Tag: Micah Shrewsberry

Notre Dame has shocking blowout of Virginia in ACC home opener

Did anybody expect this?

Notre Dame began its real ACC schedule at home Saturday against Virginia, a program that has been receiving Top 25 votes. You would have been forgiven had you chosen to opt out of viewing this game. But if you had, you would have missed the Irish’s biggest win of the season. They never trailed in a 76-54 upset victory.

The Irish (6-7, 1-1) scored the game’s first 13 points, and nearly five minutes passed before the Cavaliers (10-3, 1-1) got on the board. From there, it was a perfect display of offensive and defensive execution. The Irish got good looks when they had the ball and frustrated the Cavaliers by staying in front of the ball and taking care of it when it was up for grabs. At halftime, they were shooting an obscene 69.6% from the field.

The second half began with the Cavaliers scoring seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 10. After [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] called a timeout, the Irish got back on track and never allowed the game to get any closer than that. By the time they increased their lead to 20 with less than nine minutes to go, it was clear that there would be no collapse on their part.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] scored all 17 of his points in the first half, making all six of his field-goal attempts, including four from 3-point range, during that time. He was kept out of the scoring column in the second half but grabbed seven of his eight rebounds in that frame.

[autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] also scored 17 and came within a rebound of a double-double. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] also flirted with a double-double by picking up 15 points and a game-high eight assists. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] had 10 points and six boards. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] briefly exited with an injury but returned to the game to record five rebounds and make his only shot attempt.

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Notre Dame beats Marist to end three-game losing streak

Back in the win column.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] wasn’t happy after Notre Dame laid an egg against The Citadel. We may never know what he said during the following practice, but it paid off at least for the next game. The Irish got themselves back on track with a 60-56 win over Marist, snapping their three-game skid.

After a first half that was ugly and boring to watch at times, the second half was far more entertaining. The Irish (5-7) held a couple of double-digit leads during that frame, going up by as much as 11 with over five minutes to play.

The Red Foxes (7-3) wouldn’t go quietly though as they cut that lead to two with over a minute and a half left. With the Irish not making any field goals in the final four minutes, it took two free throws apiece from [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] in the final minute as well as solid overall defense to ice this one.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and also had four steals and three assists. Davis scored 12 points and combined with Shrewsberry to make 10 free throws in as many attempts. [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.

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Notre Dame’s Julian Roper II cleared for all basketball activities

That’s definitely a relief.

Notre Dame’s 2023-24 roster was brought together practically on the fly. As soon as he was hired, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] had to string together a group of transfers and his 2023 Penn State recruiting class.

One transfer, [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] from Northwestern, was coming off an ankle injury. Fortunately, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting that that’s no longer a concern:

Roper’s injury kept him from participating in the final month and a half of the Wildcats’ surprising run to the NCAA Tournament, only the second berth in that program’s history. He undoubtedly is looking for a new start after last season ended in disappointment. Most importantly, he’ll be available to start the new season.

The Irish will get their first look at opposing competition when they participate in a secret scrimmage Sunday at Xavier. They’ll play an exhibition Nov. 1 against Hanover, and the season starts when they welcome Niagara to Purcell Pavilion on Nov. 6.

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Micah Shrewsberry’s fiery news conference after gutless Notre Dame loss

You wanted a coach that shows emotion? How does this work for you?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – You longtime Notre Dame basketball fans who have wanted a fiery and emotional coach might have gotten your wish. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] took his postgame news conference after the Irish lost to The Citadel, 65-45, and turned it into a platform to say everything he and his team did in the game was completely wrong. And he held nothing back.

Fighting Irish Wire was among the outlets in the room as it happened. When we began a question by (admittedly somewhat ignorantly) pointing out that [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] was the team’s 3-point specialist, the elder Shrewsberry snapped back, “He’s not,” citing his son’s recent struggles from that distance, which includes an 0-for-6 showing in this game.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg as to what Shrewsberry had to say. He spread blame around but also put blame on himself. While that’s typical of coaches after a loss, he did it in a way that even reporters who have covered this program for years couldn’t remember seeing anything like that from a Notre Dame coach.

The news conference was too good to leave out, so here it is in its entirety:

J.R. Konieczny, Matt Zona speak after Notre Dame loss to The Citadel

Read the players’ perspectives on the loss.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] is one of the few Notre Dame players who had Elijah Morgan as one of his teammates. He probably didn’t count on seeing Morgan go off when The Citadel came to Purcell Pavilion. Sure enough, that’s what happened as Morgan scored a game-high 19 points in a 65-45 Bulldogs win over the Irish.

Zona grabbed four rebounds but was held out of the scoring column. Most of the Irish’s production came from [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. It looked for a while like Konieczny was going to carry his team to victory. Instead, the Bulldogs took over in the second half after allowing six unanswered points to start.

Zona and Konieczny were the two players selected to speak to the media after the loss under the watchful eye of [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] (more on him later). Konieczny looked emotional as he took his seat, and Zona looked like he was just trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. Here’s what they had to say:

Two Notre Dame guards out with injuries against The Citadel

Hope this only is a minor setback.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – You never want to be down bodies no matter who your opponent is. Yet that’s exactly the situation Notre Dame finds itself in with two of its guards against The Citadel. Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune tweeted the following regarding [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag]:

Roper’s absence is significant in that the transfer from Northwestern has started every game so far this season and is by far one of the most polished players on this young Irish team. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring (8.9 points a game) and third in rebounds 5.2 a game.

Replacing Roper in the starting lineup will be [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], who hasn’t started since doing so in the Irish’s first three games. Rounding out the starting lineup are [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag].

Imes is another key loss in [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s rotation. In nine games off the bench, he is averaging 18.1 minutes a game, the most for any Irish player who hasn’t started this season. He has a scoring average 2.1 points a game.

[autotag]Tony Sanders Jr.[/autotag] has played in two games this season and has a single 3-pointer in the scoring column.

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Micah Shrewsberry speaks after Notre Dame loss to Marquette

Here from the coach after the Irish were blown out.

MILWAUKEE – [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] knew Notre Dame had its work cut out for it against Marquette. That doesn’t make the Irish’s 78-59 road loss to the eighth-ranked team in the country any easier to take. While he certainly acknowledges that the Eagles are far and away better than the Irish, there has to be a feeling in the back of his mind that things could and should have gone better.

The competition doesn’t get any easier with former Big East foe Georgetown coming to South Bend right after final exams at Notre Dame are over. A little bit further out is the beginning of ACC play, and that’s when things really could get dicey. This game might have served as a dreary preview of what’s to come.

Fighting Irish Wire was on site for this game, and Shrewsberry spoke to the assembled media, which included other folks who cover the team regularly that made the trip to Milwaukee. Here is Shrewsberry’s opening statement and his answers to the two questions we asked him:

Micah Shrewsberry speaks after Notre Dame beats Western Michigan

Here’s some of what the head man said after his latest win.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – All things considered, Micah Shrewsberry has to be pleased with how his Notre Dame tenure has started. With the roster almost completely turned over from a season ago, any victory should be considered progress. That’s what happened when the Irish defeated Western Michigan, 86-65.

That’s not to say there aren’t some things don’t have to clean up. While he was happy to get the win, there also were some things he feels the Irish need to improve on. He made that clear during his postgame news conference.

One thing the media members covering the Irish have learned is that Shrewsberry gives very detailed responses to every question he’s asked. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] also gave detailed responses, but Shrewsberry really loves to talk about his team and make it sound interesting, even finding humor in some of the answers he gives.

Here is Shrewsberry’s opening statement after the win and his answers to the two questions we asked him:

Tae Davis, Julian Roper II, Braeden Shrewsberry speak after win

Hear from three of the Irish’s key players from their hard-fought victory.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sometimes, things go so well that you just have to have as many people talk about it as possible. That’s not to say Notre Dame’s 86-65 win over Western Michigan was easy. In fact, it took a real effort by the Irish to hold off the Broncos. Still, enough went well, and many players contributed a lot.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] has emerged as a key player lately, and he showed that with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] is the 3-point specialist on the team, and he hit four shots from downtown in a 16-point effort off the bench. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag] continues to be a team leader, the latest evidence of which was this 14-point effort.

All three players spoke the media after the victory, and they all definitely earned the right to do so. Here are their answers to the questions posed by Fighting Irish Wire:

Notre Dame has easy victory over Maryland Eastern Shore

That was domination.

Notre Dame won’t be playing many games this season that are nearly this easy. But opponents like Maryland Eastern Shore should provide the young Irish opportunities to really show off what they can do when they’re at their best. Those chances came early and often in a 75-55 victory.

Although the Irish (3-2) trailed the Hawks (2-3) during the first couple of minutes, that was as treacherous as it got. Once they went ahead by double digits in the first half, they didn’t look back.

The Irish led by as much as 28 late in the second half, allowing [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] to empty his bench. That led to late 3-pointers from [autotag]Tony Sanders Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Thomas Hattan[/autotag], much to the delight of the rotational players on the sidelines.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] scored all of his team-high 13 points in the first half with 12 of them coming on a game-high four 3-pointers. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] scored 12 of his own points, making it five games of scoring in double figures to start his career. He also led the Irish with six rebounds and five assists.

Kebba Njie has seven points and four boards in his first game for the Irish after missing the first four with a hand injury.

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