Written by John Brice
New eras and Notre Dame basketball aren’t commonalities.
In the tradition-rich history of the storied Fighting Irish basketball program, nine different coaches have patrolled the Shamrock sidelines for five or more years; George Keogan, John Jordan, Digger Phelps and Mike Brey combined for 76 of Notre Dame’s 120 seasons.
For the first time since the average cost for a gallon of gas was $1.51 and the price for a gallon of milk was $2.78, Notre Dame is poised for an exhilarating new era in men’s basketball.
Micah Shrewsberry officially opens his first chapter of his Notre Dame book Nov. 6 when Niagara visits Purcell Pavilion – 8,388 days since Brey’s decorated run initiated in 2000.
Basketball in his DNA from growing up in Indiana. Shrewsberry has been on a fast and successful trajectory toward Notre Dame – he cultivated his coaching acumen inside the Butler Bulldogs program and with the globally renowned Boston Celtics franchise; then he turned around Penn State to the tune of an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 team last season.
But judge not the Fighting Irish on Shrewsberry’s past or any preconceived notions regarding this year’s roster; instead, Shrewsberry has an invitation.
“Come and watch us. Just come and watch us,” Shrewsberry, a 47-year-old Indianapolis native who augmented his preparation to be a head coach with two stints at Purdue and a run atop the Indiana University-South Bend program. “Don’t come in with any preconceived notions of what this team is like, what this team may be, what people say this team is. Come and make your own judgements about us.
“You might not know it. You might come in and be like, ‘Man, I don’t know what Notre Dame basketball is going to be.’ But you sit and watch us for 40 minutes, you’re going to be like, ‘If that’s Notre Dame basketball, I’m going to be proud of that group. I can come back to the next game, because I want to watch that group play, man.’”
turn us up ⚡️#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/Es8bvHkl6m
— Notre Dame Men's Basketball (@NDmbb) October 11, 2023
Watching the group play will be perhaps the only method to learning this roster – not just playing style but simply the composition of the team.
Since becoming outgoing athletics director Jack Swarbrick’s final major hire at the conclusion of last season, Shrewsberry and his staff – assistant coaches Kyle Getter, Mike Farrelly, Ryan Owens – have ushered in seven new players on the Irish’s 11-man roster.
Shrewsberry’s son, Braeden, along with 6-foot-10 Corey Booth, 6-4 Logan Imes and local sensation, Markus Burton, an athletic, energetic guard from nearby Penn High School have been brought in as the freshman foundation for what Shrewsberry has envisioned for the future of Notre Dame basketball.
Julian Roper transferred in from Northwestern and Tae Davis did the same from Seton Hall; sophomore Kebba Njie followed Shrewsberry from Penn State to Notre Dame.
Returning for the Irish are seniors Tony Sanders Jr. and Matt Zona, as well as third-year sophomore J.R. Konieczny and former walk-on turned scholarship player Alex Wade.
The quartet has a combined 82 career appearances and just two starts, one apiece for Sanders and Zona.
Even with less than a full complement of scholarship players, Shrewsberry demands a “non-negotiable” daily standard of effort, defense, discipline and competition as fabric of his program.
“You are what you emphasize,” Shrewsberry said. “I say I don’t coach effort, but effort’s a huge part of it, especially defensively, especially how hard we have to play on that end, how detailed we need to be.
“I emphasize ball movement. I don’t want anyone questioning what kind of shots they’re taking. I want them to have the freedom to take shots, but also know that we’re looking for great shots. Not average. Not just OK. We are hunting for a great shot at every possession.”
Rotation for the coming season? Players dictate that via their approach to Shrewsberry’s aforementioned tenets.
“You have to earn your spot every single day with me,” Shrewsberry said. “There is nobody sitting there being happy and getting satisfied. If you don’t come and perform, the next dude is taking your spot if you don’t play the right way.
“You have to have that competition and that’s what we’ve been about, really, this whole fall, this whole preseason. We’ve switched teams from day to day. We’ve thrown different combinations together, we’ve played with different combinations.”
Shrewsberry finds this approach yields multiple benefits.
“One, so they’re comfortable with each other. They’re comfortable with each other and what they like to do,” he said. “Also, on the whim (if) one guy’s not playing the way he’s supposed to play, I’ve got no problem sitting him down next to me and putting somebody else in there that’s just as capable.
“If you’re not getting the job done, you’re going to come have a seat. I’m big on discipline. I’m big on how we play. I’m big on accountability. You’ve got to be able to do your job. You’re going to make mistakes. They’re going to make mistakes, but if one guy isn’t capable of doing his job and somebody else is, that guy’s going to play.”
This Irish team will coalesce around another challenging slate. Mid-major programs Niagara and Western Carolina give Notre Dame its first two tests at home under Shrewsberry; the program then has perennial SEC force Auburn and either Oklahoma State or St. Bonaventure at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.
ACC play begins Dec. 2 as the Irish travel to Miami; they also have additional notable non-conference tilts against South Carolina, Marquette and Georgetown.
“We’re going to work our butts off no matter what’s going on,” said the versatile Konieczny, who starred locally at St. Joseph, played sparingly his freshman campaign and sat out last year. “Every guy on our team has that dog in him. I think that really stands to what we’re trying to do
“No one has any expectations for us, so everyone is going out with a chip on our shoulders saying, ‘Why not us? Why can’t we be a good team, one of the best in the ACC?’ The main difference between this year and last, I think, is there’s a sense of urgency to get better every single day. We feel we really got something accomplished out of every practice. It’s been a grind; a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but it’s been rewarding and I think that grind will pay off in the end to make some noise this year.”
— ND —