Micah Shrewsberry Notebook | 11.4
Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry spoke on Monday afternoon as the Fighting Irish prepare to open the 2024-25 season.
Opening statement:
”It’s just an exciting time for us, that the season’s here. I’m sitting in my office, trying to prepare for practice, for Wednesday. But at the same time, I got Charleston vs. Southern Illinois on my TV. And there’s other games — I’m like, ‘Oh shoot, St. Louis plays during practice.’ But it’s that time of year and it’s in the air and the excitement’s here. I’m just so looking forward to getting started. We’ve had two really good showings in our exhibition, our secret scrimmage. I think guys are feeling good about where we’re at currently, with still a chance to keep growing and getting better, which is what we want to do throughout the whole year, is keep growing. But I love where we’re starting at, and knock on wood, everybody’s — besides a few nicks and bruises, like normal during the season — everybody’s healthy and should be ready to go for Wednesday.”
On what he liked and didn’t like from the two scrimmages:
”There’s a lot of things I liked. I liked how we were ready to go at the start of both halves. I thought that was a little bit of an issue for us before, of not being ready to go, especially at the start of the second half. Different times, different lulls. Those guys came out of the gates competing on both ends. I was really happy with that and pleased with that. There’s some things that we have to clean up.
“We haven’t been great offensively the entire fall, the whole preseason, when we get no paint possessions. And I’m okay with some of those. We’re gonna shoot some quick shots. We’re gonna shoot some kick-ahead, early threes in transition. But when we get in the half court and we don’t get in the paint, it’s been an awful possession for us. So we had to eliminate some of those, and talking about why those are happening and showing them why they’re happening, and now keep improving on that so we keep growing offensively with what we’re doing. So we’re still doing stuff to get some of the younger guys up to speed. But I think practices and early games and everything else, getting game reps is gonna be huge for them.”
On roles for Cole Certa and Garrett Sundra:
”I think you always have a plan for what you do with everybody. But I think they can look at examples in practice, of guys that have really made a shift in their games, and they’ve gotten better and they’ve probably changed their situation and rotations in two or three weeks, right? And we never know what’s gonna happen. So I think you have conversations with those guys about it, but everybody wants to play. It’s hard, right?
“Cole’s got a lot of guys in front of him. Garrett’s got a lot of guys in front of him, but I think they can help us in ways. You gotta really prepare for now, more than looking in the future. I think nowadays in college basketball, you have no idea what the future’s gonna look like. We just try and stay focused on what’s happening right now. How do we keep getting better, how do we change our situation and how do we help our team win?”
On Notre Dame handling Kebba Njie’s foul trouble well against Purdue Fort Wayne:
”I think you’ll see some of that. I feel good about the fours, the fives, really playing those groups by committee. We have enough depth now, and it’s not exactly — like, what all these guys do is all different. If Kebba comes out of the game, I don’t expect Burke (Chebuhar) to do the same thing as Kebba. I don’t expect Nikita (Konstantynovskyi) to be the same player. They have to be themselves and do what they do, and then we have to adjust. That’s part of what I’m working on right now. Like, how do we move to different lineups and how do we put the people in that protects what they do better? Kebba’s our best defender and our best interior defender. So now, if we sub in Burke or Nikita, we need to be more athletic with those guys to help them in certain areas.
“So those are things that I gotta tinker with. I gotta constantly look at, make sure we have the best lineups on the floor at all times, so we don’t have any drop-off. But I think you’ll see it. You’re gonna see some lineups and some people, like we want to constantly stay fresh. So we’re gonna play a lot of people, because we can’t have that lull. I thought we had a lull in the middle of the first half, and part of that was I didn’t sub as much. When guys are tired, we gotta bring fresh guys in, so we keep our pace where we want it, we keep our defensive intensity where we want it, and we just try and wear people down.”
On what Kebba Njie and Tae Davis bring to the defense:
”I think those two guys, together, cover a lot of mistakes for people. They do it in different ways. Kebba’s communication is about — bigs aren’t great communicators, usually. But he is a talker. He’s at the back line of your defense, he’s a guy that has to talk the most and that’s what he does. He is a talker and a communicator. You can quiz our guys on this, but I always say that communication builds trust and avoids confusion. And that’s what Kebba does. You trust that he’s back there, because he’s talking to you. You know what your job is, because he’s telling you what’s happening next. That’s how he’s great for our team, defensively.
“Tae does it with his athletic ability. He can slide his feet and move and guard anybody. I always give the example, he started the [Duke] game guarding Jeremy Roach, and then he switched to guard Kyle Filipowski. There ain’t very many people in the country that are doing that. He can guard a bunch of different people in a lot of different ways. His ability to guard Markus in practice at times is like, he can slide his feet and stay in front of fast people at his size, which is pretty special.
“I think Kebba’s worked, like, the biggest thing for him is having a full, specific offseason. He came to Penn State, played as a freshman, and then felt like he had to get bigger and stronger, right? Because we were playing in the Big Ten. Then his head coach left and came to the ACC. The strength that he was putting on, the bulk that he was putting on was probably not as needed. And then also left, and as soon as you go in the transfer portal, you get shut out of whatever building you’re supposed to be working out in, right? So he came in a lot heavier last year than he was. He’s a lot lighter, he’s bouncier, his athleticism has picked up. I think that’s really helped him with his finishing, his quick finishing and his movements defensively as well.”
On freshman guard Sir Mohammed being first off the bench:
“He was first in by default. Tae was really tired, so he went in for Tae. I think J.R. (Konieczny) has been unbelievable this whole fall. I think the last few weeks and how he's played... If you look at teams in practice, J.R. is with the starting group, and Sir is with the other group, but that's just how we rotate.
“He got in first because Tae got tired, right? There's no like, 'Man, I'm getting Sir in the game immediately. (It's not that) I don't want to get him in the game yet. He's really good player, but there wasn't a set plan for me to throw him in first.
“Right now, he's still trying to catch up with where he needs to be, but you see right away those guys are comfortable putting the ball in his hands right, playing in middle, pick and rolls with a spread court where he can make passes.
“I think he did it against Fort Wayne the other night. He checked in when we played Xavier in the second half and immediately threw a lob to Kebba (Njie) for a dunk. He threw a skip cross-court to Braeden (Shrewsberry) for a three.
“His ability to pass right now is his best ability, and now, as he starts to go, as he starts to get more comfortable, I think he'll start to make the open shots, the open catch and shoots that he gets. But being able to have an extra ball handler, an extra ball handler with size that can see over the defense, is probably his best asset for us right now.”
On how the transfers are adapting:
“I don't think any of them came in with any preconceived notions, right? I think, sometimes, people come into transfer in and they want to automatically make it theirs. Or you feel like, when you transfer in, you have a huge purpose.
“Like, I want to come in and transform this is gonna be my team. We didn't really recruit renegades like that, right? Those guys just came in to fit in. They just play their role on a daily basis and just try and help us get better. They've all just been... they brought in an older kind of feel to our team in situations that are needed, right? Obviously, Mush (Matt Allocco) has played more than Burke (Chebuhar) and Nikita (Konstantynovskyi).
“But the way he's thinking the game right now, the way he's handling the situation before I even have to say anything, right? I guess I keep going back to the Xavier scrimmage, and it's the end of the game, a tie game. They go to something in side out of bounds defense. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but don't worry about it.
“There was like three seconds on the clock, and it's side out of bounds, and it's like, our ball and it's a tie game. It's a late-game situation, right? He has the ball out of bounds, but I trust him, and he calls a time-out, right? Just no panic, no pause, right? Something that you would think would be simple, but it's not for everybody.
“Taking the ball out of bounds. Some people panic, but he comes right over to the bench, and those timeouts are really quick, right? There's 30 seconds there. It's still the end of the game. We gotta do something because they've changed defenses to win. And he comes over and he immediately starts asking questions, right?
“How many more timeouts do we have? Who is open? Am I looking at this still? He's thinking about the game so far ahead that you just need guys like that, right? His value like that is really gonna outweigh some of the things that the other guys bring, which is all positive, but him being really another coach on the floor is gonna help us.”
On being more comfortable at Notre Dame in year two:
“Yeah, I'm still trying to figure everything out, but there's no more surprises. You kind of know what's happening, right? I know where I'm going. I know how to get in certain doors.
“I know what time I need to get to the game and what doors I need to avoid, and what time I can walk out on the court, right? Because there's sometimes, I like to go out there and sit early, and just gotta be to myself, but you're not able to (do it at times).
“So, now I know that, too. I can't go out there until it's time for me to go to the bench, so nobody talks to me. I'm still trying to grow, though, as a coach, right? That's what I said. Right now, my biggest thing is how do we get better? How do we keep growing even throughout Wednesday? As we get ready for Wednesday, how do we keep growing as a team?
“But how do I keep tweaking these lineups and tweaking these groups so we have the best groups in at all times—outside of foul trouble or whatever it may be. So, I'm a lot more comfortable here in Year 2, and I think our team is a lot more comfortable as well. I'll continue to work on myself. I'm a kinder, gentler coach if you ask our guys.”
On the importance of starting the year on a good note:
“Yeah, just growth, right? I think it's been a much more mature group in how we've handled day-to-day, where we don't have to overdo stuff. There's some guys need a lot of work. Some guys don't need a lot of work, and there's days where we take 30 minutes for new guys and freshmen to just do defensive drills that some of the older guys might not.
“Meanwhile, my focus is on that. Meanwhile, the other guys are doing skill work, getting shots up, whatever. There aren't any games going on when they're doing that, right? It's all business-like. So, it's not like, 'I gotta keep my eye on this group because they're gonna be messing around over here, playing games and stuff.' It's like, no, they have a business-like approach about everything that we're doing. And for a young team, like I said, it's a lot different.
“It's a lot different. I think some of that's from the maturity of the older guys, and then some of that's the younger guys growing and understanding that, like, 'Hey, this is what it takes for us to be good. We're still trying to reach that point, but we at least know what it takes for us to be good. And we have to operate that way on a daily basis.”
On the confidence he has in this team:
“Yeah, I really believe in our guys. I really believe in our staff. We have a defensive system, and we really talk about game plans and how do we take people out of what they want to do. Our guys have shown through two games that they can follow game plans, right? And if we do that, if we stick to that, I think we can continue to be a pretty good defensive team.
“At the same time, I think we're much better offensively, and we've got to keep getting good shots. We've got to keep playing with the right pace. So, I like where we're at. There's still a long way to go. I think there's a lot of stuff we haven't covered yet, right?
“Which is crazy that we play on Wednesday, and there's stuff that we haven't talked about as a team, but I think those happen early in the year as they go on. Now, you've got to learn through film. You have to learn through those experiences, but I feel really prepared to play in two days.”
On being a fan of college basketball:
”There’s just a chance, right? There’s a chance to watch more and see more. I always watch a lot of basketball. There’s something somebody is doing that you can pick from. I called Coach (Matt) Painter on the way in and we talked about different stuff. He’s like, ‘Can’t wait till Wednesday, so I can see what you guys are doing and steal a couple plays from you. I’m like, ‘Well, you play tonight. I’m going to snag some stuff right back from you.’
“I like watching it. I like seeing other people, seeing what other people are doing, seeing if there’s something that may work for our group that fits against people who are trying to guard us. And then, just being a fan of it, it’s just a really cool time of the year. This is fun for me.”
On offensive growth from year one to year two:
”I think people being more comfortable in our system - knowing what we’re looking for, knowing what we’re trying to do, knowing the shots we’re trying to get, knowing how we’re trying to attack. I think in this short amount of time, if you look, the guys at Penn State, that second year is when they really took off. Jalen Pickett was a good player for us and he became an All-American in year two. I think part of that was being comfortable and the same with some of the other guys.
“Markus (Burton), Braeden (Shrewsberry), JR (Konieczny), (Julian) Roper, Tae (Davis), Kebba (Njie), they’re more comfortable in what we’re trying to do. Now, we’ve also tweaked a bunch of stuff too. You have to move stuff to personnel. We have a defensive system, and it’s probably not going to change. Offensively, it’s going to shift and move all the time. How we played in year one at Penn State and how we played in two was vastly different. How we played year two at Penn State and year one at Notre Dame is really different with our personnel and how we played.
“How we’re going to play this year is way different than last year. I think that constantly needs to move. You find what’s best for your group and what’s best for your team. Once they get comfortable with what we’re looking for and how we do it and how we attack, I think that’s how we really make a move and make a shift in year two.”
On where the biggest offensive growth has come after two scrimmages:
”I think our pace has improved. I think we’re not scared to take a shot with 27 seconds on the shot clock. It’s going to happen. We’re going to get the ball out of the net, kick it ahead and someone is going to shoot a three off one pass with 27 on the clock, and I’m OK with that. I’ve seen our guys and how they’ve worked and what they’ve done.
“I think our biggest improvement is our ball movement, how we’re sharing the ball with each other. I always kept talking about how we want to be a high assist team and we could never get to that last year. I think we had 19 the other night and I think we were at maybe 22 against Xavier. We want to be a high assist team. You can do that when the ball is moving.
“Sometimes defenses don’t allow that to happen, but when you play defenses that do, I think you’re seeing the ball pop a little bit more. You’re seeing it swing from one side and seeing a lot more extra passes and now guys are attacking closeouts. They see that, they recognize it and see how much fun it is. We want every possession to be like that. I think we’re getting closer and close to that. As the season goes on, I think we’ll continue to get closer and closer to that.”
On the relationship between Markus Burton and Matt Allocco:
”I think they’ve been really helpful for each other. Mush just blends in. Whatever is kind of needed is what he does. If there’s possessions where we may need a bucket, he can sense it. How can I find a way to help Markus get us a bucket here? Right now, he (Burton) doesn’t feel like he has to do everything himself. He has other people thinking about him to set him up. We didn’t have that ability last year to do it.
“I think early in the second half last week, there was a defensive rebound and they both were kind of next to each other as Kebba got the rebound. Mush just told Markus to go. He didn’t have to wait for the outlet. He can run and now Mush catches it, one dribble and kicks it ahead to Markus and he goes and gets the layup. To be able to get baskets like that, to get him on the move, to get him going towards the rim with the defense not set, is an ability we have because we have Mush on the floor. I think Roper has been doing the same kind of thing in practices as well.
“I think he allows us to get easier baskets. He allows Markus to get easier baskets. He’s thinking about how to help him. He’s thinking about how he can help Markus get baskets. How can I help Braeden get an open shot? He’s thinking about those things before he’s thinking about himself.”
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