Notre Dame head men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry sat down at the press conference following Sunday's 75-60 loss to Louisville, answering the first question with passion and fire that ended in a mic slam and a heated exit.
“I understand that a lot of people have quit on us, and well-deserved,” he said. “If you hate me, absolutely, man. Great. If you think I suck, if you think I can’t coach, I'm with you, man. Good. Good for you, because you’re allowed to have opinions. If you think I should be fired, good for you. You’re allowed to have opinions, right?”
A stunned silence enveloped the press room at Purcell Pavilion following these statements and the 15-point home loss. Shrewsberry’s first tense confrontation with the media was certainly unexpected after Jack Soble of On3 and Blue & Gold Illustrated asked:
“Big picture, you’re sitting at 10-10 a couple weeks ago. Obviously things haven’t gone the way you hoped. What have you felt like have been the biggest issues?”
This question arises after the Irish have now lost four of their last five games, including three in which they were favored—against Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech, all of which they led in the second half. Soble’s question was a reasonable question considering the Irish’s droughts scoring down the stretch of the second half. The Irish road is only going to get tougher as they are only marginally favored in two of their last six games.
Shrewsberry’s remarks raise more questions than answers about the Irish future. The concern among the media was not Shrewsberry’s ability to coach or with his leadership for the Irish. In fact, in just his third season, Shrewsberry has brought in the highest-rated recruiting class in school history, which ranks fourth according to 247Sports and is led by five-star Jalen Haralson (No. 19 overall). Notre Dame has even retained four players from its starting five in 2023-24, a shocking feat considering the current landscape of the transfer portal. Shrewsberry also landed notable contributors out of the portal with graduate guard Matt Allocco and graduate forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi. Shrewsberry’s coaching also includes developing sophomore guard Markus Burton into the ACC leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, ahead of National Player of the Year candidate and consensus top-two overall pick Cooper Flagg. Shrewsberry has also helped develop junior forward Tae Davis to be 14th overall in scoring in the ACC at 15 points per game. Sure, four out of five losses, a 10-14 record and a 1-6 mark in games inside of 5 points in the final five minutes is a frustrating season, but this does not reflect Shrewsberry’s ability to coach the Irish.
On the other hand, the comments about fan attendance present are far more concerning. He said, “I sat there and watched more Louisville fans in here than Louisville people, and that’s embarrassing. That’s embarrassing for me. If you’re not with us because we’re losing, do it because of me, but not these kids.”
Giving Coach Shrewsberry the benefit of the doubt, blaming the fans for not showing up was likely an emotional reaction to the tough loss. That doesn’t mistake this claim as unreasonable. It seems unfair to criticize a loyal sports fanbase used to average basketball teams. Since 2018, the Irish have only had two teams with winning records, and to criticize this particular fanbase and media is harsh. The Notre Dame women’s basketball team cracked No. 1 for the first time since 2019 this week and have dwarfed the men’s attendance numbers throughout the season. Part of the disparity comes from lopsided scheduling for the men’s side. The Irish have only played two teams, North Carolina and Louisville, with a winning record overall or in conference play at Purcell Pavilion so far this season.
This season has been rough for Notre Dame, but is it salvageable? Probably. This comes with an asterisk that something will change in the program. Comparing this season to the previous one, Notre Dame beat two NCAA Tournament teams in Clemson and Virginia and lost on a buzzer beater to N.C. State. The Irish relied on their second-ranked ACC defense (top 50 in the country) to keep them within striking distance of even the most talented programs in the country. This season, the defense has shrank to seventh in the ACC, while the offense has jumped one spot from 14th to 13th. Notre Dame needs to find an identity to hang their hat on. While the 3-point defense is still second in the ACC, all of the other metrics rank the Irish as merely average in the ACC. Fans can only trust in Shrewsberry’s passion that a new identity will form down the stretch.
For Shrewsberry’s job to actually be in jeopardy, the Irish would need to miss the ACC Tournament altogether. That would mean dropping below N.C. State, Boston College or Miami, whom they each have a two-game conference lead on. Shrewsberrry said, “We’re going to get this thing rolling. I don’t care if you gave up on me or not.”
To get this thing rolling, the Irish will be tasked with saving a 10-14 season by taking on SMU, Pitt and Clemson all in a week’s time. It is not unfathomable for a team to catch fire in the latter stretch of the season, take N.C. State for example last season. It is possible for Notre Dame to still finish over .500, and a change will need to be made on Wednesday against SMU.
