JotCast | Notre Dame basketball chat - December 2025

Tom Noie

2:06

Thanks to all who participated today. We'll circle back around after the new year and the start of league play. Can't wait to see what the ACC has in store for Notre Dame, and vice versa. Let's go!

1:44

Mike: Above my pay grade to make that decision. Would love to get to a few Atlantic Coast Conference games, but a lot depends on how good Notre Dame is. Hard to justify it the last few years. Maybe this league season will be different.

Mike from Rochester, NY

1:43

Will the SBT be sending you on more road trips this year? It was a major selling point as a reader to have you on sight in Fort Worth, particularly to perform interviews and provide updates on the Burton injury.

Tom Noie

12:53

Not a chance. He likes having options, and not being married to one set rotation for a stretch of games. If he was, we wouldn't have seen what we saw against Evansville when Jalen Haralson was having one of those nights. We never would have seen Sir Mohammed do what he did, or Kebba Njie do what he did or maybe even Braeden Shrewsberry do what he did. He likes where they're at with the depth. Maybe it's a Haralson night. Or Towt. Or Certa. They're going to need that depth come league play to keep other teams wondering what's coming next. It's not give the ball to Markus Burton and get out of the way.

Jake

12:50

Any chance Shrewsberry shrinks the rotation as we get deeper into ACC play?

Tom Noie

12:29

J.J.: A big is a big need. A scoring big is a bigger need. ACC caliber of a big, which is a big issue because Notre Dame can't just go pluck a guy out of the portal with those kinds of credentials. But yes, 10 times, yes, Notre Dame needs a legit big out of the portal. That way, you don't have to push hard on Tommy Ahneman and Gan Solongo. Let them develop at a different pace. Get quality experience as backups. But if you're a legit high-major big and you have a chance to play with that perimeter? Where do I sign? Carson Towt is the perfect guy at the perfect time, but it's time Notre Dame has a legit low-post scoring threat. Ten and ten...who wants it?

J.J. P

12:26

Not to already be looking too far ahead... but next offseason for Shrewsberry and co. intrigues me. With Towt out of eligibility, but so many other productive players slated to return, it feels a safe bet priority No. 1 will be finding another starting-caliber portal big, right (or maybe not. But I would assume that seems a safe bet). What mold do you think they'll be on the hunt for? More of a stretch guy who'll add even more potency to a group that's seems to be able to space much more effectively this year? Someone again in the Towt mold, relentlessly energetic in rebounding and defending? Something else entirely that could unlock a different dimension for this group?

Tom Noie

12:01

Nate: Great question. Can we dream that right now? Myriad things have to happen. Notre Dame has to go close to undefeated at home. Imagine, Purcell Pavilion becomes a tough place to play where good teams go to lose. Everyone in the rotation maximizes their seasons. Jalen Haralson continues to settle in. Cole Certa and Braeden Shrewsberry become knockdown shooters. Carson Towt is a beast and becomes Public Enemy No. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Garrett Sundra blossoms. Brady Koehler does as well. Notre Dame wins all those close conference contests it let get away last season. It pulls a stunner or two and wins a game it has no business winning. Basketball again matters around Notre Dame. Double bye territory? I might just fall off my press row seat. Dream big dreams, right?

Nate

11:58

Tom, thanks for doing these. Always fun to get your take. Let's dream big and flash forward to Friday, March 6, 2026: The Irish play at BC tomorrow, are sitting at 11-6 in the ACC and a win clinches the 4th double bye in the ACCT tournament. What HAS to be true for this scenario to have a sniff of a chance?

Tom Noie

11:58

Jim: Not sure you want to be tinkering with someone's shot at this level - or beyond. Do that and you wind up being Markell Fultz. The shot is what it is, but the thing a player CAN do is what I mentioned - get up a silly amount of reps so that they can be an adequate shooter. We'll be here all day. All season. Don't be a stranger!

Jim in Virginia

11:56

Even to have a good college career, I think both Haralson and Mohammad need to improve their shooting, and if you have poor shooting fundamentals, practice can make imperfect. Surely somebody on Shrewsberry's staff must be giving the players instruction on improving their shooting. Or is shooting fundamentals considered strictly high school level stuff? By the way, thank you for these chats. Heaven for an ND fan and former gym rat.

Tom Noie

11:55

George: Not that I've heard...that stuff is usually in place and planned out months in advance. I get the feeling that that was kind of a Mike Brey thing and that this staff has not embraced it in a similar manner, in part because there's been so much more to do to get this program back to sea level. Ring of Honor has taken a backseat. A distant back seat.

George, South Bend

11:53

Will there be any ring of honor inductees this year?

Tom Noie

11:53

Jim: Mike Brey? Who? You mean the guy who left the program in shambles? Who left no players for Micah Shrewsberry (but did sign Markus Burton, a convenient fact everyone forgets. Who set Notre Dame basketball back decades? That guy? Whatever happened to him?

I kid, but not really. Something about Notre Dame basketball will go sideways in 2035 and someone somewhere will insist the reason for it is because Mike Brey left the way he left in 2023 and the program can't recover. Anyway, high moment would be beating Duke and Carolina on back to back nights to win the 2015 ACC Tournament. Biggest disappointment? Not getting to the Final Four 2015 or 2016. Biggest regret? Not walking away after going 15-5 in the ACC and nearly getting to the Sweet 16 in 2022. He stayed a year too long. It happens.

Jim Tal, Valley Center

11:48

Hello Tom, good work as always on these chats. Just out of curiosity, do you hear much or anything about Coach Brey these days? Also, when he reflects back on his time with the Irish, what do you think he'd consider his high moment and his biggest disappointment or regret? Thanks.

Tom Noie

11:45

Jim: Anybody under 50 years old on this chat, if there is anyone, is saying, uhhh....who's Mike Riordan??? As far as shooting specialists as Notre Dame, this isn't the NBA, is it? Here's the shooting specialist at Notre Dame - get a ball and a manager and get in Rolfs and get reps. Shoot 100 shots from 3. Then 200. Then 300. Then come back tomorrow and do it again. My guess is neither of them had to worry about shooting 3s prior to college, so they didn't. And let's have them worry about having a good college career before worrying about an NBA career.

Jim in Virginia

11:40

If either Haralson or Mohammad hope to have an NBA career, they need to learn how to shoot from outside ten feet. It can be done. Many years ago, Mike Riordan, backup guard of the Washington Bullets, was told if he learned how to shoot, he could start at small forward. Riordan spent the summer working on his outside the shot and became the Bullets' starting small forward. Do you know if Shrewsberry has any shooting specialists on his staff to work with these guys?

Tom Noie

11:38

Brandon: What's the deal????

You ask in a manner that he's been with the team for weeks, not days, and hasn't played. Micah Shrewsberry is adamant that Mark Zackery IV will have a chance to be in the rotation as a secondary handler. What does "real PT" mean? Ten minutes a game? Twelve? Is he better equipped than Logan Imes to handle the way he has to handle in the ACC? It's been a week now since he officially joined. Give him a few practices to get settled. He had no business playing less than 48 hours against Evansville. Maybe ease him in at the back end of the Fort Wayne game. He's more than just a practice player. If he were, he'd probably say, yeah, I'm good with football. Let's just see where it all goes.

Brandon

11:35

So what's the deal with Zackery? Will he get real PT this year especially if Burton is out the rest of the year? Or is he more joining to help the team in practice?

Tom Noie

11:35

What should we expect? Be better in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maybe a lot better. Two years ago with a roster that was nowhere near ACC caliber, Notre Dame went 7-13. Last year with a roster that was somewhere near ACC caliber, it went 8-12. The roster is better. The culture is better. The confidence is better and the conference is not. Why not expect 10-8? At some point, it can't be about trusting them. It has to be about going and doing it. Against Duke or Louisville or North Carolina or even North Carolina State? Maybe not. Maybe there will be a few long nights, but the trajectory of this team says better than 7-13 and better than 8-12. It just does.

Guest

11:32

Hi Tom, without a doubt this Irish team has shown some encouraging signs but I fear that come ACC play, they may not measure up and be consistently competitive. I guess what I'm saying is that I still don't trust them. What do you truly expect from this squad when the rubber has to meet the road during the league schedule?

Tom Noie

11:13

Johnny: Not necessarily. Everybody on the roster is year to year. Given the choice of college or pro basketball, Markus Burton would likely choose the latter. Just the way of today's college basketball world.

Johnny

11:12

Sounds like you’re thinking this is Markus’ last year in an Irish jersey regardless of the injury or not

Tom Noie

10:53

Travis: He has no choice. He has to. Look at his stats from the five opponents from elite leagues to date - eight points, 12 rebounds against Ohio State, two points and 10 rebounds against Kansas, two points, four rebounds against Houston, two points, nine rebounds vs. Missouri and 13 points, nine rebounds. If he can find a happy medium between the eight and 12 against Ohio State and 13 and nine against TCU, he'll be fine. What's been most impressive have been his 24 assists (third on team). Maximize his opportunities close to the hoop (i.e., score), and make the right pass and he'll hold his own in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Travis

10:49

One of the biggest surprises for me has been how athletic Carson Towt is. I also love his energy (maybe not his FT shooting) but are you convinced he will stack up well against ACC bigs? I am.

Tom Noie

10:48

Clint: There are two obvious answers. Like, duh, answers. The first is an overall feel for the game. He was really good against TCU and Idaho, not so good against Evansville where it looked like he really tried to square-peg/round-hole it, to the point where Micah Shrewsberry pulled him less than two minutes into the second half. That's understandable. Haralson will learn that no two games are the same - what worked earlier in the week might not work late. So adjust. Adapt. That comes with reps. The second area is his outside shot - in that he doesn't have one. He's 0-for-8 from 3 and only .649 percent from the free throw line. Atlantic Coast Conference teams will dare him to shoot it and if he gets near the rim, they'll foul him. For Haralson to be elite, and he can be elite, those areas must improve.

Clint from Winnipeg

10:45

Everyone sees what Jalen Haralson can do. What do you think are the parts of his game where he can most improve?

Tom Noie

10:45

Mike: Whew, there's a lot there. Let's take them one by one. 1. Yes, Markus Burton would technically be eligible for a medical redshirt if he does not return this year. He was hurt in Game 10. That's basically right at the 30-percent threshold of a 31-game regular season. 2. I get the feeling that Markus Burton would rather start his professional basketball clock, whatever that might look like, as soon as possible which leads us to No. 3 - Markus Burton, maybe those close to him, have never viewed him as a four-year college guy. It's hard to imagine he'd want to be in college for five years, regardless of the amount of money he might be able to make. You also have to keep in mind that that's two leg injuries in the last two years (even though the first one was a fluke, but it still happened). How much college basketball mileage is he willing to put on before the next basketball challenge? It's a tricky situation all the way around.

San Diego Mike

10:41

3 part q: 1) Burton is eligible for a medical redshirt if he doesn’t come back this year right? 2) let’s say he is ready to come back by mid-Feb, how likely is he to to just take that redshirt and extend his NIL $ making ability by 1 year? 3) how likely would he be to use his extra 2 years at ND?

Tom Noie

10:27

Guaranteed.

Johnny

10:26

I call Certa La Flama Blanca, hoping that nickname takes off

Tom Noie

10:26

Clint: Limitless. Went long on Koehler a couple questions back. When he grows his body into a legit high-major Division I basketball player, watch out. He's going to be really good. How long will it take to get there? Let's hope sooner than later.

Clint from Winnipeg

10:25

What is the ceiling for Brady Koehler and how long will it take for him to get there?

Tom Noie

10:25

Dave: Easiest question of the chat. Answer. No.

Dave

10:25

Will Burton’s injury cost ND a tourney bid?

Tom Noie

10:25

Bobby: You ask as if it's as simple as Pete Bevacqua picking up the phone and dialing up Big East commissioner Val Ackerman and saying, oh, yeah, hey, can we come play in your league? Sooner than later? OK, great. Thanks. Not that easy, especially when you factor in the rest of Notre Dame's sports programs. Everything's going to change soon enough (2030s) that making a move just because you're hurt by the ACC backing Miami (Fla.) in the College Football Playoff would be foolish. If, and that's a huge IF, Notre Dame wants to look for options other than the ACC (while maintaining football independence), it would make sense to look at the Big Ten - partly from a travel cost for the Olympic sports teams. Why go back to the Big East? Notre Dame has done that dance. Stay independent in football, wait for the college sports world to change, and then see where you fit.

Bobby from Virginia

10:21

Is it possible that ND can get out of the ACC and join the Big East?

Tom Noie

10:21

I'll group these two questions together since they center on freshman center Tommy Ahneman. No word on his return timeline, and, really, none expected. His knee was an issue as far back as summer school/workouts, so he hasn't played real basketball since high school, and no college-level basketball to speak of since he arrived on campus. It's too big of a leap to expect him to be a rotation guy when he gets cleared medically. Work your way back into shape, realize what level you have to compete at just to be OK at this level and point toward carving out a role in 2025-26.

Johnny

10:18

Any word on Tommy ahmenam?

Aidan L

10:18

What is the plan around Tommy Ahneman. I know he had a knee injury and pretty sure knee surgery. Is he for sure being redshirted this year or is there a world where he plays. Also for the 2026 class. Jonathan Sanderson is easily looking like he could push for a 5th star and Gan could add some much needed size that we’ll lose next year. With what Shrewsberry is building this year I think we can finally see the vision of getting old, keeping continuity and building with young talent.

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