2018-2019 Notre Dame Men's Basketball

[Circa]

If Bill Walton shouldn't do UCLA games, Jay Bilas should not do Duke games. Good lord the stroking of Duke players is strong. I get the Zion love (kid is an athletic freak of nature), but the Jones kid "is the best defensive player in the country"?

Maybe he is, because him being amazing is the only way this team averages out to a "good" defensive team.

Barrett is not a good defensive player, and Zion basically plays zone trying to swat anything within 20 feet of him.

I agree. Syracuse just got hosed. Duke Is this year's Cinderella.

 

[Woneone]

I agree. Syracuse just got hosed. Duke Is this year's Cinderella.

What an absolute bail out for Duke. I’m not sure he was touched on that layup attempt. Looks like it just slipped out of his hands.

 

[Circa]

Syracuse puttin in work tonight!

 

[Circa]

Zion Williamson walked off the court looking his age after being defeated. The boy needs some more time and he might be someone ....

 

[Woneone]

There are home court advantages, and there is the absolute bullshit that goes on at Cameron Indoor and the Dean Dome.

WTF.

I won't even get into the most recent exchange of about 3 no calls on our end, but when Goodwin pulled the ball out on a fast break, a UNC defender literally had Gibbs in a bear hug right freaking in front of Ted Valentine.

 

[Woneone]

I really need to go watch Hubb's Junior highlight film to see if he tries to spin everything like he does now. I'm honestly more confident in his outside shot than a layup. And I have nearly zero confidence in is outside shot.

 

[Woneone]

And my last post on this game, when even Rece Davis is wondering where the foul is, yea.

 

[NDinMI]

I pretty much just see a team lacking overall athleticism that can’t rebound and doesn’t really have any offensive play makers. They’re kind of tough to watch.

 

[IrishLax]

There are home court advantages, and there is the absolute bullshit that goes on at Cameron Indoor and the Dean Dome.

WTF.

I won't even get into the most recent exchange of about 3 no calls on our end, but when Goodwin pulled the ball out on a fast break, a UNC defender literally had Gibbs in a bear hug right freaking in front of Ted Valentine.

How about the no call on the fast break "block" where he absolutely bodied from behind? I miss Big East officiating, there was hardly ever obvious "home cooking" for protected teams.

 

[IrishTusker]

I pretty much just see a team lacking overall athleticism that can’t rebound and doesn’t really have any offensive play makers. They’re kind of tough to watch.

This is a rebuilding period, they'll be good next year and the year after that.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I pretty much just see a team lacking overall athleticism that can’t rebound and doesn’t really have any offensive play makers. They’re kind of tough to watch.

Lmfao at your sorry ass shit post.

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[Woneone]

How about the no call on the fast break "block" where he absolutely bodied from behind? I miss Big East officiating, there was hardly ever obvious "home cooking" for protected teams.

I think that was the cap on the three plays I was referencing.

If memory serves, it was DJ that got clobbered on a drive with no call on the possession before. He stopped and starred down whomever the official was on that sideline (I couldn't see, but I have a pretty good guess knowing who was officiating the game). Then Woods comes down and gets a call on an identical play.

Man is this going to be a hell of a year on my nerves if we play games like this all year.

I think we get NC State at home. Man I hope we get NC State at home... As long as TJ doesn't look like he's about to die (he was sooo winded at points) and Durham can actually move on that ankle.

 

[NDinMI]

Lmfao at your sorry ass shit post.

Lol ok.

 

[NDinMI]

Lmfao at your sorry ass shit post.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Lol...ok.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Lol...ok.

I wouldn't call it "sorry", but if your conclusion is that this team lacks athleticism and can't rebound, then I don't know what team you're watching. Your conclusion was pretty much wrong on all accounts.

This team has a lot of issues right now. Athleticism is definitely not one of them.

The key issues with this team are that it's extremely young and inexperienced. This was the case prior to beginning the season. Then ND lost their most experienced player on top of that for the season, and in this game, two of their best players were playing hobbled by injury.

Between Durham and Mooney, they rebound just fine. I mean, hell, Mooney had nearly 20 rebounds in this game by himself.

This is a rebuilding year, more so now thanks to the injuries to key upperclassmen. This team has athleticism aplenty. What they need is confidence and physicality.

 

[anarin]

I wouldn't call it "sorry", but if your conclusion is that this team lacks athleticism and can't rebound, then I don't know what team you're watching. Your conclusion was pretty much wrong on all accounts.

This team has a lot of issues right now. Athleticism is definitely not one of them.

The key issues with this team are that it's extremely young and inexperienced. This was the case prior to beginning the season. Then ND lost their most experienced player on top of that for the season, and in this game, two of their best players were playing hobbled by injury.

Between Durham and Mooney, they rebound just fine. I mean, hell, Mooney had nearly 20 rebounds in this game by himself.

This is a rebuilding year, more so now thanks to the injuries to key upperclassmen. This team has athleticism aplenty. What they need is confidence and physicality.

He apparently thinks they lack athleticism because they dont have a top 5 draft pick in the next NBA draft. (One elite athlete will make everyone else look bad at times)

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I love shit (crap) posters that have zero sensible knowledge of the program, that feel the need to compare this team to the "Dukes" of the world.

My goodness, this team took a lead down to 6 mins left in the game against UNC, in Chapel Hill......

The future is very, very bright.

 

[Henges24]

The real ND basketball fans knew this year was going to be a struggle. They're a young team with more players with high ceilings that we've had on the same team in a long, long time.

This is a 'sit back and watch the growth of the team' type of year. IMO, if Gibbs isn't recovering from an illness this game is a Dub for the good guys - which is saying a lot.

 

[Ndaccountant]

I love shit (crap) posters that have zero sensible knowledge of the program, that feel the need to compare this team to the "Dukes" of the world.

My goodness, this team took a lead down to 6 mins left in the game against UNC, in Chapel Hill......

The future is very, very bright.

Bingo.

This all a gigantic learning experience. For everyone that is knocking Hubb, the kid is being asked to run a machine that is usually piloted by a junior or senior. Roy made a good call to go under the screens and dare Hubb to shoot. Regardless if makes a few or not, it's not the offensive flow that Brey wants. He will learn. He will also learn how to exploit that in the future and when someone does that again later this year, he will react differently.

Same for Laz.....sure, he got bodied on the block dunk attempt. But do you think next time he will peek over the should to see if there is someone on his tail? What about protect the ball with the body and get an and 1 with a left hand lay in?

This team may very will lose 10-12 games in conference. But don't think for a moment that 2019-2020 will be anything close to that.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Bingo.

This all a gigantic learning experience. For everyone that is knocking Hubb, the kid is being asked to run a machine that is usually piloted by a junior or senior. Roy made a good call to go under the screens and dare Hubb to shoot. few

So many "casual" fans also don't realize, he is coming off an ACL tear after missing his senior year and was physically unable to work out with ND until early October...

 

[Woneone]

So many "casual" fans also don't realize, he is coming off an ACL tear after missing his senior year and was physically unable to work out with ND until early October...

You can attribute as much to "rust" from not playing as you want, but some of his current offensive deficiencies aren't because he tore his ACL.

His release point is really low, especially for someone at his size at this level. It also looks as though his off-hand gets in his own way sometimes (like it's too far over the ball), causing some of those waaaaay off shots.

He is really bad around the hoop. Everything looks like a trick shot (how many layups has he had that hit the backboard above the box?).

He is not a great distributor. This seems more confidence, but he doesn't play like he's someone who had to facilitate much up to this point.

Hubb is a below average offensive player at this point. He looks like a guy who was able to out-quick and out-elevate players previously, where the mismatched athleticism made up for some of his faults.

I'm sure he'll get better. He's already an above average to good college defender. And learning to play at this level takes time. But even without the ACL tear, he wasn't going to be a good offensive player this year. And those criticisms are valid, "casual" or not.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

You can attribute as much to "rust" from not playing as you want, but some of his current offensive deficiencies aren't because he tore his ACL.

His release point is really low, especially for someone at his size at this level. It also looks as though his off-hand gets in his own way sometimes (like it's too far over the ball), causing some of those waaaaay off shots.

He is really bad around the hoop. Everything looks like a trick shot (how many layups has he had that hit the backboard above the box?).

He is not a great distributor. This seems more confidence, but he doesn't play like he's someone who had to facilitate much up to this point.

Hubb is a below average offensive player at this point. He looks like a guy who was able to out-quick and out-elevate players previously, where the mismatched athleticism made up for some of his faults.

I'm sure he'll get better. He's already an above average to good college defender. And learning to play at this level takes time. But even without the ACL tear, he wasn't going to be a good offensive player this year. And those criticisms are valid, "casual" or not.

I'm out. Peace.

 

[sportallyr]

I watched the game last night (thank you Southwest for adding ESPN to your in-flight live TV options). Even though the team fell apart in the last 5 minutes, I came away more impressed with this game than I have in previous wins that I've watched. Mooney played probably the best game of his career and showed that he can be a physical presence inside, both on the glass and on defense (I think he had 4 or 5 blocks). Hubb looked awful early, but then he hit a few shots and you could see his confidence rise. His shot needs some work, but he can handle the ball well and can get around defenders fairly easily with his speed. If his shot improves, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. I don't think Gibbs played very well last night, but I'm not worried about him going forward. Nate and Robby look like they're going to be big time threats outside. With Rex hopefully returning to help provide defense and some veteran leadership and Juwan protecting the rim vs athletic bigs, I am starting to get excited about this team's potential next year.

By the way, the no call on the foul on Nate's breakaway dunk followed by the horrible call at the other end on Harvey giving them an "and 1" were absolutely terrible calls and a major momentum swing in the game!

 

[fightingirish26]

He is really bad around the hoop. Everything looks like a trick shot (how many layups has he had that hit the backboard above the box?).

This is all I needed to see.....yawn

 

[Crazy Balki]

You can attribute as much to "rust" from not playing as you want, but some of his current offensive deficiencies aren't because he tore his ACL.

His release point is really low, especially for someone at his size at this level. It also looks as though his off-hand gets in his own way sometimes (like it's too far over the ball), causing some of those waaaaay off shots.

He is really bad around the hoop. Everything looks like a trick shot (how many layups has he had that hit the backboard above the box?).

He is not a great distributor. This seems more confidence, but he doesn't play like he's someone who had to facilitate much up to this point.

Hubb is a below average offensive player at this point. He looks like a guy who was able to out-quick and out-elevate players previously, where the mismatched athleticism made up for some of his faults.

I'm sure he'll get better. He's already an above average to good college defender. And learning to play at this level takes time. But even without the ACL tear, he wasn't going to be a good offensive player this year. And those criticisms are valid, "casual" or not.

Two things.

1) To say missing almost all of the offseason rehabbing a torn ACL has little to no effect on his capabilities is purely asinine. You can say it doesn't matter all you want. It does. Period.

2) He's not a good distributor right now and is struggling offensively. Yeah. HE'S A FRESHMAN! He's essentially being asked to play the toughest position from a technical perspective on the court with zero experience doing so in Brey's system. Again, not having much time during the offseason to learn and practice his role plays a huge role in his struggles as well.

I get you're frustrated, but if you were expecting Hubb to be an All-ACC PG the second he stepped on campus after rehabbing from a major knee injury, then you're being completely unrealistic. They are valid concerns in regards to this season, but being completely realistic, most ND fans knew there was going to be growing pains and they've only become greater with all the injuries.

 

[ab2cmiller]

John Mooney is by far and away the most important player on this team. The only time our offense looks even respectable, is when he is involved. Otherwise we pass it around the perimeter and either hoist a desparation three at the buzzer or force a wild driving shot (I'm looking at you Gibbs).

 

[RDU Irish]

Fun game despite the loss. Maybe 100 Irish fans in the whole place.

Mooney was pretty damn impressive in person, much more athletic and bounce than expected or witnessed last year. 19 boards against UNC is straight up man balling. Then again, nobody else seemed capable of rebounding - hard to win with a -11 rebounding margin. Mooney had 19/36 rebounds, next highest were Las and Hubb with three each. That sucks.

Durham is disappointing to me he isn't more refined after sitting out a year. Really fades too deep under the basket and lacks physicality in the paint. Love the swat action but his footwork kind of sucks, IMO. 13 minutes last night when we are getting destroyed on the boards - he has some growing up to do figuring out the flow and toughening up.

Dane Goodwin is a stud - you can see him figuring out what Brey is trying to do offensively and work within the system. Problem being - we only have a couple guys out there with that awareness.

The Hubb/Gibbs drive recklessly to the hoop and pray for a foul call has to stop. Has been a staple of Brey ball for too long. Start counting those sub 20% shots as turnovers - same with shot clock beating fade away three with defender in your face. I know a lot of that is inexperience running the offense - need all five on the floor flowing for open shots.

Once we get some offensive flow percentages will increase. Even the open shots are just a bit hurried. I don't know the offensive efficiency numbers but they have to be dramatically down. That is something I have full confidence Brey can fix - maybe even by end of season. We get some confidence in our O and we could be a hand full by ACC Tourney time.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Fun game despite the loss. Maybe 100 Irish fans in the whole place.

Mooney was pretty damn impressive in person, much more athletic and bounce than expected or witnessed last year. 19 boards against UNC is straight up man balling. Then again, nobody else seemed capable of rebounding - hard to win with a -11 rebounding margin. Mooney had 19/36 rebounds, next highest were Las and Hubb with three each. That sucks.

Durham is disappointing to me he isn't more refined after sitting out a year. Really fades too deep under the basket and lacks physicality in the paint. Love the swat action but his footwork kind of sucks, IMO. 13 minutes last night when we are getting destroyed on the boards - he has some growing up to do figuring out the flow and toughening up.

Dane Goodwin is a stud - you can see him figuring out what Brey is trying to do offensively and work within the system. Problem being - we only have a couple guys out there with that awareness.

The Hubb/Gibbs drive recklessly to the hoop and pray for a foul call has to stop. Has been a staple of Brey ball for too long. Start counting those sub 20% shots as turnovers - same with shot clock beating fade away three with defender in your face. I know a lot of that is inexperience running the offense - need all five on the floor flowing for open shots.

Once we get some offensive flow percentages will increase. Even the open shots are just a bit hurried. I don't know the offensive efficiency numbers but they have to be dramatically down. That is something I have full confidence Brey can fix - maybe even by end of season. We get some confidence in our O and we could be a hand full by ACC Tourney time.

Durham is also (really) playing basketball for the first time in his career.

Also, he's coming off a nasty ankle sprain. On Saturday brey didn't sound confident he'd even be playing last night. Doubt he has much push off right now.

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[RDU Irish]

Durham is also (really) playing basketball for the first time in his career.

Also, he's coming off a nasty ankle sprain. On Saturday brey didn't sound confident he'd even be playing last night. Doubt he has much push off right now.

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Yeah I get all of that - I'm drawing in my impression from other games pre-injury as well. I think he has been able to just hang under the rim swatting shots for so long he needs to improve footwork and physicality to hold his ground and the ball better. A number of things that keep him from being a better rebounder and more reliable post up player. Love his potential, just was hoping more of it would have been polished over the last year in the program. Same time - junior year is when a lot of bigs have made their big leap just like Moon dog. He is a year behind that schedule with his transfer so I don't mean to bag on him or give up at all.

Also did not mention Harvey - I can't put my finger on it but something about his game does not instill confidence for me. Seems like he should be a lot more than he is offensively and defensively - feel like he is not working within Brey's system and gumming up the works a bit on both ends of the floor. Maybe its just the short shorts throwing me off.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Yeah I get all of that - I'm drawing in my impression from other games pre-injury as well. I think he has been able to just hang under the rim swatting shots for so long he needs to improve footwork and physicality to hold his ground and the ball better. A number of things that keep him from being a better rebounder and more reliable post up player. Love his potential, just was hoping more of it would have been polished over the last year in the program. Same time - junior year is when a lot of bigs have made their big leap just like Moon dog. He is a year behind that schedule with his transfer so I don't mean to bag on him or give up at all.

Also did not mention Harvey - I can't put my finger on it but something about his game does not instill confidence for me. Seems like he should be a lot more than he is offensively and defensively - feel like he is not working within Brey's system and gumming up the works a bit on both ends of the floor. Maybe its just the short shorts throwing me off.

On Harvey - I get the impression his most comfortable taking his man off the dribble and pulling up for 12-15ft jumpers. That style is hard to mesh with at the moment, when you have a a bunch of kids trying to figure out how to play together. He isn't a spot up shooter nor is he a finish at the rim or drop a dime off a pick and roll.

Honestly, he reminds me of a less athletic (at least at the moment coming off injury) Russell Carter, especially Carter's junior year. Carter would try to get to the rim more, but both can/could shoot the 3 and was essentially a one-man show....Carter averaged about 1 assist per game and the same goes for Harvey.

Where I see the big difference is that Carter was surrounded by some outstanding 3 point shooters and Quinn ran point. This year, there isn't a Colin Falls type (yet) which bogs down the flow and the effectiveness of a player like Harvey. Simply less lanes and opportunity to flourish.