JotCast | Notre Dame hoops summer chat

Notre Dame hoops summer chat

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Thomas Noie

3:37

That will do it for today. Many thanks for everyone who submitted questions and comments and swung by to hang for a few minutes. We'll do it again closer to the start of the regular season. If you have a question or comment that can't wait, drop me a note at tnoie@sbtinfo.com. Have a great rest of the summer!

3:32

Think he'd trade that title for best player. Time to build out the resume to include more than just being good in the pre-practice layup line.

Chris. Fairfax, Va

3:31

Tom, I wonder if JR is still the best dunker? They have some athleticism on the team.

Thomas Noie

3:22

Todd: Charlotte, Arizona??? LOL. Yeah, way too early. Pete Bevacqua was at the Notre Dame hoops workout earlier this week, but probably wasn't about to digest it too deep with everything else on his plate. That he's an ND guy has to work in the program's favor. Shrewsberry gets it. Bevacqua does as well. Still, it's weird that the guy who hired you is out the door less than a year later, which shouldn't be all that much of a surprise. Swarbrick wasn't expected to still be in the job by 2025.

Todd Leahy, Charlotte

3:20

Hopefully you know where Charlotte is and I don't need to type NC. Is it too early to tell what the relationship will be like between Shrewsberry and Pete Bevacqua? Is the new AD going to be too focused on renewing the NBC deal?

Thomas Noie

2:57

Woody was one of a kind. In every way/best way possible.

Guest

2:56

Will we ever see someone the caliber of Forrest Miller again covering the team again?

Thomas Noie

2:33

Chris: You're going to get me in trouble with the fan base now, aren't you? Good. Let's go. Time for the fan base (and you too student body) to put up or shut up. Heard for years about how they didn't like this and they didn't like that and if only this or that was different would they be more interested in the program. Well, guess what, EVERYTHING about the program is new and different. Time for them to get excited and get behind basketball. No more excuses now, right? Yep, that's the grumpy old beat writer being the grumpy, old beat writer. But we heard for years how they tired of the old regime and if only they were gone would everything change. They're gone. Will they change? We'll see.

Chris. Fairfax, Va

2:31

Tom, Do you think more fans will attend games this year ? So frustrating to see the empty seats. Thanks. Chris.

Thomas Noie

2:30

JuDub: Great that he worked for Painter and Stevens, but what does he know? How does he coach? How does he run a program? How does he handle success? Adversity? It's not like Painter or Stevens are these elite of elite coaches/basketball savants who've enjoyed endless success. They're good. Shrewsberry can draw on those experiences and add a wrinkle or two of his own. Matt Doherty played for Dean Smith and worked for Roy Williams, but he struggled as a head coach at the elite level. It doesn't automatically happen.

JDub, Ft. Wayne

2:28

Does the fact that Micah worked under Brad Stevens and Matt Painter for so long, and achieved a lot of success with them, does that impress you at all and give you a better feeling that he will succeed as a head coach, or is it really more the person that succeeds and not who they really learned from in this case?

Thomas Noie

2:27

Bill: The Midwest will be INCLUDED in the recruiting footprint, something that wasn't always the case in seasons past. Ryan Owens' background in AAU is in the Midwest. The guy knows everybody, so it would be foolish to dismiss kids in Illinois and Ohio and Michigan and deeper into Indiana because it's Big Ten country. Given that it takes a special kind of kid to go to Notre Dame, they'll look anywhere. By no means are they going to limit themselves to this or that region.

Bill

2:25

Thanks Tom for the extensive updates— I’m surprised Shrews is so focused on mid west especially with so mush competition from the big ten — why not look more recruiting at north east - New York- Jersey - Washington — lots of talent capable of meeting ND academics - thanks

Thomas Noie

2:25

Too old? Now you got it.

Illinois Fool

2:24

Any truth to the rumor that they wouldn't allow your crew to play in the Basketball Tournament because you were too good?

Thomas Noie

2:24

IF: Hate to send you to the principal's office, IF, but, man, let's at least get the last name right. SHREWSBERRY....Give him time to develop. He's been around too much basketball and too high a level to not have at least some of it rub off on him. Hate to keep circling back to the small window we had the other day, but it's hard to really say what he and Logan Imes can be. Need to see a larger sample size. Like five-on-five.

Illinois Fool

2:22

What kind of player should we expect the Shrewsbury kid to be?

Thomas Noie

1:57

Justin: Honestly, no because our viewing window was so small that there wasn't enough time to really look at a guy and think about how his body has changed. There was too much to see, particularly with how Micah Shrewsberry runs a workout. It's easy to say everything's going to be different with a new strength and conditioning coach and guys are going to be bigger, but that doesn't mean better. The physicality aspect, like with everything else Notre Dame men's basketball, is going to be a process. It's going to take time. This team will still have strength/size issues moving forward. It just will.

Justin, Ft. Wayne

1:54

I know you had a chance to see the players this week. With the new s&c coach and the videos i’ve seen them post, it looks like the players are looking like actual touch physical basketball players. Any takeaways you had from their physical appearance while watching them?

Thomas Noie

1:53

Jim: Absolutely. This was a near-impossible situation - a depleted roster, no returning veterans, no direction, no leadership. The past four months probably have felt more like four years for Shrewsberry, who's been going 100 since he was hired. It's been a long road with a longer one to go. At least there's some stability. Some direction. Some life. This season won't show it through wins, but the payoff will come. Some day.

Jim Tal, Valley Center CA.

1:50

Given the sorry state of the program that he inherited, it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job of filling up the roster, reenergizing recruiting and generally stabilizing things than what Micah S. has done. Frankly, I think he's exceeded all possible expectations up to this point. Would you agree, Tom?

Thomas Noie

1:47

No. There's no immediate need for either to work this season.

Guest

1:45

Are Anthony Solomon and Antoni Wyche actively looking for coaching gigs?

Thomas Noie

1:44

Patrick: In no particular order (OK, some order): Markus Burton hits the ground running and is a problem for other teams to deal with as the starting point guard; this team is a team with no real standout guy but a bunch of guys who are going to get after it and play with a determination that we didn't really see last season to the point where we can see where all of this eventually can go; Matt Zona and Kebba Njie can hold their own against some of the frontline talent they're going to see this season in the ACC. A fourth would be seeing a young/inexperienced guy suddenly blossom/blow up (looking at you Carey Booth and/or J.R. Konieczny.

Patrick, NYC

1:41

Hi Tom! So grateful for this summer chat and the season can't come soon enough. Sounds like a lot of unknowns. To that end, for pure fun speculation, what would be your top 3 pleasant potential surprises for this team next year? (Maybe seeing Zona being a force would be one, I was surprised to see you having him start with Booth on the bench)

Thomas Noie

1:23

Joe: Just put in the work. I've sat with Micah Shrewsberry and each of his three assistants so far this summer. Get to know them a little. Don't make it all question and answer stuff. Turn off the recorder and just talk with them as people. Let them know who I am, what my job is and no matter what happens - good or bad - I'll be there. Even after a tough game or tough analysis, I'll always be there the next day. Accountability matters. Next up, I'd like to know the strength coach and those behind the scenes a little better. Media and those we cover aren't on the same team in any way shape or form, but we're all kind of on this crazy roller-coaster ride of college basketball together. Brey got that, maybe better than anyone. Shrewsberry's very similar.

Joe, Cape May

1:19

From your job perspective, how do you go about gaining rapport with an entirely new staff after working with Brey for so many years and most of his assistants being familiar faces?

Thomas Noie

1:10

That said about Micah, I'm sure there still have been a few "Oh, OK..." moments. Especially with the beat guy he's got to deal with every day for six months come October...

joe from the south side

1:09

Tom, I would never say "ND Hoops hack". I would say "The definitive source for all things ND Men's BBL." That said, as plugged in as Shrew is/was to D1 BBL, to the NBA, and to Indiana state BBL, he knew what he was getting into. Which tells me that deep down, he thinks he is the right man for the job. Sounds good to me.

Thomas Noie

12:58

Preach. All true, and all goes back to what one ND hoops hack wrote in NDI back in January about why this will be a really hard job for the new guy moving forward. We've already seen it - there's no quick portal fix and filling out the roster is a tedious process where fit is critical. There are roadblocks and landmines everywhere for this Notre Dame program, and we haven't even touched NIL. That's why when people shout from the shadows about what the previous head coach couldn't do, you give them the side eye and wonder, what color is the sky in your world? Mike Brey could've done better, but he also could've and maybe should've done a whole lot worse. You can bet there already have been a few times when Micah Shrewsberry and his staff have learned how Notre Dame works and what you can and can't do and have thought, man, this is going to be reallllly difficult. Welcome to Notre Dame.

joe from the south side

12:52

Tom, Not now with free agency. The schools basically had total control over the athletes. Not any more. That's part one of the problem for ND. Part 2 is the academic standards. And Part 3 is the one that burns me the most. ND, or Stanford or Vandy finds a kid early. The kid explodes and here comes Duke, Kentucky.......Can't say as I blame the kid but it has to be frustrating as hell for schools to invest so much into a kid and then have the kid do a 180.

Thomas Noie

12:52

Asked and answered. I think Notre Dame had 185 candidates on its wish list.

J.J. Post

12:51

Another outlet's profile of Shrewsberry mentioned Notre Dame made 3 "shoot for the moon" calls when the job first opened up. Is there any intel on who those 3 calls went to? (your answer to the question below might have already implied this, apologies if so) And further, before Swarbrick and co. narrowed on Shrewsberry, is it known who the other top contenders for the job were?

Thomas Noie

12:50

It will be interesting to see how the Ring of Honor carries on as we move forward. It was totally a Mike Brey thing. He had the final say on what guy went up next and when. Next up? Think John Paxson, Pat Garrity and Chris Thomas. the Pat Connaughton/Jerian Grant (which should've already happened) might not occur until both are done playing.

Guest

12:48

Who are the next 3 Irish legends to go in the rafters? Chris Thomas, Matt Carroll, Connaughton/Grant combo spot ?

Thomas Noie

12:46

Can anyone really be right in recruiting?

joe from the south side

12:46

Tom, I hope you are right and I am wrong. Same thing I tell the missus.

Thomas Noie

12:44

That would mean Kon Knueppel would have to be the Brad Stevens or Jay Wright of the 2024 recruiting class to make him a moon shot, right? Wouldn't go down that road.

John

12:43

Is Knueppel a moon shot? Know there was mention of him visiting in August.

Thomas Noie

12:43

Last year, the Irish men's basketball program had a head coach, an associate head coach, two assistant coaches, a video coordinator and an ops/recruiting coordinator. Six people. This year's men's basketball program has a head coach, an associate head coach, two assistant coaches, an assistant to the head coach, two recruiting staffers and an ops guy. Eight total. Notre Dame finally got serious about its support staff. Kind of a right time, right guy thing for Shrewsberry,

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