UHND.com - Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting

the difference is striking. Kelsey literally had no players after he accepted the Louisville job and not only assembled talent, but has them at 7-1 in the ACC, playing good basketball. DeVries's WVU team beat #2 Iowa St. yesterday and are sitting at 4-2 in the Big 12. Both were apparently on ND's list of potential coaches. Both had much more experience as head coaches.

The most dispiriting thing has been the lack of toughness and defense. Those were the two things that Shrews declared would be the focus. You don't need great talent to be outstanding in either. Beyond that, the offense is still a mess. Say what you will about Brey, but many more seasons than not over his 20 years, ND had better success than the vast majority of teams with his motion offense. It was often beautiful to watch. A year and a half in, and I don't see much growth on the floor at that end. In an offense with so many ball screens, the team still has no player who picks and rolls well. The dribble drive kickout is minimal because ND doesn't have consistent three-point shooters and the spacing is a far cry from even the below-average Brey teams. Burton has to shoot on his drives most every time because, even when among the trees, it's a better bet than trying to kick it out.