Notre Dame Men's Basketball And The Scholarship Debate
Last week, Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw indicated that her days of having no more than 11 scholarship players on the roster — when the NCAA permits 15 for women — are over. Or at least they should be.
That has emanated from a barrage of injuries and transfers the past several years that often left her with only seven (and even six in some games) scholarship players during the year.
But what about Fighting Irish men’s head coach Mike Brey?
Unlike with the women, the NCAA allows 13 scholarships for the men’s program. However, like McGraw, Brey too has found himself with at times a precariously short bench the past couple of years.
In this calendar year alone, transfers by forward D.J. Harvey and center Chris Doherty, plus a season-ending December torn ACL injury to guard Robby Carmody, has left Notre Dame with eight scholarship players.
That’s not including Stanford transfer/guard and former top-100 recruit Cormac Ryan, who is ineligible this year but will have three years of eligibility remaining at the start of next season.
Because the Irish graduate Rex Pflueger, John Mooney and T.J. Gibbs after this season, Notre Dame might have only nine scholarship players available at the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign.
• Center Juwan Durham and wing Nik Djogo are eligible to return for a fifth season.
• Comprising most of the team will be five juniors: guards Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin, Ryan and Carmody, and forward Nate Laszewski.
• Freshmen forwards Elijah Taylor and Matt Zona.
Does Brey ever feel compelled to have a full 13?
“It’s an interesting thought,” he responded. “We never have been by design not filled them. It’s not like ‘We don’t want to have 13.’ It’s kind of like what fits and how do you want to do it?
“The only thing I would say is it’s nice to have one in your back pocket for a transfer all the time.”
Durham and Ryan are the recent examples.
“In this climate of the portal and transfers, having more numbers (available) is not necessarily a bad thing,” Brey said. “It’s funny how you say it during the season — and then when you want to put it into practice, it’s hard to fill them.”
There are no freshmen on this year’s Irish team primarily because the previous cycle the Irish signed a nucleus of five that was ranked among the best in the country.
Brey and the staff went “out of their lane” the next recruiting year by trying to recruit top-5 prospects such as Cole Anthony (North Carolina) and Isaiah Stewart (Washington), and were shut out.
However, targets in the top 100-150-range did not see the same opportunity for action because of the quintet signed for 2018.
“You say, ‘Let’s take him’, and he says, ‘Well, you’ve got those two guys. I’m not coming there,’ ” Brey said. “It is an interesting dynamic how you want to do it, but it’s hard to do it because kids really look at where they fit and how they’re going to play quickly — early.”
In Brey’s system, generally seven players are rotated, and sometimes eight. Once you get to nine or 10 — there is a reason why they are that low in the pecking order. However, the desire for playing time will always remain, which is why the transfer portal is more popular than ever for those who fall in that lower tier (a la Doherty).
A Ryan this year provides the best of both worlds to Brey because he can help immensely in practice without worrying about how much action he sees this season while also knowing he will be a valuable cog next year.
“The best way to fill 11 or 12 (scholarships) is transfers, because they’re sitting out like Cormac Ryan,” Brey said. “That’s one guy not knocking on my door about playing time.
“I’ve gotten less sensitive about losing guys — not that we want to lose kids. It’s just going to happen. It’s just the way of the world even for both of our programs now.
“Kids are looking to reinvent, and if it’s not happening just as they want quickly, you are almost planning for (transfers) now.”
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