Building the Foundation

Written by John Brice

After being hired atop the Notre Dame men’s basketball program in late March, Micah Shrewsberry fastidiously worked on rebuilding the Fighting Irish roster, revamping the program going into his initial summer under the Golden Dome and instilling the culture – accountability, selflessness, toughness – that is a non-negotiable hallmark of his teachings.

Matt Zona, the program’s de facto elder statesman with 43 career appearances, 53 points and a single start, remembered it did not take Shrewsberry long to lay the formative element of that cultural foundation.

“It was pretty early on. I had told (Coach Shrewsberry) I was going to stick around and stay here,” said Zona, a rising senior. “He got into me during one of our workouts, I missed a pass or missed something and that just happens every day in practice. It wasn’t just a ‘Figure it out!’ It was a, ‘Let’s go.’

“And we have to do that. It can’t all just be sunshine and rainbows; we’re going to have a lot of tough times, and we’re going to have a lot of great times. We’re going to have to figure out how to balance all of that.”

Zona has already figured out what culture has been initiated.

“The culture is just being tougher, being ready; accountable,” Zona said. “That’s every day. Showing up getting workouts in, getting on the court, getting in the weight room and just showing up every day and doing that. That’s how we’re going to build this thing.

“I think we’ve come a long way, even from June 13, our first day of summer workouts.”

Kebba Njie logged a full season, his collegiate debut campaign, last year under Shrewsberry at Penn State. So the 6-foot-10, 237-pound sophomore carried with him to Notre Dame an understanding of Shrewsberry’s program.

He also brought with him a tangible bedrock element of that culture: defense.

“He’s a very defensive-oriented coach,” Njie said. “We have a lot of rules on defense, and we’ve got to follow it. We’re going to be a very disciplined and tough team; he doesn’t play with that.

“There’s a bunch of rules on defense, but I’d just say just being able to help the man next to you.”

While the Irish have attended a South Bend Cubs game together and honed in on Zona’s pad as a team gathering spot, Shrewsberry pointed to more elements than time together as how he wanted the culture to be set under his guidance at Notre Dame.

“I think the biggest thing for us is how together we are, and that’s not always built by going to lunch or spending time together outside of basketball; it’s how we respect each other,” said Shrewsberry, an Indiana native with a renowned hoops pedigree under Brad Stevens and Matt Painter, among others. “I talk to these guys all the time: we’re going to make mistakes right now. Everybody’s trying to build habits. But, the one thing we can’t lack is energy.

“So every single day that we walk in here, we’ve got to have energy and we’ve got to have a lot of it. No matter what’s going on during your day. Guys are taking classes, the classes are really hard; somebody might have broken up with their girlfriend or somebody’s car might’ve broken down. I respect all of that, but when you walk in here, you better have some energy. That’s what we’re trying to establish, that’s what I want this to be.”

It is, naturally, a work-in-progress for Shrewsberry & Co. During a recent workout, the Irish bustled between agility drills, offensive sets, extra-pass drills and worked on stances, among other elements.

Shooting the ball was never much the goal at that point; it was something bigger: developing the brand, fostering the culture.

“I think Coach just being back in his home state, he’s just trying to bring back that winning culture,” said Julian Roper II, a transfer guard from Northwestern. “And I think he brought in guys like me and getting everybody to buy into what it takes to win. Because obviously he did it last year, and I just feel like he’s trying to instill that same type of mentality and type of mindset in us so that we can be a winning team.

“Ever since I met all the guys here, all the guys who have been here and the new coaches, they’ve just been great people, great coaches; that’s a big part. It’s building that relationship-connection with all the guys. Not just a few. I feel like that’s one of the main things that helps people want to buy into that culture and want to be successful.”

— ND —