Hey, maybe next year!

This was a bridge too far.

Even with two minutes to go I was thinking, they're never going to get past Oregon.

Good game for the Pepso Bismo market and other stomach disturbance remedies.


So, if we begged and pleaded, would Dougherty come back?

Coach Brey's tenure has been marked with under achievement. Yes, I know he was named Big East Coach of the Year this year, but let me ask the question I usually ask in this scenario ... who's bloody fault was it that expectations were so low to begin with?

I'm sure Coach Brey is a wonderful man. However, at what point do you say enough is enough. Mediocrity is simply not acceptable for Our Lady's school in any venue and that, simply put, is what Coach Brey brings to the table.


ND's roundball program may be on the rise from the infernal depths of the past few years, but it seems that we haven't recovered from Matt Doherty's one-and-done. Mike Brey receives Big East accolades, but maybe the awards are bestowed upon him in order to placate the ever-sleeping giant, Notre Dame. Catholic/Christian hating media, as well as opposing conference programs are fearful of the day that ND regains it traction as a top-notch hoops competitor. And with Georgetown officially "back", expect no love from anybody. I don't follow hoops as much as all you other guys, but I think the program stinks. When an entire basketball program can be turned around with 5 or 6 great players, why hasn't ND found a way to replace Digger, Dantley, Carr and Tripucka? It's been thirty years, for cryin' out loud! LARRY BROWN. LARRY BROWN. LARRY BROWN.


And another thing. Has anyone ever seen Mike Brey and Rick Minter at the same time?


For one you do not want Larry Brown anywhere near South Bend. Talk about a disruptive force that would ruin the whole school. This team did not perform well away from home for some reason. The offense dropped off considerable from home to away games. I dont know if Brey is doing a good job or not, I dont think that John McLeod did much for the program but Brey has been here for seven years now and although he produces some good records his tourney performances do lack to say the least. I dont want Dougherty back either. There has been a change of what it takes to be a great basketball team and the college game sometimes does not even resemble basketball, especially the last two minutes of the game. We are not a very physical team and we have very little inside game, we need a very good and imposing force in the middle. A Greg Oden type who is more education minded than NBA minded who wants to and can take more then 7 hours in a semester.


Oh, come ye back when Football is in season
When helmets gleam in fairest sunlight bright
Oh, then you'll see the dawning of a new day
And all things Irish will be just and right.


Wake of the Irish

Turn all the mirrors toward the walls
Bring in the tobacco, food, and drink
Stop all the clocks out of respect
The Fightin Irish have fallen

Lay them out not for eternal rest
Tis happened is not what you think
Weave no rosary beads through there fingers
The Fightin Irish are but asleep

Place no crucifix upon there breasts
Do not weep, keen, or swear revenge
For the Fightin Irish shall rise up again
Rise up again and come a callin


Don't forget the pucksters....they are back!

Maybe they need to be sharing the basketball venue.


i am sick of irish athletics being unble to rise to any occasion.


Hey, maybe next year!

Nothing. Is. Guaranteed.

This was a bridge too far.

It did not have to be.

Mediocrity is the right word here. The only mitigating circumstances for Brey are the lack of progress in the renovation of the Joyce Center, and McAlarney's irresponsibility. If he is back on the hot seat again, he need only look in the mirror to see the reason why.


Did anyone see Brey's postgame press conference where he said that when his team got down by 20 in the second half he called a timeout and told the boys that he reckoned CBS had switched coverage away from their game (due to the fact Winthrop was running away with it)? Then, in an almost Rockne-esque exhortation, he implored our laddies to go out there and give it all they've got and maybe, just maybe, CBS will come back to their game and resume showing it on TV!!! My God! How the mighty have fallen. That little glimpse into Coach Brey made me know that he should be removed by the A.D. Talk about a lack of gravitas. It's effin' Winthrop...dig down in your putrid guts and find a way to win the effin' game. We're Notre Dame. Snap out of it. Man up. Send Brey Away.


And to think, just days ago I was thinking, "Win-who?" and assuring myself that we would make it out of the first round at least...


Flip the hockey rink and ice rink. The Fightin' Irish hockey team deserves an 12,000 seat arena, not this basketball program. I'm heading to Joe Louis Arena right now.


am i the only one not totally shocked by the outcome of yesterday's game? winthrop may be from the big south, but they field a veteren team with previous tournament experience, a now-19-game winning streak, and a chip on their collective shoulder. i'm not saying that notre dame shouldn't've stuffed the eagles early and often, but losing was always a very real possibility. personally, while i'm disappointed in our play yesterday, i find it hard to take issue with one of the best seasons in recent memory.

also, the faster we take our minds off of basketball, the quicker we can get back to dissecting our lady's fitba team and their renewed return to glory.

spring game? yes please.


nice.


Yes, the Winthrop game was a downer, but for a team picked to finish 11th in the Big East, not bad. They exceeded expectations, as opposed to, uh, well, on to the spring game......


But before the spring game, give our CCHA Regular Season and Tournament Champion Hockey team your support as they take their # 1 ranking into the NCAA Tournament.


our outside shooting wasn't on...not Brey's fault.


Hear, hear! Irish Icers have represented Our Lady well. Skate Like A Champion!


I couldn't agree more. Hockey is a great game and to stiff UM in the final - dang, what more could you all want? BCS game, CCHA championship, and now you expect to be in the sweet sixteen too? Let's be happy the lads made the tournament and celebrate where celebration is due. Ireland wasn't built on victories and smiles after all.


After the emotion ebbs, and blood flow normalizes in the brain, a more thoughtful dissection of the season can take place.

I, for one, am satisfied with the progress made this season. The team played hard, demonstrated an ability to stay with all comers and significantly improved its season long record.

The criticism of Brey for the Winthrop game is not justified. He does not shoot the basketball and he does not attempt the free throws. Had the team packed it in when down by 20, then you can criticize the coach, because that the coach can control.

What Brey and ND must do to consistently field a team as good or better than the current version is to turn recruiting up a notch. We must compete for the players Duke is recruiting and win the recruiting battle. One poster lamented that ND doesn't have an Oden. Guess what? ND will never have an Oden. You can't attend Our Lady's University on a seven hour course load. I would wager that Duke wasn't recruiting Oden. We need to load up on more T. Jacksons and L. Harangodys.


No one lamented that we didnt have Oden. I said we needed an Oden type player who wanted an education and could take more than 7 hours. After watching the OSU-Xavier game I would hope that we would never get a player like Greg Oden.


7 hours? Is that true, Oden only takes 7 hours a semester in course work? Is that common in NCAA division 1 or only at "The" OSU? I thought you had to take at minimum 12 hours to be considered eligible at the D-1 level?

Have I been away from school or reality for way too long?


Oden might not take a lot of courses at OSU, but everything I've read about him indicates he's a smart kid who actually likes school.

As for Winthrop, they're a very good team. Just because they're not well known doesn't change that. It was just bad luck to draw them. The Irish could have been Sweet 16 bound if they'd drawn the East Region instead.


Way to go Irish Icers! Watching the game last night I was a little nervous when the skunkbears took the lead with 5 seconds to go in the 1st. The next two periods were a demonstration of superior puck handling and great goaltending (similar to their games in Joyce Center earlier this year). It's been a great year for the team. Here's hoping it continues into the NCAA's. Please, Please, Please let them be placed in the GR Regional (so I can tell my wife the tickets I bought in December were not a waste...)


Just being in the Big Dance is always icing on the cake for an Irish Roundball Team. We will never win a title in the sport, and ND fans know that in their bones. Our Final four appearance (now almost 3 decades ago) feautured a team with talent the likes of which few, if any, NBA teams have ever assembled. We got beat by the eventual NC.

Two weeks ago I was told by an ultimate insider how Denny Crum's 'great' champion teams were assembled. No real surprise. We don't do things that way in South Bend, and basketball is far too competitive to ever be able to win (exception: UCLA) cleanly.

I'm no big Brey fan, he does underachieve, but this was clearly his year under the Dome. Duke and ND were everyone's pre-tourney "upset specials" and did not fail to disappoint.

By our standards, this was a near 'super' year. Way to go guys!

Go Irish

PS
Anyone hear (switching to the gridiron) anything going on with Special teams?


This is a good thread.

ND's men's hockey team had a great night last night.

They won their league tournament (CCHA) and are primed for the NCAA.

They had a great showing last night, coming back from a 1-0, to smackdown the skunkbears 2-1.

Effin Awesome.

This was the first time in ND history that ND has won the CCHA league tournament. I thought the announcers said some thing about ND had qualified for the finals (or was it semifinals) a couple of times back in the '80s, but this years team brought home the cup.

Awesome.


We don't do things that way in South Bend, and basketball is far too competitive to ever be able to win (exception: UCLA) cleanly.

Google "Sam Gilbert" and "UCLA", and you might learn something.


GO IRISH HOCKEY! LONG LIVE BRENT CHAPMAN!!


oden is taking 12 hours - 2 5-credit classes and one 2-credit. it apparently is not uncommon for athletes at some schools to only take 2 classes in-season.


Yz the information I have on Oden he is taking the bare minimum, doesnt matter this isnt a blog about Oden or Ohio St. More power to the teams that dont graduate players


In my tourney group, I showed some props to the Irish and named my bracket:

"Mike Brey: All the Way!"

After the game, I disappointingly changed it to:

"Mike Brey: D.O.A."

More fitting, unfortunately.


Since we are apparently "stuck" with our basketball coach, I propose you guys re-establish your hoops blog as gluebreysky.


May be we can talk about football again...


McAlarney? Would he have made a difference?


Not necessarily supporting Oden, but why would he take more than 12 hours if he knows that he is just going pro next year anyway? He would've gone pro right out of college if it wasn't for Stern's new rule about taking at least one year of college before going to the NBA draft. Expect ALOT of players to follow the "one and done" motto in college from now on. Kevin Durant is doing the exact same thing. It's sad, but from now on a lot of schools will have very few quality players that are upper classmen.


Mike Brey couldn't coach make the 1984 Celtics into state basketball champs. We need Matt D. back!


Durant might be staying another year according to SI.com's truth and rumors section.


Matt D. went loopy when he was at UNC, didn't he? Not sure I want him back.

And, say what you will about the lack of gravitas in Brey's speech, but it did key a 22-3 run ending in the Irish being up 1. I'm not saying he should be safe or anything, just that the guys clearly respond to his style to some degree. I'm not ringing the death knell JUST yet.


Matt D. went loopy when he was at UNC, didn't he? Not sure I want him back.

He was also torpedoed by a players' mutiny. It was not a pretty sight. Doherty's shortcomings as a coach were balanced by comments that the players were spoiled brats.


Durant has said several times that he likes being in school and may come back. There's going to be a lot of pressure on him to leave though, since he's going to go no lower than 2nd in the draft. He actually seems like a kid that would stay if the economic pressure wasn't as high as it is.

Oden will almost certainly come out. He's also said he likes being in school, but, as one of my friends pointed out, with his courses, who wouldn't?


Can we get a little props for the hockey team?

2 years ago they were the dregs of the CCHA, truly awful, and on Saturday evening, they beat the Wolverines to win the school's first EVER CCHA championship and go into the NCAA tournament as one of the favorites to win it all.


The beginning of a new Ice Age in the JACC! The team deserves support and recognition. The CCHA includes some of the big boys, winning both regular season and the tournament is incredible! Good luck in Grand Rapids!


Stern needs to make a rule similar to the NFL. You cant be draft eligible until after your classes 3rd year. We really need to quit the exodus of quality football and basketball players to the pros. College athletics with all of its pimples is still a pure form of sport. For every pro there are 10 kids who love playing the game and is getting a quality education. Every school in the country offers quality education, there are just some who dont care to partake in the education part. In a utopia world, the professional ranks leave the kids alone and the NCAA says if you dont graduate 80% of your basketball players and 75% of your football players then you cant compete for the national title and if this occurs for three years in a row you start losing scholarships.


BTW, if anyone wants to read a good book about college football and recruiting see if you can find "The 100-yard Lie" by Steve Telander.


all you johnny-come-latelys need to stick to football. Brey coached us to a very solid season, despite the key loss of our starting PG and throwing a freshman into the mix. We gave legit title-contender Georgetown all they could handle in the BET. We had an off-day shooting at the wrong time. Sucks, but it happens. Our team has 8 freshmen and sophomores and will continue to improve. Look for us to be right back in the mix next year.


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