decision-makers at the next level and deciding, OK, if I'm going back to school (which he really, truly, honestly didn't want to do) he was going to make it worth his while. It may still not be enough to keep him in the NBA, but Laszewski decided that if he's going to play a fifth year, might as well max it out. Be the guy as Brey talked to him about. Play fearlessly. Play aggressive. Don't take any $#%^@. Go do it. He's doing it.

Clint from Winnipeg

1:28

What has been behind the transformation of Nate Laszewski this season? Gone is the passivity and willingness to settle for an outside shot. It seems like he attacks the rim so much more. Is it as simple as Mike Brey telling that's what is needed without Paul Atkinson around?

Thomas Noie

1:27

Ray: Was asked this earlier in the chat - and the answer remains the same. There's always a chance, but if Cormac has the kind of year that he believes he'll have and the Irish have the kind of year that he believes they will, there will be no reason to return for a sixth year. It's not something that's been discussed, because you're not going to get the honest answer. That's an end-of-the-year hurdle you cross in February/March. As much as I loved San Diego, that memory of being so close against Texas Tech still stings. The Irish were headed to San Francisco for a rematch with Duke. If there was one team it wanted a second crack at last year, it was Duke.

Guest

1:25

Hi Tom Ray from Southern California. Is there any realistic chance that Ryan will return to Notre Dame next season as he still has one year left of eligibility? We are all expecting him to have a good season and it would figure he will be leaving. I'm curious if he has been asked this question and if there's any hope that it might become a reality. Regarding this season in your opinion what's the chances Notre Dame can make the second week of the tournament? We came so close last year as we had a 3 point lead with less than five minutes left against Texas Tech.

Thomas Noie

1:23

Ray: Good stuff. Yes, Notre Dame can improve on the defensive end of the floor because it was almost as if the Irish weren't really trying on that end the first two games. The numbers reflect that lack of effort. Last night in the first half, they were better and the numbers reflected that as well. Michigan State's a good early test, but it's not a reflection in any way what the rest of the season is going to be. If Hammond were 100 percent (he won't be) and Lubin didn't have the two early hits to the face and the Irish were whole, then, yes, Michigan State is a good barometer. But the Irish we see on Nov. 30 may not look or play or respond like the Irish of Jan. 30.

Guest

1:20

Hi Tom. Ray from Southern California. After three games it appears that Notre Dame once again will have a good offensive team. We are currently ranked #16 in Pomeroy's offensive efficiency ranking. It also appears once again we will struggle on defense. Pomeroy has us ranked #137 in defensive efficiency. In the last 10 years 86% of the teams that made the Sweet 16 have finished in the top 50 in defensive efficiency. Brey has only had one team ever finish in the top 50. In your opinion can Notre Dame make some progress on the defensive side of the ball? In my opinion the fate of this years team will depend on it as it appears we will get killed underneath by top 25 teams and we should have a good idea after we play Michigan State.

Thomas Noie

1:20

Joe: Can you say that louder for the people in the back? The people who just absolutely refuse to see that more guys = more problems. The way people have reacted to playing a short rotation of seven, six, guys, you'd think Notre Dame decided to play some possessions this season with three guys on the court against five. Give me a core of seven guys that I have absolute trust in than adding two more guys who I have no idea what they're going to do. It's not hard to figure out. Tight rotations work. Get past the numbers. Please.

joe from the south side

1:18

Tom, I read a quote from Izzo awhile back. He said there is no way to keep 13 guys happy. He felt the right number is 10 or 11. I think he's right, especially with the portal. Now, you are alomst guaranteed to have 1 or 2 kids leave every year.

Thomas Noie

1:18

Jim: It is. I've wondered it here and there through the first three games. Like, the guy we saw in Dayton and San Diego in March, where is he? We haven't seen him yet. It's something that bears watching.

Jim Tal, Valley Center, CA.

1:17

Tom, after his impressive finish to last season, it was thought that Cormac Ryan had taken his game to a new level and was primed to be a real go-to guy. But thus far this season, we haven't seen that sort of high-end play and performance. I realize it's early but is it fair to wonder if Ryan can ever be a consistent standout that can take over a game when needed?

Thomas Noie

1:11

Joe: It's not what he penalizes for not performing? Uh....Matt Zona would like a word. If you saw his lack of defensive awareness last night, you'd know. Wesley embraced defending. J.J. Starling's got to be better there. So does Trey Wertz. So does everybody. It's in there. As long as Solomon is around, not offering something on the defensive end is non-negotiable.

joe from the south side

1:09

Tom, I don't want to belabor the DEF discussion, but I'll add this and then drop it. Teaching Super Seniors to play DEF smells of a culture problem that starts at the top with Brey. Granted that is not what he teaches. But is is also not what he recruits. It's not what he penalizes for not performing. His moment of truth statement was when he said we just need to shoot 60%, if they shoot 50%. Part 2 is Wesley had a great talent for anticipating passes and stepping into the passing lane. That talent is lacking in this crew. Maybe JJS just needs some more games under his belt, but the seniors don't have that skill.

Thomas Noie

1:08

Matt: You're so right - you're too far ahead of yourself. One of the cardinal rules in this business, in addition to never fight a land war in Asia (movie reference, let's see if anyone gets it) is to never, ever, ever start counting up wins and plotting records by this date or that date. That's when you get bit. The schedule was done with the thought that teams like Marquette and Georgia, not picked to finish well in their leagues, would snag a conference upset or two, which would help the Notre Dame resume. I do think that Michigan State and Marquette - given what's happened to the ACC to date - are almost must-wins. Feels like we're heading down the same ACC stinks road as we did last year, which almost cost Notre Dame a bid. Might be in play again. Watch.

Matt from St. Louis

1:04

Getting wayyy ahead of myself, but does this Notre Dame team have more than 1 loss when they head to UNC January 7th? More a question on the strength of schedule than the team performance. If they can split Michigan St and Marquette at home, the rest of their schedule until then looks very very weak. Wish they had a few better nonconference opponents scheduled.

Thomas Noie

1:04

You said it best with your last sentence - his time will come. It won't happen as quickly as it's happening for Starling and Lubin, but there's a lot to like and a lot to work with when it comes to Campbell. Trust the process (ducks)

Guest

1:02

I would have loved to see Dom get a another shot at the big last night. He did a much better job than Zona and is much more of a dog. Hope he gets more minutes. It was the perfect matchup to test it out. His time will come.

Thomas Noie

1:00

CLint: When he figured out that he's better served down low around the bucket for a rebound, low-post touch, follow dunk than lurking out beyond the 3-point arc, where he often finds himself now. They've got enough shooters and not enough bigs. Get that body down there and flex some muscle. He's got a body type that Notre Dame usually sees from other teams in the ACC.

Clint from Winnipeg

12:59

In what areas will we see Ven-Allen Lubin's game improve over the course of this season? He certainly looks like he'll be a valuable contributor as a freshman.

Thomas Noie

12:55

Charles: Absolutely, 1,000 percent. He said it himself - he was in his own head in the opener and it showed. Settled in Sunday and it showed. Then it's a case of him maybe thinking, yeah, I've got this figured out and then has a night where it looks like he doesn't. And that's OK. He'll be fine. Like with Wesley, there's so much there to work with.

Charles from South Bend

12:54

Would you agree Starling has some early season/career jitters going on? I know Wesley was a bit of a mixed bag early, but I expected maybe a little more control over his body. He is going to get better each day it seems.

Thomas Noie

12:53

No particular order - Michigan State, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech. Let's run with those first. Maybe Miami (Fla.). Maybe.

Joe Gregory

12:53

Toughest teams the Irish faces this year?

Thomas Noie

12:50

Bryce: have you see what's happened in college basketball the first week? Florida State goes 0-3. Louisville goes 0-3. Boston College loses at home to Maine. Colgate shreds Syracuse. We're past the point of looking at mid-majors as programs collecting checks for guarantee games against power-conference teams. This is college basketball today.

Bryce Indianapolis

12:49

Is allowing these low/mid-major teams to hang around a cause of concern, or just a typical Mike Brey team starting slow? I know we are winning, but I’m not sure how this lineup will carry over into ACC play with Laszewski at the 5 and no real depth at that position.

Thomas Noie

12:47

Patrick: Who's that Tom Note guy? Any relation to that SBT hack? LOL They'll move forward with Nate Laszewski and Ven-Allen Lubin. Anyone wants to step in and show they deserve minutes is welcome. I'll try and find out if Notre Dame is designated home/visitor's team next week...drop me a note at tnoie@sbtinfo.com

Patrick - NYC

12:45

First ever comment/question, longtime Tom Note fan. Bullish on our start, especially with how Nate and Trey have stepped their games up. Have watched Brey's teams for far too long to complain about the short rotation but is there a concern that Zona, as a junior, isn't further along? He looks lost out there and we could use a few solid minutes a game down the line. Also, are we officially the road team in the Gotham Classic? Trying to figure out where our bench is and where the ND section is.

Thomas Noie

12:43

Jake: That may eventually be J.J. Starling's role - eventually being a year from now if he's still around - but that's not really his game, to be the dominant handler. He can play that role, but he's more of a combo guard. He's secure in his game to where he doesn't have to have it. I watched him play a ton at La Lumiere and it was often Jeremy Fears (Michigan State) or Adan Holloway (Auburn) as primary handlers. Is Starling a point guard or a combo guard? He's a basketball player. That's more important.

Jake

12:41

As great of an improvement as we have seen from Trey Wertz, Do you think he will continue to be our primary ball handler for the rest of the season, or are we waiting for Starling to seize that role?

Thomas Noie

12:41

IF: It's not going AWAY from Dane Goodwin as it is going TO Nate Laszewski. They did it two years ago getting Juwan Durham an early touch. Did it last year with Paul Atkinson. Doing it now with Laszewski. Get something in the post, get the defense to flatten out and then get the guards going. And who's the one guy who gets something on seemingly every out of bounds under? Goodwin. That's not by accident.

Illinois Fool

12:39

Is it by design that ND always starts its offense by going away from Goodwin? Seems like they forget about him way too often.

Thomas Noie

12:39

Joe:" Nailed it, as usual. NAILED it. I asked Brey about that last week. We heard so much talk in preseason about how this team plays the right way. We didn't go a media session without Brey mentioning, hey, we had 19 assists to three turnovers today. Or we had 18 assists to four turnovers. Love the way we share it. he'd say. Where's that been? Those assist and assist/turnover ratios stink. Degree of difficulty passes were an issue the first two games. The first half of Wednesday looked a little more Irish like. Brey has said they've had to grind out possessions more - get to the foul line - more than moving it and sharing it against teams that have gotten up and into them more. They need to get back to those nights of 20-plus assists and single digit turnovers. It's been un-Irish like to date.

joe from the south side

12:36

Tom, Firing away with a 2-parter. While I haven't had the chance to watch much BBL, staistically, the Irish are downright putrid in the Assist/TO ratio, clocking in at a dead nuts 1 to 1. To what do you attribute this lackluster showing? Rust? One new starter? Ven? Especially since this is against the softer part of the schedule. Part 2. Makes you appreciate how well the much-maligned PHUBB understood, "Go to class and don't turnover the ball." Thoughts?

Thomas Noie

12:36

Justin: Nobody thought Trey Wertz had this in him - 17.7 points per game, .622 shooting from the field. Yep, nobody saw this coming from Trey Wertz. Except Trey Wertz.

Justin, Ft. Wayne

12:35

Thoughts on how Trey Wertz has looked so far this year? He’s exceeded any expectation I’ve had for him so far this year.

Thomas Noie

12:33

Joe: I'd push back with the sorely missed take. We're three games in, and Notre Dame hasn't been totally whole for any of the three. Let's wait to see until Notre Dame is closer to a finished rotation product. As the main low-post option last year, Paul Atkinson averaged 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting .587 percent from the field, .750 from the foul line. As the main low-post option this year, Nate Laszewski is averaging 20.0 points and 10.7 rebounds a game. He's shooting .621 percent from the field and .826 from the line.

Joe, New Lenox

12:30

Not breaking news, but I think Atkinson is sorely missed this year as a guy who can get points on the block with his back to the basket. Could Lubin’s game evolve to that through the season?

Thomas Noie

12:30

Charles: Not really a surprise to see Campbell - those scrap minutes are going to either Matt Zona or Dom Campbell. Against Youngstown State, it was Zona. So last night, it was Campbell. If Laszewski continues to play the way he's played and Lubin continues to improve, it's hard to get to a third big. It just is.

Charles from South Bend

12:28

How surprised were you to see Campbell hit the floor so early last night? More matchup based than him being ready to see minutes? Just a comment, but it was great seeing Carmody in there at the end! Sort of scary seeing someone land on him and had those same thoughts rush through my head. Rooting for him as a person!

Thomas Noie

12:28

IF: He's worked hard to get back to where he is. All the credit to him and to the guys around him.

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