Tag: Tom Noie

Mike Brey tries to loosen Notre Dame players up with…Krispy Kreme?

This is a rather interesting decision by the longtime Irish coach.

It goes without saying that this has been a trying season for Notre Dame. A 9-9 overall record and losing six of its first seven ACC games will create some tension. So one day after his team’s latest frustrating loss at Syracuse, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] decided to liven things up. While there’s nothing wrong with a coach doing that, Brey’s chosen method was rather puzzling:

Look, it’s fine to give your players a treat every now and then. The season is long and grinding, so you often need to break up the doldrums, especially when things are going badly. But Krispy Kreme seems more like a reward for good play, which this year’s Irish have not earned. They just barely earned their lone conference victory so far, and most nonconference wins were anything but impressive.

While this story fits Brey’s relaxed persona, it’s not what Irish fans need to hear right now. What they need to hear is that Brey is doing everything he can to salvage something from a season that has gone completely sideways. This won’t help his case.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Ven-Allen Lubin will miss game at North Carolina

This is a tough time to lose him.

The ankle injury Notre Dame forward Ven-Allen Lubin suffered against Boston College hasn’t healed yet. Consequently, he won’t be available for Saturday’s game at North Carolina. That’s according to Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune:

It’s unknown at this point whether he’ll be available for Tuesday’s home game against Georgia Tech, but that’s not the big concern right now. The problem is the Irish have lost some serious depth down low ahead of going up against Armando Bacot, the ACC’s scoring and rebounding leader. Oh, and Lubin is the Irish’s leading blocker at 0.9 a game. That’s not good for one of two teams that are 0-4 in conference play.

Simply put, Lubin’s injury could not have happened at a worse time. We don’t know if [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag] or [autotag]Dom Campbell[/autotag] are capable of slowing Bacot down because they’ve barely played. If Mike Brey isn’t comfortable with sending either of those two out there against Bacot, he better get comfortable with it and fast.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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Noie: Notre Dame football a dumpster fire

Halfway through the season what is one thing does this team does well regularly?

After their latest loss, this one a 16-14 home defeat against a Stanford squad that hadn’t beat an FBS opponent in over 53 weeks, Notre Dame football has to again pick up the pieces.

It was only on September 10 that Marshall, another team that has just one win against an FBS opponent this year (that also being Notre Dame), beat the Irish in South Bend.

The two losses came despite Notre Dame being nearly three-touchdown favorites against both.  The Fighting Irish hadn’t lost a single game as a double digit favorite since 2016 before dropping their last two.

It’s bad for Notre Dame right now and with tough tests at Syracuse, against Clemson, and at USC still to come there is no guarantee that the Irish even qualify for a bowl game.  Sure, that’d require another upset at the hands of UNLV, Navy, or Boston College but after the showing against Stanford would anything really surprise you?

Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune wasn’t as kind with his words in describing Notre Dame, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t correct.

This — 3-3 — isn’t it. But it’s all they have. With six games down and six to go, this is an average program from top to bottom and all around. Average coaching. Average assistants. Average players. Average mindset. Average results. Average fans. 

Average.

Nothing about that campus, about that football program, about Notre Dame is average. Not the academics. Not the reputation. Certainly, not the football program. But average the Irish are after Saturday, after a team that many figured Notre Dame would dispatch with a flick of the wrist came to town and took the Irish so completely apart. One play at a time. One quarter at a time. 

Sure the number-five preseason ranking wasn’t deserved as Notre Dame had too many questions entering the year to merit it, but they shouldn’t be .500 either.  Not when two of those losses are two of the very worst the program has suffered in years.

So what remains for this average squad the rest of the year?

Losses to both Clemson and USC are pretty much expected by the masses at this point and the end of October trip to Syracuse is no slouch.

I mentioned last night that I had concerns about this being headed towards Bob Davie territory in terms of results and feels and although a simple bowl appearance wouldn’t make those go away, they’d go a long way in at least lessening the current blaze.

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Notre Dame will face Georgia in Atlanta on Dec. 18

Make your plans to head to the Peach State in December.

While we still don’t know Notre Dame’s complete 2022-23 schedule, we now know of at least two December games. That’s thanks to this tidbit from Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune:

As this game is being held the weekend before Christmas, it appears to be this year’s replacement for the Crossroads Classic, the annual Indiana college basketball showcase that was held for the final time last season after the Irish opted out of it. The good news is the Irish still will have the luxury of playing in an NBA arena at the same time of year.

The Irish and Bulldogs previously have met three times. They most recently faced each other during the 2011 CBE Classic in Kansas City, Missouri. After having lost twice to the Irish, the Bulldogs got on the board in the all-time series with a 61-57 win. [autotag]Jerian Grant[/autotag] had a game-high 20 points and led the Irish with four assists.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Digger Phelps speaks after Juwan Howard incident

A Notre Dame legend has an opinion.

Few if any names are bigger in the history of Notre Dame basketball than Digger Phelps. So anytime he gives his take on something, Irish fans and at least some college basketball fans in general tend to listen. After Michigan coach Juwan Howard threw a punch at the end of his team’s loss to Wisconsin, Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune reached out to Phelps to ask what would have happened to him in a similar situation. Phelps couldn’t have been more clear in his response:

It’s hard to believe that any athletic director or university president would tolerate what Howard did even now. However, we’re not in charge of making these decisions, so we don’t know what grounds today’s leaders have for immediate dismissal of a coach. What we do know is that Howard’s actions are completely unacceptable, and anything less than a swift and harsh punishment for him would be mind-boggling. Let’s hope that’s exactly what happens.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Georgia Tech’s Pastner compares Notre Dame to Golden State Warriors

A little too much respect from the opposition?

It appears Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner is impressed with Notre Dame. Maybe a little too impressed.

In previewing the teams’ upcoming game in Atlanta, Pastner let be it known that he has taken note of the Irish’s effectiveness from 3-point range lately. Indeed, the Irish have made at least 10 3-pointers in each of their past four games while making 46.9 percent of those shots. However, he might have given the Irish more credit than they deserve when he dropped this quote:

“They’re like the Golden State Warriors, the way they play.”

Tom Noie, Notre Dame’s beat reporter for the South Bend Tribune, was not impressed with this in the least:

Noie has a point. While the Warriors have the greatest 3-point shooter of all-time in Steph Curry, no one on the Irish even ranks in the top 10 of 3-pointers made in the ACC. Even if that was the case, Pastner has his own 3-point weapon in Michael Devoe that he can counter with. Still, if Pastner wants to believe this, let him.

Tom Noie: ‘Zero chance’ Notre Dame’s Robby Carmody plays this season

This wouldn’t be good.

Robby Carmody last played for Notre Dame in a loss to Maryland on Dec. 4, 2019. That was the game in which he tore his ACL. While recovering from that, he broke his kneecap on the same knee, and he missed all of last season. Now, if Tom Noie, Notre Dame beat reporter for the South Bend Tribune, is correct in a Tuesday sighting, Carmody won’t play during his final season either:

Indeed, Carmody’s collegiate career has been one of unfulfilled promise. 247Sports has him ranked 10th among the Irish’s top recruits since 2000. Missing this season would just be the final insult on a ride he didn’t ask to be on. To not be healthy for even half of your career is not something anyone should have to think about, and yet, the possibility exists here.

It’s just a shame that all of the hype in the world never promises success. Sadly, that’s how life works, and Carmody has been dealt one bad hand after another. Some people simply aren’t meant to have what they thought they would get.

Notre Dame associate head coach Rod Balanis taking same job at Howard

The Irish’s bench is going through a shakeup.

Since Mike Brey first arrived at Notre Dame, Rod Balanis is the only assistant coach to have stuck by his side throughout. That’s 22 seasons the duo has been together. However, all good things must come to an end, and that appears to be happening here. Balanis, Brey’s associate head coach, will be leaving Notre Dame to take the same position at Howard:

Earlier this offseason, Notre Dame rehired Anthony Solomon as associate head coach for his third stint on Brey’s staff. The good news for the Irish is that they have someone who can slide into Balanis’ role immediately. Whether Balanis is leaving because of or in spite of Solomon’s return is unknown. What we do know is that the winningest coach in Irish history will have someone else in the right-hand man role for the first time in a long time.

Best of luck to Balanis in his new opportunity, and he will be missed in South Bend.

Antoni Wyche returns to Notre Dame as assistant coach

A familiar face is coming back to South Bend.

Notre Dame continues to shake up its coaching staff ahead of what many expect to be a big season. The Irish have hired Siena assistant coach Antoni Wyche to be in the same role under Mike Brey. This is the second time Brey’s staff has been shaken up after adding Anthony Solomon earlier in the offseason. As Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune points out, this move affects longtime Irish assistant Rod Balanis:

Longtime Irish fans will remember Wyche as a four-year player for the program at the end of the 1990s. During his career, he averaged 7.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game on 40.4 percent shooting from the field. After serving as a regular bench player during his first two years, he started all but one game for his final two years. He saved his best for last as his 11.2 scoring average his senior season was behind only Troy Murphy and David Graves on the team.

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Noie: Notre Dame likely to play Kentucky at home for 2021-22 season

During the past season, Notre Dame and Kentucky played each other the first of three consecutive years.

During the past season, Notre Dame and Kentucky played each other the first of three consecutive years. The Irish barely hung to win after dominating most of the game. It’s possible that this game being played on the road had something to do with it. Regardless, that might not be a problem for the upcoming season because Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune is reporting that the next game appears headed for Purcell Pavilion:

While it would be nice to have two teams with great expectations play at Madison Square Garden this year, maybe it’s better to end the current series on the big stage. Of course, there’s no telling how good either team actually will be this coming season, let alone the next one. That’s just a gamble they’ll have to take.

The Irish trail the all-time series with the Wildcats, 43-20. These programs last played in South Bend as part of the Big East/SEC Challenge on November 29, 2012. The Irish won that game, 64-50, behind 16 points from Eric Atkins, 13 points from Jerian Grant and a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds from Jack Cooley.

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