The Notre Dame basketball team was supposed to show more signs of growth at this point in the 2024-25 season. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry knows that. And things boiled over because it once again failed to show any growth at all on Sunday night in a 75-60 loss to an admittedly NCAA Tournament-bound Louisville Cardinals team.
It wasn’t just that Shrewsberry’s frustrations came out because the team is struggling. Though they are struggling, having lost four of the last five with a double overtime win over a terrible (2-12 in the ACC) Boston College squad the only victory in February. It’s that he clearly knows that his program is losing support. And that can be the death knell for a coach and his players.
When the Notre Dame basketball coach was asked what he thought about the direction of the Irish over the last five games, his response had quite a few fans and media thinking he lost his cool. But a real examination of what he said showed why Shrewsberry was the guy that was picked to lead a complete and total rebuild.
I asked Micah Shrewsberry what the biggest issues in Notre Dame’s last five games have been. The Irish were 10-10 and have fallen to 11-14.
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) February 17, 2025
This was his response, which turned into a heated, 2:40 rant.
(🎥: @mattfreeman05_) pic.twitter.com/PZOuHiJKDc
Notre Dame basketball’s Micah Shrewsberry takes the heat
“A lot of people have given up on this team,” Shrewsberry said at the start of a 2-minute rant. “They've given up on me. I don't really give a damn. I believe in myself, and I believe in these guys, okay? So, like, don't give up on these guys. Don't give up on these kids.”
“I know if you're not with us because we're losing, you don't want to come watch this, fine. Fine. But do it because of me then. But not these kids, man. They don't deserve that. They don't deserve that. Ain't nobody else getting home at 5 a. m. from Boston College. And going to class the next day. And coming to practice. And working out. And preparing to play Louisville. Nobody else is doing that. Don't give up on these kids, man. I don't care about anybody's opinion. I know who I am. I know I can coach basketball. And I know I'm turning this program around. So you gave up on me already. I'm going to see you back here. I don't give a damn. Don't give up on these kids.”
The speech stands out because there are plenty of men leading a Notre Dame basketball team that was expected to at least be more competitive in games like Sunday night, who would blame the players.
Those coaches would talk about how there wasn’t enough effort or they weren’t executing the plan correctly, or might even make comments about how he needed to go out there and get better players next year.
Some men would absolutely throw their players under the bus. Micah Shrewsberry did the opposite. He stood in front of the bus and said “if you’re going to run over someone, run over me.”
It’s important to remember that when he came to South Bend from Penn State, he essentially completely rebuilt the roster. He’s still rebuilding it now. And this rebuild is going to take some time.
That doesn’t mean Micah Shrewsberry gets infinite years to get Notre Dame basketball into a winning situation. But Year 2 was never really going to be the year they turned the corner. Patience is needed and that is essentially what he was saying on Sunday night.