00:00:00
Speaker 1: Watch him play like he's a score.
00:00:01
Speaker 2: I'm like Notre Dame has been my dream school since I was very young.
00:00:05
Speaker 1: These guys should be getting paid.
00:00:07
Speaker 2: And as we're walking, we see Dwight Shrew from the office.
00:00:10
Speaker 3: What?
00:00:10
Speaker 1: How crazy can we dream and what can we accomplish?
00:00:15
Speaker 4: Welcome to The Playbook, a rally podcast presented by Priority. Ethan, Coach, thank you guys for being here and joining The Playbook. Really appreciate you guys coming here and joining. This is episode six. Really looking forward to sitting down with you guys and getting into it. all things NIL and Notre Dame basketball. So thank you guys for being here. We're going to start this off. We do it with every single, uh, episode we have just a little lightning round, just, uh, get going, get working, let the mind get going. So I'm just going to say a few things, like whatever comes to your mind, we'll do four or five of these.
00:00:44
Speaker 3: Just, just throw it out there. We'll go one by one.
00:00:46
Speaker 1: Uh, pregame ritual or.
00:00:50
Speaker 3: Uh, superstition.
00:00:51
Speaker 5: Nah, pregame not.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:00:54
Speaker 5: What about you?
00:00:55
Speaker 1: Um, it sounds weird, but, Every once in a while, I watch the challenge before games. I love it.
00:01:02
Speaker 3: I love it. Who's the locker room DJ?
00:01:06
Speaker 5: Brady Kaler. He's also by the Hawks. That helps, but yeah, I'd say BK.
00:01:10
Speaker 3: Okay. Do you know?
00:01:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't. For the film room, I'm the DJ for the film room.
00:01:16
Speaker 3: Okay. Well, let's go off that. What is his music choice, and then what is your music choice?
00:01:22
Speaker 5: BK's ranges from white girl music, like 2010s, to... Like some deep rap. Really? That's good to get the full. Yeah, it's pretty versatile. Yeah, VK's versatile.
00:01:35
Speaker 3: I love it. Coach, what are you listening to before?
00:01:38
Speaker 1: I tell these guys, like, as they're coming in, we like some feel-good music, but mostly stuff I want to listen to. So, like, we'll go some Kanye West, some Tupac, some Jay-Z, just random older kind of stuff. My vibe, my age.
00:01:56
Speaker 3: I get it. whatever works uh hidden talent you got one.
00:02:01
Speaker 2: Um mafia you know the game mafia oh i was like wait hold on yeah yeah we uh i got interested in my i don't know it's a video game no like a in-person game like i got interested here yeah i don't know yeah i'm not familiar it's hard to explain but you kind of manipulate people a little bit so i've been hey i got good at that it's my secret talent.
00:02:20
Speaker 5: Interesting yeah you do it in the locker room Yeah, on weekends.
00:02:25
Speaker 3: Are you due to your opponents?
00:02:26
Speaker 5: Yeah, my teammates.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: Awesome.
00:02:29
Speaker 3: You got a hidden talent?
00:02:30
Speaker 1: I don't think I have any talents at all. Just a ball coach? Yeah, just a ball coach. I'm solid in NCAA football, though. Solid.
00:02:43
Speaker 3: And who's your team?
00:02:45
Speaker 1: I love like getting like a small team and then trying to like build up and work your way up. So like last year, my squad was a middle Tennessee. That's awesome.
00:02:56
Speaker 3: A real challenge.
00:02:56
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Real challenge.
00:02:58
Speaker 3: One word for this upcoming season. Champs.
00:03:04
Speaker 1: Fun. Awesome.
00:03:06
Speaker 3: Awesome. Awesome. Cool. We're warmed up. Let's get to know you guys both.
00:03:10
Speaker 4: You know, I'd like to start too by just, going back on your journey, we'll go through both of you, but how did you get to Notre Dame and why Notre Dame?
00:03:18
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:03:18
Speaker 5: How I got here. Um, well, first off I went to West point.
00:03:22
Speaker 2: Um, I did not have many scholarship opportunities out of high school and that was around COVID as well. So I kind of hurt recruiting, especially for high school guys. Um, but yeah, I ended up at West point. I won rookie of the year and a few other things and transferred and ended up at UPenn. And that's where I graduated from my undergrad. Um, But thinking that Ivy League, you can't be a fifth year and still play. So I had to leave.
00:03:47
Speaker 5: I had no option.
00:03:49
Speaker 2: And I knew where I wanted to go the whole time. Notre Dame has been my dream school since I was very young. So yeah, it was like an easy answer for me if there was interest. Because that's always been the plan. So yeah, my first call was Coach Cruz in Notre Dame. And it was really like almost a yes right away. But I didn't want to say it right away, but that's how I got here.
00:04:12
Speaker 5: Huge blessing. I actually was in the Basilica. I would come to football games.
00:04:16
Speaker 3: Growing up.
00:04:16
Speaker 5: Growing up, right. My uncle went here.
00:04:18
Speaker 2: He's seizing tickets, so I would come up all the time to South Bend, and I would always pray just to be a Notre Dame basketball player.
00:04:26
Speaker 3: That's cool.
00:04:26
Speaker 1: Happy, yeah.
00:04:27
Speaker 5: It was a dream come true.
00:04:28
Speaker 1: Well, welcome.
00:04:28
Speaker 3: Dream come true.
00:04:29
Speaker 1: I know I'm supposed to talk about me, but tell them about when you committed. Yeah.
00:04:35
Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. We were at the Morris Inn. And we have to go to breakfast. And like I said, I knew I wanted to come here the whole time. Right. So visiting went well and everything. And like, as I'm talking to coach, he's like on a scooter and we're like right in front of what's that call? Like the, the door, whatever, right in front of the door. And I'm like getting emotional, like my hands on coach. I'm like, yeah, I want to be here. Like this is the spot for me. And as we're walking, we see Dwight Schrute from the office.
00:05:04
Speaker 2: What? Like walking around. Walking right past, I was looking at Coach and I see Dwight Schrute.
00:05:08
Speaker 5: I'm like, what? Like, I was starstruck. But again, at the moment, like, I didn't know if Coach Schrute saw him and it was like an emotional moment.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: Like, I was locked in on Coach Schrute. But yeah, I was like, I didn't really like process it till we were at dinner. I was like, Coach, did you see like Dwight Schrute walk right past us?
00:05:26
Speaker 3: That's amazing.
00:05:27
Speaker 5: So I wish I mentioned the moments we saw, but yeah, it was crazy.
00:05:30
Speaker 3: A moment you'll never forget.
00:05:31
Speaker 5: Did you notice that?
00:05:32
Speaker 1: I didn't see him. I had my back to him because I'm facing him. And he just kept going, kept talking. And then like 20 minutes later, we're just mid-conversation. And he's like, wait a second. I saw Dwight Schrute when we were outside talking.
00:05:49
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. And why was he? Well, I guess we'll never know.
00:05:52
Speaker 5: We looked it up.
00:05:53
Speaker 1: He was speaking on campus.
00:05:55
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:05:56
Speaker 3: The power of Notre Dame. That's a great example. Yeah. We can have anyone come talk.
00:06:00
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was crazy.
00:06:01
Speaker 3: Dwight Schrute.
00:06:01
Speaker 5: I thought it was a dream. I love the office too.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:06:03
Speaker 5: You know, so like seeing that, I was like, what? Like, I didn't know what I was struck. I have no idea what to say. I didn't even mention it to coach. Yeah.
00:06:12
Speaker 4: And did that conversation end pretty clearly though? He was like, I want to be here. And it was over at that point.
00:06:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, and Coach was like, let's do it or something.
00:06:22
Speaker 1: I'm like, that's absolute. Like, this has been the best visit ever. And he said he was coming, and that was a great day for our program right there.
00:06:32
Speaker 3: I love it. And you're from Indiana, Coach?
00:06:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm from Indiana. You know, moved to Indianapolis in middle school, and I grew up a huge Notre Dame football fan. Like, I would like, you know. laying like on the floor in front of the TV, like every Saturday morning, like that was part of my ritual and what I did. So I grew up on it. So, um, I went to cathedral high school, like fighting Irish, you know, Navy blue, uh, gold, like the entire thing. We were like a mini Notre Dame. Um, so that was like, so cool for me. And, you know, I've been coaching, um, most of my career has been in Indiana and, um, just to get the opportunity to like be the head coach here. Like that was about as quick as he said, yes, was about as quick as I said, yes. Um, because it was like, I was like, man, I could be the head coach at like, you know, one of the major universities, you know, not only in our state in across the country, across the world. And, uh, you know, as a kid that grew up rooting for Notre Dame, that's the coolest thing in the world for me.
00:07:50
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:07:51
Speaker 4: I love it. Before we dive too much into Notre Dame specifically and basketball, but like, is there any, do you guys have, who is like your biggest inspiration in life? Like when these big decisions are coming up, I know for myself, like I immediately go into talk. I mean, it's, it's my dad. Like I go to my dad and I say, here's the option I got X, Y, and Z. Here's why I like it. But what do you think? Like who in your life has inspired you and been there for you to where, This decision, you were bouncing it off of them as well.
00:08:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would like to say my dad, too.
00:08:20
Speaker 2: He's just been such a strong foundation in my corner, both good and bad. Yeah, I mean, I think that's an easy answer for me. I go to him with, you know, everything. Was he pushing Notre Dame as well?
00:08:33
Speaker 4: I mean, with your background, I figured he's probably like, I'll let my son make his decision, but Notre Dame.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it helps when you kind of know that you have to leave. No, because I loved Penn. I probably wouldn't have left Penn. Like, that was an amazing experience for me. But knowing I had to leave is, like, kind of in the back of your mind. And he would pose a question, like, what if blank?
00:08:54
Speaker 5: I'm, like, done. It would be like Notre Dame. I'm, like, green light, like, done.
00:08:58
Speaker 2: So it was kind of, like, an understood thing, honestly. But, yeah, my dad, like, we're a Catholic family. You know, like, Notre Dame for us is the Mecca. Right.
00:09:07
Speaker 5: Like, again, like, huge, huge fans. My uncle went here. My cousin went. My grandparents are in South Bend.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: Seriously?
00:09:14
Speaker 5: Yeah. So it's like, my uncle went to St. Joe, so did my aunt. Yeah, just like.
00:09:19
Speaker 4: You're going to have a lot of people at your games this year.
00:09:22
Speaker 5: I hope so. Yeah, I hope so. But, yeah, long story short, I don't.
00:09:28
Speaker 2: Know if you're pushing on me. I don't know if you needed to push it on me, honestly, especially with Coach Shrews here. Like, it was done pretty quick.
00:09:35
Speaker 3: Coach, how about for you?
00:09:35
Speaker 1: Inspiration or? Somebody you're always bouncing your ideas off of. I think obviously growing up, like my dad, like I always kind of like my role model and following him and kind of what he's done throughout his career and like where he is now. And then I have a lot of just great like friends and guys that I lean on, right? I've, I spent so much time, you know, work with Brad Stevens for 10 years, uh, Matt painter for four. Like I talked to those guys about a lot of decisions that are going on and happening with me. And then, uh, and then my wife, right. She's like, Right. The ultimate ride or die.
00:10:17
Speaker 3: Like coaches.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: We met in high school, went to junior and senior prom together. And she's been through every up and down with me. So like all decisions like start there and start with her. And then we kind of figure it out from there.
00:10:33
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:10:34
Speaker 4: What is what is life outside of basketball look like for you to something the fans might not know?
00:10:42
Speaker 1: Yeah. And mine's easy.
00:10:44
Speaker 3: Right.
00:10:44
Speaker 1: I don't have to think about this. Like, you know, I had four kids. So like, that's, that's what it is. Family, like families, like just spending time, like, you know, the two boys, Braden and Nick, and then two girls, Caitlin and Grace. And, uh, that's what our, our kind of family affair and that everything kind of involves around them and, uh, what they're doing in life.
00:11:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would echo some of that for sure, like family for me. I got three older sisters, trying to be a great brother, great son. So I would say my life's pretty simple outside of basketball. I read a little bit, go to.
00:11:22
Speaker 5: Church, and hang out with friends, you know, be a college kid. I hang out with my dog, too.
00:11:29
Speaker 3: You got a dog?
00:11:30
Speaker 5: Dog, golden retriever. You got a dog?
00:11:33
Speaker 4: I don't, but I always thought it was– cool when guys in college had a dog?
00:11:39
Speaker 5: I wish I had a dog. And I know it's my family.
00:11:41
Speaker 4: I was like, cause I didn't feel like I had the time.
00:11:45
Speaker 3: For it, but more respect to you. Got it. Family dog.
00:11:48
Speaker 5: That's still your dog. Yeah. It's still my dog. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 3: I'm thinking you got a dog at your place here.
00:11:54
Speaker 5: I couldn't, I wish I'm no, I'm never home.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: That's, that was my point. Yeah.
00:11:59
Speaker 1: That'd be tough.
00:12:01
Speaker 5: So awesome.
00:12:02
Speaker 4: Let's, let's, let's get back into recruiting for a second or, or really the portal. Like it's such a new college landscape. I missed it by six months. Portal and NIL was a whole different ballgame back in the day when I was playing football. You had to sit out a year. To be honest, you didn't think about it. Like I was going to get the degree here no matter what.
00:12:21
Speaker 1: Right.
00:12:22
Speaker 4: Then maybe a fifth year transfer. But for you specifically, and then coach will get into you and how you're navigating it, like. I guess first, how does it even work? Can you give the fans an idea? The moment you knew, I have to leave Penn, you join the portal, whatever that even means, and then are they just calling you? Are you calling him? I'm curious on the dynamic on how it works.
00:12:47
Speaker 2: So you have to submit a notification to transfer through compliance.
00:12:52
Speaker 5: So you'll type that out. It could be like a reason.
00:12:55
Speaker 2: And then the NCAA will give you videos to watch to educate you on your decision. And like your rules, your rights, like you should be able to come back. If not, you know, just like all kind of like a legislation right in front of you. Yeah. And you watch a few videos and then next thing you know, you're like, you enter the portal, which is like, you'll get an email notification from like ncaa.org.
00:13:17
Speaker 5: You have entered the portal. Transfer report.
00:13:20
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Like request submitted or something like that. I don't know exact words, but that's when you know, but I actually, it usually takes like two to three days. for that to go through the system of NCAA. And that's when you get, listen, what I understand is a database of players in the portal. But yeah, this time I submitted it. And I guess within the next few minutes, it went through, it cleared. And that's when Coach Farrelly called me. I didn't know I was in the portal yet. But as soon as I was in the portal.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: You thought you had a day to chill, right?
00:13:49
Speaker 5: I thought that's what, yeah, I was planning a day to chill.
00:13:52
Speaker 3: That's hilarious.
00:13:52
Speaker 5: But Coach Farrelly called and I was like, let's go.
00:13:55
Speaker 4: So- I guess now that you're here, how many schools were calling you or once that happened, it was.
00:14:03
Speaker 5: Yeah. I think it's so fast paced now that they'll get in contact.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Like once you're in the portal with like either like your agency or some of that nature and they'll just check your interest like right away probably. Um, so like you hear from a lot, but I think it's kind of narrow of like who you're kind of trying to move forward with per se. Um, especially with me being an older guy. Being through the process before, I knew what I wanted, as opposed to somebody going at the first time just trying to gauge what they might like.
00:14:35
Speaker 5: That could look a lot different, right, with tons of schools, play styles, money.
00:14:40
Speaker 3: I was about to say.
00:14:41
Speaker 5: What was the criteria for you?
00:14:43
Speaker 2: Criteria for me, probably different from others. I want to go to a school that I'm really proud to represent. That was big for me. Again, being at Penn, I was very proud to do that, and that's why I worked so hard is because I'm just proud to be a member of it Um, so like, that's like number one. And I try and almost disregard basketball much as possible in the beginning, just because if basketball does go bad, will I be, will I enjoy being a student there? Will I grow in other phases of my life? Kind of like a holistic approach there. Um, which is influenced by my dad. Um, and then it gets into all the basketball stuff, like fit play style, winning, just stuff that matters to you. Um, And then like money does matter, you know, somewhat. So yeah, that was kind of like my criteria, I would say. And you kind of get just education matters too for me. So like kind of get like a short list of schools already. You know, if you care a lot about academics, athletics, level, like high major, you know, stuff like that kind of narrows it down itself.
00:15:45
Speaker 5: And then it's best fit who you click with the most.
00:15:48
Speaker 3: Was it a stressful time? Um, was it like the recruiting?
00:15:52
Speaker 4: Some people like the recruiting process and I thought the recruiting process was stressful.
00:15:56
Speaker 3: I wanted to know where I was going.
00:15:57
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:15:58
Speaker 3: It wasn't that cool. Like I was like, let's figure it was the portal kind of like that.
00:16:01
Speaker 2: Yeah. The first time after West Point, it was the most overwhelming experience of my life.
00:16:05
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:16:06
Speaker 2: Um, I hated it. Like it really, really stressed me out. Um, but going through it another time, you kind of have your wits about you more.
00:16:15
Speaker 4: Right.
00:16:15
Speaker 2: Not everything that's shining is golden. You kind of understand that. So, I think it helped just being a little bit older and more mature. But, yeah, to your point, it was incredibly stressful. This one wasn't as much. I knew what I wanted, and I felt like the interest was mutual. Nice.
00:16:30
Speaker 5: So it was just like this one was as smooth as it can be, if I'm being honest. Nice. Yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker 3: That's the way you want it.
00:16:35
Speaker 5: But it is absolutely stressful.
00:16:37
Speaker 3: Coach, what about what you saw in his game when he entered the portal that you were excited about?
00:16:41
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:16:43
Speaker 1: Obviously, just, you know, the first thing was just the success that they had. Um, you know, he was, he was playing on a winning team and team that went, you know, went to the NCAA tournament and you see those things, but he's a huge part of it. And, um, let them in scoring, like had some big games. Like he's a guy that's scored in double figures his entire career. Um, and it's like, you know, if you look and you, you don't watch, if you just pulled up an ESPN picture of Ethan Roberts and, you know, and saw the stats and everything else, you're like, oh, man, this dude is a gunner. Like, he's running off screens. He's bombing threes. And then when you watch him play, like, he's a score. Like, it's not just like, oh, I just shoot threes or I just do that. Like, he scores in a lot of different ways. And that was something that was something we were looking for, somebody that could do multiple things, can score multiple ways. Um, but that winning background was, was really big and really important.
00:17:49
Speaker 3: It's awesome. What'd you average? Like almost 17 points a game.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:17:54
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:17:56
Speaker 4: If a recruit fan, someone in the portal wants their elevator pitch on why Notre Dame, what would you do?
00:18:04
Speaker 3: You got a minute, a minute.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Um, A, biggest brand in the world. B, great education. Then I would just get right to the basketball piece. Coach Shrewsbury, like what your goals are, being a pro. Coach Shrews coached the NBA, has had a ton of success at the college level. Around us, you know, our GM, Pat Garrity, played, went to Notre Dame. So you see how much Notre Dame means to you as a person. He came back, was a GM in the NBA. So it was on that side. Trey Whitted coached in the NBA as well. Our Dobo was a scout in the NBA. So if those three things matter to you, you know, this is the place to be.
00:18:37
Speaker 3: I agree. Coach, what's your, you're on the road recruiting.
00:18:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:40
Speaker 3: You got two minutes in the elevator.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:42
Speaker 1: Two minutes in the elevator. You, you first start with like what Notre Dame is and how special of a place it is. And then you talk about what it can do for you.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: Right.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: And that is, you know, if you played 10 years, 15 years professionally, like you, you still want to have 40 years of your life to live after that. Right. And like, what do you want to do with that? Like, what do you want to be? And how can this place help you, you know, continue to be great in what you're striving to be? And I think, you know, Notre Dame can do that. And then, you know, from there, it's like, I just want what's best for these guys. I'm trying to teach them everything that I've learned throughout my time coaching and coaching at the highest levels. And like we said, we got some other people that have, NBA backgrounds and experience. And, you know, we're going to give you what's real and how do you get there and how can you help survive when you get there and uh using our experiences to play a fun style and style that people want to watch people want to play in um you know Notre Dame's the place to be I agree.
00:19:58
Speaker 4: With everything you said is there anything that surprised either of you when you got to Notre Dame first time is there anything that was like I didn't realize this was gonna be the way it was for good or or for bad.
00:20:09
Speaker 1: Yeah I, you know what, for me, like, I don't know if anything surprised me. I think it was just the timing of everything.
00:20:17
Speaker 2: Right.
00:20:18
Speaker 1: Like I took the job here in the, the heart of chaos at the beginning of chaos.
00:20:25
Speaker 3: It's a different game, a different game.
00:20:28
Speaker 1: And it's like, was not anything that, that you're expecting.
00:20:33
Speaker 5: Right.
00:20:33
Speaker 1: So like nothing surprised me with like the school campus, like, how we operate, who we're trying to recruit. The timing has been really weird and very challenging. But Notre Dame as a whole has been kind of exactly what I thought it would be.
00:20:54
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would agree.
00:20:55
Speaker 2: I don't know if I've had any surprises. I think I was taken back a little bit about how much I'm in class.
00:21:02
Speaker 5: Coming from Penn. I know.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: I was going to ask that next.
00:21:06
Speaker 2: I've been in class a lot. It's been very challenging academically, which has been great for me.
00:21:11
Speaker 3: I enjoy that.
00:21:14
Speaker 5: I've been really surprised at that.
00:21:17
Speaker 3: Penn was pretty hard, huh? Penn was difficult, yes.
00:21:20
Speaker 5: This is right there.
00:21:23
Speaker 3: How many classes are you in?
00:21:24
Speaker 2: I'm in three currently. It's a master's program. I don't know if that has any difference.
00:21:31
Speaker 3: I did three. My fifth year was a non-degree seeking fifth year. I was in.
00:21:36
Speaker 3: Irish film and folklore. A couple of others like that.
00:21:41
Speaker 1: Viking history.
00:21:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, Viking history, yeah.
00:21:44
Speaker 3: So it's been difficult, but it was a good surprise.
00:21:47
Speaker 1: Great surprise, yeah.
00:21:49
Speaker 4: Have you felt at Notre Dame like the love? It may be different than the NBA, but the love from the professors?
00:21:54
Speaker 5: I was just about to say that. The NBA has been difficult.
00:21:58
Speaker 2: Well, it's been difficult enough, but my professors have been incredible. And even just my cohort itself, I just really enjoy the people.
00:22:06
Speaker 5: That matters a lot.
00:22:07
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:22:08
Speaker 5: I really enjoy them.
00:22:09
Speaker 3: They're awesome.
00:22:10
Speaker 4: It's kind of a bummer that other places aren't like that, but that is what makes Notre Dame a lot different.
00:22:15
Speaker 1: It's really unique that way.
00:22:17
Speaker 2: It is.
00:22:17
Speaker 1: We actually had– this was last week. I remember leaving the office, and it was 8 o'clock or so. And as I got to our conference room, three of our players were sitting in the conference room and their stats professor came over there to meet them to help them study for an upcoming exam.
00:22:40
Speaker 3: That's not happening everywhere.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: I'm walking down the stairs and I'm like, wow, that's unique. They really care about these guys and just want them to have the success.
00:22:54
Speaker 4: How do you balance as a player and as a coach building a winning culture and Being the best basketball player you can be with a workload like that with NIL, which we're about to get into, which is a whole other ballgame I didn't have to worry about. Wish I did, but didn't have to. And then playing at the highest level and being in class at the highest level.
00:23:15
Speaker 3: How do you do it?
00:23:16
Speaker 5: I think, A, it takes a special type of kid. I think Coach would agree to that. We've got a lot of smart guys in the locker room that take care of business in all facets of their life.
00:23:28
Speaker 2: Sometimes you don't know how you're going to do it, but you just do it. And it kind of becomes manageable more over time. But it's, to the credit, like to the professors, they work with you like more than any school I've ever seen. And even just my classmates. Like one just sent me a study guide because like got a podcast and stuff tonight and I got a test tomorrow morning.
00:23:48
Speaker 3: We'll get you out of here soon.
00:23:49
Speaker 2: No worries.
00:23:50
Speaker 5: But that's the point.
00:23:50
Speaker 2: It's just like people are around to help and they really care about you as a person. So when you ask for it, they give you help.
00:23:57
Speaker 5: I agree.
00:23:58
Speaker 3: Coach, how about from you? What have you seen from the players?
00:24:01
Speaker 1: I think bringing the right guys in, you know, first and foremost. Like, that's been really important to us. And guys that want to be challenged and want to push themselves. But then, like, doing enough to, like, not overstep, right? So, like, these guys are in class. They're coming in during off times to get shots up, to get better at their game, to keep working. we have practice now they have stuff at night. Like it tells me in my job is like, I need to be really efficient with their time when I have them. Right. Like, so let's, let's get right to what we need to do and let's cover that. And let's leave here feeling good about it in as timely a manner as possible, instead of just dragging it along for no reason. Um, we try and be efficient with what we do now, you know, so they can, all right, I've gotten this work done. And now I move to the next thing.
00:25:03
Speaker 4: I haven't thought of it that way, but it makes sense because it's a fine line you would love every minute extra you can get. But you understand the value of Notre Dame and understand that they have other responsibilities that make this place so special. So you have to balance that.
00:25:16
Speaker 3: Yeah. Makes sense. Let's get into NIL. Totally crazy different landscape.
00:25:23
Speaker 4: You came here. That was the one thing that was just a little bit different, unexpected. It's it's it is it feels like the Wild West. I'm very happy for all the players for NIL. I think I think they deserve it. What is your experience kind of in general been for both you coaching players that now have this new thing that they're worried about and spending time on? And then for you, what is NIL like in the basketball space at Notre Dame?
00:25:50
Speaker 2: Well, I think like rally has been so helpful for me that I don't worry about it too much. I got my role to me is playing basketball.
00:25:59
Speaker 5: Like, that's my job.
00:26:01
Speaker 2: So, like, I'm not worried about building a brand for myself personally at this time. I'm worried about getting the best experience at Notre Dame and winning basketball games. But to answer your question, like, you know, rallies help me so much, streamline everything to where I show up and do what I need to do.
00:26:21
Speaker 5: But I don't know if I.
00:26:22
Speaker 2: Do a whole lot as much as I thought I would, I guess. Like, from the outside perspective, it's the Wild West and stuff. To me, it's been pretty, like, Pretty tame.
00:26:30
Speaker 5: Organized and regulated. I don't know.
00:26:32
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:26:33
Speaker 5: I think stuff you see on Twitter, I mean, I could type a lie on.
00:26:37
Speaker 2: Twitter, but everybody's going to retweet it and like it. Like, Ethan Roberts is getting $ 12 million a year.
00:26:41
Speaker 5: I don't know. I have questions.
00:26:44
Speaker 3: For that, too.
00:26:44
Speaker 2: I just don't know how true it is. Everything you might see on Twitter, you don't get fact-checked on there.
00:26:50
Speaker 5: So I guess I would counter that with I'm not sure it's as wild as people think. Would you agree with that, Coach Cruz? I don't know.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: That's fair. And like it's different, right, too.
00:27:04
Speaker 4: Maybe a lot of people are coming off of the football landscape, right, and they're talking about Arch Manning making $ 6 million or whatever's going on. That could be a difference, but I do think it's inflated everywhere. You know, you hear everyone say this guy's making this, and.
00:27:18
Speaker 3: It's probably half that, so I get that.
00:27:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, right.
00:27:21
Speaker 3: But that's awesome that Raleigh's working in that way. That's the whole point.
00:27:23
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's been incredible.
00:27:25
Speaker 4: How about for you, Coach, like, leading a group of men that now have another thing that is going on, whether they're worried about it or not, it's here.
00:27:32
Speaker 1: Right. And I think, um, and I will say like being in it and being in the, the heart of it. Um, I think it is as wild as.
00:27:41
Speaker 5: Probably, probably crazy. Yeah.
00:27:45
Speaker 4: I think he's happy to hear how focused you are, which is good, but he, he knows he, you hear it all.
00:27:53
Speaker 1: That's right. So it's just, You know what, I think it's almost like for these guys, it's like if I want to play at the highest level, I'm getting used to a little bit of what it is, right? Like, you know, you had your time when you need to be at practice. You have these other outside things that you need to take care of. Like, it helps. I think it's helping today's student-athletes kind of, manage their time a little better uh figuring out like what's most important to them what they want to be great at and then how do you balance all those things all right like um you know luckily like you know ethan's saying like you know it's pretty streamlined rally like really helps streamline a lot of things for him but you know there's a there's a buck of the time right there there's a buck of the time with school there's a buck of the time with Being a basketball player, there's a bucket of time of trying to spend time with my friends and like whatever it is, your social life, like you only have so much time in the day. And how are you able to manage that? And the people that handle it the best are the ones that have the most success. Because we say like anything that happens off the court, like it's coming with you on the court.
00:29:19
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:29:20
Speaker 1: So if you're not managing all these things the right way, like it's going to affect your play, which is part of the reason maybe why you have some opportunities for NIL.
00:29:32
Speaker 2: Right.
00:29:33
Speaker 4: I think what you said, too, is important. Like, let me just handle the court. The other stuff will come. There's no doubt.
00:29:39
Speaker 3: It's like.
00:29:40
Speaker 4: You talk to any, any sport, you know, high school kid and you're like, they're worried about recruiting. I guarantee you, if you just do what you need to do in the field, the rest will come.
00:29:49
Speaker 3: Right.
00:29:49
Speaker 4: Coach is not going to not see you if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Earlier in this, in this pod, you talked about agency. Like you said something about agency. Is that, every athlete we've had here from Notre Dame, whether it's soccer, hockey, now basketball, I'm very curious on like who has marketing agents like themselves. Is that just a football thing?
00:30:10
Speaker 3: Do you only need rally or do you need someone else? I'm curious, like the basketball landscape of that.
00:30:16
Speaker 5: Um, need might be a bit of a stress. Like you only need rally. You don't need an agent.
00:30:23
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:30:23
Speaker 2: Yeah. You don't need an agent. Like I think some guys on our team don't have agents. Um, I am with an agency called Priority Sports. I think they do a great job. In terms of me for the portal, they were a guide in terms of helping me with NIL contracts, stuff like that.
00:30:45
Speaker 5: I didn't have to handle it personally.
00:30:47
Speaker 2: I could handle just me going to the school. I do have a marketing person too, but again, I'm not worried about building my brand. I'm not actively texting them like, to reach out to people. Um, but I think it is really common. Like I would like for the portal, I think everybody almost has an agent.
00:31:04
Speaker 4: So it's a contractual agent and a marketing agent or those separate entities there.
00:31:09
Speaker 2: Priority is the same thing. Like it's a, what's the word they use? Um, darn, I forgot the word they use, but yeah, full service agency.
00:31:20
Speaker 5: Correct.
00:31:20
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:31:21
Speaker 3: So I have like a.
00:31:23
Speaker 5: Legal person, a tax person, uh, you know, all that stuff.
00:31:27
Speaker 2: But, um, I do think it is really important for the portal because I would have been getting calls from anything and everywhere. You know, just they kind of handled all that, if that makes sense.
00:31:38
Speaker 3: No, that does.
00:31:39
Speaker 4: And I'm always curious on who needs it, whether it's a waste of time or not. Can you handle it yourself?
00:31:44
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:31:46
Speaker 3: What about like percent of the basketball team that you think has agents? Is it half?
00:31:50
Speaker 5: I think Coach may know.
00:31:52
Speaker 1: I would say it's more than half. I would say we're probably– 90%.
00:31:58
Speaker 3: Yeah. 95%. I mean, I think that's cool. I think it's crazy. Five years ago, it wasn't.
00:32:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:04
Speaker 3: No one was thinking of having an agent.
00:32:05
Speaker 1: Two of the guys, two of the guys on our team, I'm their agent.
00:32:08
Speaker 3: So seriously.
00:32:10
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:32:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:11
Speaker 3: They got to get through you.
00:32:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker 5: They got it.
00:32:13
Speaker 3: That's better that way.
00:32:14
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:15
Speaker 1: Yeah. But no, we, I think most of the guys on our team do have an agent and that's, you know, transfer portal purposes. Right.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: Sure.
00:32:25
Speaker 1: That's where it comes into play a lot.
00:32:28
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:32:29
Speaker 1: Just the communication with so many schools, right? Like he would have gotten overwhelmed with a lot of calls if they didn't help kind of funnel those calls a certain way.
00:32:40
Speaker 4: So let's dive into that for a second. I mean, what a cool opportunity this year. You're going to be able to coach both your sons. How do you navigate being a coach, but being their dad, like.
00:32:52
Speaker 3: That seems amazing, but also seems difficult at times.
00:32:55
Speaker 1: How do you do it? I, you know what, it's, it's been, uh, it's been like unique and I know he, you know, he played for Fran McCaffrey at Penn and, uh, you know, I coached against Fran when I was at Penn state and he was at Iowa and he coached his boys and, you know, I talked to him about it. Um, you know, I had conversations with Greg McDermott about coaching his son about, um, Leon Rice. It's at Boise state, a bunch of different coaches, uh, before it happened and you know it's been like fun like I think Braden and he and I are so competitive that we're just trying to win that I don't think we understand the like the moment sure of what's happening he probably just sees you as coach at that point pretty much yeah yeah yeah and um so that part's like and now like having Nick there like Nick's been a great influence on Our team, you know, especially off the court with what he does and, you know, how he is as a teammate, he's been a great influence. But I think it's, you know, I think for those guys it's probably harder than it is for me.
00:34:12
Speaker 3: Sure.
00:34:13
Speaker 1: Right? Because they've got to earn the trust of the guys in the locker room that, you know, they're not telling me everything that's going on or they're not like they're earning their way to playing time or whatever it may be. And, um, you know, I, I probably, you've been here for whatever, eight weeks and three weeks in the fall. Like, um, Brayden probably gets yelled at more than anybody else.
00:34:41
Speaker 5: True.
00:34:41
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:34:42
Speaker 4: Did you ever have a vision at all of coaching your kids at the next level or, or was it no way?
00:34:48
Speaker 5: Right.
00:34:48
Speaker 3: I mean, it's hard to even think about.
00:34:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:34:51
Speaker 4: And on the topic of vision and like, dreams and aspirations. This is kind of a question I always have for, for any athlete or coach at any level or any sport. Do you guys, like, for example, I would dream like almost a year, like periods. I never, I never thought I would try to play in the NFL. I was like, I gotta be a high school starting quarterback. If that happens, we'll go here. I want to be a D one college quarterback. That is my goal. Let me work on that. Are you like, how, how far do you let yourself dream for, for coaching and for playing? Are you kind of like I did? I'm always curious.
00:35:28
Speaker 1: I started, you know what, this is, I knew I wanted to coach right when I was getting out of college and I set this crazy dream. I was like, man, I want to be a head coach by the time I'm 30. Um, not knowing like no clue, like how hard that would be.
00:35:44
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:35:46
Speaker 1: I was, I was just naive as, as all get out. Um, And I set that goal. And then from there, it was just like year to year. Like, man, I just want to be the best coach that I can be, you know, as an assistant coach here or as an assistant coach here. And like, and, and then I've kind of, you know, it's really moved year to year and trying to like accomplish the goal that you set in front of you that year. I love it.
00:36:17
Speaker 3: How about for you?
00:36:19
Speaker 5: This is a good question.
00:36:21
Speaker 2: Um, I honestly dream out really far ahead. Like for example, in high school, when I was like, I was touring division threes in my senior year, just cause I had no offers. I still thought I was going to the NBA, which is insane.
00:36:35
Speaker 3: That's good though.
00:36:36
Speaker 5: Um, so like, I don't know, like I dream, I envisioned feelings like, like even just for this season, just feelings I'm going to have ones of positivity. So like that, that can be year to year.
00:36:49
Speaker 2: Um, but I don't know, I dream pretty far out and I don't like set an expectation per se, like kind of just sets more of a, I kind of just get like a little fire, like ambition about me. Cause I think I can get it, attain it. So I go pretty far out.
00:37:05
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:37:05
Speaker 5: I go pretty far out.
00:37:06
Speaker 3: That's fair. It's different for everyone that we've talked to. So I've always thought that's interesting.
00:37:10
Speaker 4: Cause I, I definitely wasn't running around in high school thinking about NFL.
00:37:14
Speaker 3: I just was trying to take it.
00:37:16
Speaker 4: One right maybe that just helped me like really stress and just think of one thing at a time but everybody's different that's fair and not looking too far ahead but like what are you guys most excited about for this upcoming basketball season which is less than a month away for the start day which we were talking about.
00:37:29
Speaker 1: Yeah it you know what we were we were kind of talking about this um in the film room today as a team um different things like i i think i'm most excited about um I see the work that these guys are putting in, and we're playing a pretty fun style of basketball that's very unselfish. A lot of guys are making plays and playing for each other. I'm excited to watch how this group can keep growing. We've laid the foundation of who we want to be, and now– how far can we take this?
00:38:13
Speaker 5: Right.
00:38:14
Speaker 1: And like, how crazy can we dream and what can we accomplish?
00:38:18
Speaker 5: Awesome.
00:38:20
Speaker 3: I would echo that.
00:38:21
Speaker 2: Like how, man, I just think our group is so unique. We've got a great group of individuals like off the court. We were very close on the court, very connected as well. Like, I'm just excited for us to blossom, honestly, see where we can go. And yeah, it's like, I'm just excited personally just to wear Notre Dame and play for Coach Shrews, this school, play with this team. I just feel nothing but positivity and energy amongst the guys as well.
00:38:50
Speaker 5: It's just pure excitement, joy for each other. I'm excited to get going.
00:38:55
Speaker 4: This could be a Notre Dame thing or it could be wrong to be honest, but going to Rome is going to be pretty sweet. I don't think any other basketball schools are doing that really, but How cool is that? Like, are you guys looking forward? Is that something you guys already talked about? I imagine a lot. You're going to go to Rome and play. Is it Villanova? Villanova, yeah. That's going to be an amazing trip. That seems like an entertaining thing to me, obviously. I don't think other schools are doing that. How exciting is that?
00:39:23
Speaker 1: It's so unique and special. We get a chance to open college basketball. It's the first college basketball game of the season the day before anybody else gets to play. All eyes are on Notre Dame that day. Just the chance to represent Notre Dame to go to Rome, play in Rome. Um, but everything that comes with that, um, you know, getting a chance to, to go to, um, the Vatican and spend time there, go through all, all the other, um, you know, the, the monuments of the Colosseum and everything else.
00:40:08
Speaker 3: It's where's the game going to be played.
00:40:11
Speaker 1: It's a great question.
00:40:12
Speaker 3: Okay. Hey, we're not looking too far ahead of taking it. I have no idea.
00:40:17
Speaker 1: It's in Rome. It's in Rome. Yeah, it's a court, 50 feet. Got two goals.
00:40:25
Speaker 3: It doesn't matter.
00:40:25
Speaker 1: Two goals, a shot clock, and hopefully it's not raining or something. I'm not real sure.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: There's some kind of.
00:40:33
Speaker 1: Arena there that we're going to play in. But it's so unique, so cool. When we got offered it, it was like a yes right away. You can't pass that.
00:40:45
Speaker 4: So in this NIL world, what has been one of your favorite partnerships that you've done?
00:40:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, probably a recent one with suits to you out of Chicago. So, yeah, we're getting custom suits. They're putting.
00:40:59
Speaker 5: Like a navy blue suit with like gold lining on the inside for the Irish baby. So, yeah, really excited. We're going to wear those in Rome.
00:41:08
Speaker 3: I was going to say, you keep saying we. They're doing the team.
00:41:10
Speaker 5: They did the whole team. Yeah, it's really cool.
00:41:11
Speaker 2: They came in and got all our measurements, show the fabrics we're wearing. Yeah, gave us some hats.
00:41:19
Speaker 1: It was some gear.
00:41:20
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:41:20
Speaker 5: It was sweet.
00:41:21
Speaker 3: Did that start with you or did they come to the team?
00:41:25
Speaker 5: I think they came to the team. Yeah, they came to the team. I think Coach Shrews had something to do with that.
00:41:30
Speaker 1: We had just a conversation about like, hey, we're going to Rome. Like we should dress up. We should all look nice. We should all present the right way. And just kind of threw the idea out there to these guys. And then like a couple of days later, You know, rallies like, hey.
00:41:51
Speaker 3: Got somebody worked it out for us.
00:41:53
Speaker 1: And we're like, hey, like they're going to come here. They're going to measure everybody and we're going to get custom suits made.
00:42:00
Speaker 3: So we look good. Yeah. Play good.
00:42:02
Speaker 5: That's right.
00:42:03
Speaker 3: That's right. That's right. I'm all for it.
00:42:05
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:42:05
Speaker 3: Is there a.
00:42:07
Speaker 4: Is there a dream NIL partnership for you? This is kind of your time to just go for it.
00:42:15
Speaker 2: I think it would be cool to work with a dealership and get a cool car like Coach Shrews or something.
00:42:19
Speaker 5: That would be pretty cool.
00:42:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be.
00:42:23
Speaker 5: A car would be awesome. But other than that, I don't know.
00:42:26
Speaker 3: There's a whole section there that would be really good.
00:42:29
Speaker 5: A car would be sweet, man.
00:42:31
Speaker 3: A car.
00:42:32
Speaker 5: That would be a car.
00:42:34
Speaker 3: Coach, I agree with you. All of those are amazing.
00:42:36
Speaker 4: If you could change one thing about the current NIL landscape in the last five years of NIL.
00:42:43
Speaker 3: What would you change? Either of you?
00:42:44
Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't, you know what? I like, I think, um, I think coaches get a bad rap that like, we don't like NIL or something.
00:42:59
Speaker 5: Right.
00:43:00
Speaker 1: Like there, there's all this stuff that's happening, you know, with like the government and like the, um, all these, you know, this protect college sports stuff. Um, Like I actually love it.
00:43:15
Speaker 2: Right.
00:43:15
Speaker 1: Like these guys should be getting paid, um, for what they do for the brands that they create for what they can do with success for not only the basketball program, the football program, but for the university as a whole. Um, you know, I think they have an ad, a lot of value. So I don't know if I would change anything about NIL. Like, um, You know, I think it's, you know, they've earned it. And the players before, you've helped earned it for these guys, right? That part of it, you know, now it's just about, you know, managing it the right way.
00:44:00
Speaker 3: Which Notre Dame is obviously at the forefront.
00:44:03
Speaker 1: Rally's doing a great job with helping our guys manage it and understand, you know, paying their taxes, like, you know, understanding, like putting it away and saving it and finding, you know, investing in different things where, you know, I think we're doing a great job of educating our guys on how to take advantage of it, but how to let that money work for you. Would you change anything or would you agree?
00:44:32
Speaker 5: I'll keep it coming.
00:44:34
Speaker 3: You brought up, I got two more.
00:44:36
Speaker 4: You brought up a good, a good point of like, It's here, so we might as well embrace it and then let's put the infrastructure in place for these guys. What is Notre Dame men's basketball doing to allow your players to know what to do when the money does come in for NIL?
00:44:53
Speaker 1: I think our athletic department does a great job of really putting the things in front of them that are helpful to be able to this isn't a one-time thing. Like, um, yeah, like this could stop at any point in time, just like anybody else, like my job, my, my, you know, family's job or like anybody around here, like the jobs could stop and the money could stop at any point in time. And you have no idea when that's going to happen.
00:45:30
Speaker 2: Right.
00:45:31
Speaker 1: Like, what are you going to do with what you're getting now to help take care of you in the future to help carry your family and your kids and everybody else in the future. And that's the main thing is like trying to educate them on that because it's going to be useful now as a 20, you know, 18 to sometimes 23, 24 year olds to weigh in the, in the future when you're older.
00:46:03
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, again, Rally has been amazing. I talk to, like, four people almost daily from Rally. They're just always there to help. So, like, any help you need, they're there for you. Even infrastructure like an app that now, like, our money comes into, they can calculate, like, the taxes or, like, you can put it away for taxes. Like, the app does it for you. So, certain infrastructure things, too. But I think it's just the people that really help. Like, kind of Coach Schroeder's loon, too. We have the resources around us and knowledgeable people.
00:46:34
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:46:35
Speaker 4: I think we finished with this question here is if there's a young athlete out there right now wants to be a Notre Dame men's basketball player, you know, he's having the big dreams we were just talking about.
00:46:46
Speaker 3: What would the advice be for him?
00:46:50
Speaker 1: Work on your game. Like we talked about, like, you know, I think money is there for you. If you're doing what you're supposed to do. Right. Don't let that drive your decisions. Put yourself in the best position possible for you to excel and what you want to excel in. Like if I want to excel as a basketball player, like put all your time into that. I want to excel as a student. Put your time into that. And the benefits will come from that if that's your focus. Yeah. If your focus is just on making money, you can probably go do it anywhere. but like you're going to fall short somewhere else. So, you know, find what it is that you love to do and invest your time into that.
00:47:42
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:47:43
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:47:44
Speaker 5: From my experience, I would say, A, keep God first, work hard. Coach Shrew said it, but also like everybody's past a little different, especially today.
00:47:55
Speaker 2: Inspiration for me is Duncan Robinson. He went like division three. Like, I didn't know what my life was going to look like, but I knew I had to work hard. So like, Keep it the main thing, the main thing. Working hard and believe in yourself. That's a really important thing. And I would also say try and stop comparing yourself to other people.
00:48:14
Speaker 5: That's a big thing.
00:48:15
Speaker 3: Just bloom.
00:48:18
Speaker 5: Be my advice, yeah.
00:48:19
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. Look, this was awesome.
00:48:23
Speaker 4: Thank you guys for being here and sharing your thoughts and insights. I'm very excited for this upcoming season. I wish you guys the best of luck. And thank you guys for joining the playbook.
00:48:32
Speaker 2: Thanks so much.
00:48:32
Speaker 1: Thanks for having us.
00:48:33
Speaker 5: Thank you.
00:48:33
Speaker 3: Of course.
00:48:35
Speaker 4: Thanks for watching The Playbook, a rally podcast presented by Priority.
Speaker 1: Watch him play like he's a score.
00:00:01
Speaker 2: I'm like Notre Dame has been my dream school since I was very young.
00:00:05
Speaker 1: These guys should be getting paid.
00:00:07
Speaker 2: And as we're walking, we see Dwight Shrew from the office.
00:00:10
Speaker 3: What?
00:00:10
Speaker 1: How crazy can we dream and what can we accomplish?
00:00:15
Speaker 4: Welcome to The Playbook, a rally podcast presented by Priority. Ethan, Coach, thank you guys for being here and joining The Playbook. Really appreciate you guys coming here and joining. This is episode six. Really looking forward to sitting down with you guys and getting into it. all things NIL and Notre Dame basketball. So thank you guys for being here. We're going to start this off. We do it with every single, uh, episode we have just a little lightning round, just, uh, get going, get working, let the mind get going. So I'm just going to say a few things, like whatever comes to your mind, we'll do four or five of these.
00:00:44
Speaker 3: Just, just throw it out there. We'll go one by one.
00:00:46
Speaker 1: Uh, pregame ritual or.
00:00:50
Speaker 3: Uh, superstition.
00:00:51
Speaker 5: Nah, pregame not.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:00:54
Speaker 5: What about you?
00:00:55
Speaker 1: Um, it sounds weird, but, Every once in a while, I watch the challenge before games. I love it.
00:01:02
Speaker 3: I love it. Who's the locker room DJ?
00:01:06
Speaker 5: Brady Kaler. He's also by the Hawks. That helps, but yeah, I'd say BK.
00:01:10
Speaker 3: Okay. Do you know?
00:01:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't. For the film room, I'm the DJ for the film room.
00:01:16
Speaker 3: Okay. Well, let's go off that. What is his music choice, and then what is your music choice?
00:01:22
Speaker 5: BK's ranges from white girl music, like 2010s, to... Like some deep rap. Really? That's good to get the full. Yeah, it's pretty versatile. Yeah, VK's versatile.
00:01:35
Speaker 3: I love it. Coach, what are you listening to before?
00:01:38
Speaker 1: I tell these guys, like, as they're coming in, we like some feel-good music, but mostly stuff I want to listen to. So, like, we'll go some Kanye West, some Tupac, some Jay-Z, just random older kind of stuff. My vibe, my age.
00:01:56
Speaker 3: I get it. whatever works uh hidden talent you got one.
00:02:01
Speaker 2: Um mafia you know the game mafia oh i was like wait hold on yeah yeah we uh i got interested in my i don't know it's a video game no like a in-person game like i got interested here yeah i don't know yeah i'm not familiar it's hard to explain but you kind of manipulate people a little bit so i've been hey i got good at that it's my secret talent.
00:02:20
Speaker 5: Interesting yeah you do it in the locker room Yeah, on weekends.
00:02:25
Speaker 3: Are you due to your opponents?
00:02:26
Speaker 5: Yeah, my teammates.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: Awesome.
00:02:29
Speaker 3: You got a hidden talent?
00:02:30
Speaker 1: I don't think I have any talents at all. Just a ball coach? Yeah, just a ball coach. I'm solid in NCAA football, though. Solid.
00:02:43
Speaker 3: And who's your team?
00:02:45
Speaker 1: I love like getting like a small team and then trying to like build up and work your way up. So like last year, my squad was a middle Tennessee. That's awesome.
00:02:56
Speaker 3: A real challenge.
00:02:56
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Real challenge.
00:02:58
Speaker 3: One word for this upcoming season. Champs.
00:03:04
Speaker 1: Fun. Awesome.
00:03:06
Speaker 3: Awesome. Awesome. Cool. We're warmed up. Let's get to know you guys both.
00:03:10
Speaker 4: You know, I'd like to start too by just, going back on your journey, we'll go through both of you, but how did you get to Notre Dame and why Notre Dame?
00:03:18
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:03:18
Speaker 5: How I got here. Um, well, first off I went to West point.
00:03:22
Speaker 2: Um, I did not have many scholarship opportunities out of high school and that was around COVID as well. So I kind of hurt recruiting, especially for high school guys. Um, but yeah, I ended up at West point. I won rookie of the year and a few other things and transferred and ended up at UPenn. And that's where I graduated from my undergrad. Um, But thinking that Ivy League, you can't be a fifth year and still play. So I had to leave.
00:03:47
Speaker 5: I had no option.
00:03:49
Speaker 2: And I knew where I wanted to go the whole time. Notre Dame has been my dream school since I was very young. So yeah, it was like an easy answer for me if there was interest. Because that's always been the plan. So yeah, my first call was Coach Cruz in Notre Dame. And it was really like almost a yes right away. But I didn't want to say it right away, but that's how I got here.
00:04:12
Speaker 5: Huge blessing. I actually was in the Basilica. I would come to football games.
00:04:16
Speaker 3: Growing up.
00:04:16
Speaker 5: Growing up, right. My uncle went here.
00:04:18
Speaker 2: He's seizing tickets, so I would come up all the time to South Bend, and I would always pray just to be a Notre Dame basketball player.
00:04:26
Speaker 3: That's cool.
00:04:26
Speaker 1: Happy, yeah.
00:04:27
Speaker 5: It was a dream come true.
00:04:28
Speaker 1: Well, welcome.
00:04:28
Speaker 3: Dream come true.
00:04:29
Speaker 1: I know I'm supposed to talk about me, but tell them about when you committed. Yeah.
00:04:35
Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. We were at the Morris Inn. And we have to go to breakfast. And like I said, I knew I wanted to come here the whole time. Right. So visiting went well and everything. And like, as I'm talking to coach, he's like on a scooter and we're like right in front of what's that call? Like the, the door, whatever, right in front of the door. And I'm like getting emotional, like my hands on coach. I'm like, yeah, I want to be here. Like this is the spot for me. And as we're walking, we see Dwight Schrute from the office.
00:05:04
Speaker 2: What? Like walking around. Walking right past, I was looking at Coach and I see Dwight Schrute.
00:05:08
Speaker 5: I'm like, what? Like, I was starstruck. But again, at the moment, like, I didn't know if Coach Schrute saw him and it was like an emotional moment.
00:05:16
Speaker 2: Like, I was locked in on Coach Schrute. But yeah, I was like, I didn't really like process it till we were at dinner. I was like, Coach, did you see like Dwight Schrute walk right past us?
00:05:26
Speaker 3: That's amazing.
00:05:27
Speaker 5: So I wish I mentioned the moments we saw, but yeah, it was crazy.
00:05:30
Speaker 3: A moment you'll never forget.
00:05:31
Speaker 5: Did you notice that?
00:05:32
Speaker 1: I didn't see him. I had my back to him because I'm facing him. And he just kept going, kept talking. And then like 20 minutes later, we're just mid-conversation. And he's like, wait a second. I saw Dwight Schrute when we were outside talking.
00:05:49
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. And why was he? Well, I guess we'll never know.
00:05:52
Speaker 5: We looked it up.
00:05:53
Speaker 1: He was speaking on campus.
00:05:55
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:05:56
Speaker 3: The power of Notre Dame. That's a great example. Yeah. We can have anyone come talk.
00:06:00
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was crazy.
00:06:01
Speaker 3: Dwight Schrute.
00:06:01
Speaker 5: I thought it was a dream. I love the office too.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:06:03
Speaker 5: You know, so like seeing that, I was like, what? Like, I didn't know what I was struck. I have no idea what to say. I didn't even mention it to coach. Yeah.
00:06:12
Speaker 4: And did that conversation end pretty clearly though? He was like, I want to be here. And it was over at that point.
00:06:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, and Coach was like, let's do it or something.
00:06:22
Speaker 1: I'm like, that's absolute. Like, this has been the best visit ever. And he said he was coming, and that was a great day for our program right there.
00:06:32
Speaker 3: I love it. And you're from Indiana, Coach?
00:06:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm from Indiana. You know, moved to Indianapolis in middle school, and I grew up a huge Notre Dame football fan. Like, I would like, you know. laying like on the floor in front of the TV, like every Saturday morning, like that was part of my ritual and what I did. So I grew up on it. So, um, I went to cathedral high school, like fighting Irish, you know, Navy blue, uh, gold, like the entire thing. We were like a mini Notre Dame. Um, so that was like, so cool for me. And, you know, I've been coaching, um, most of my career has been in Indiana and, um, just to get the opportunity to like be the head coach here. Like that was about as quick as he said, yes, was about as quick as I said, yes. Um, because it was like, I was like, man, I could be the head coach at like, you know, one of the major universities, you know, not only in our state in across the country, across the world. And, uh, you know, as a kid that grew up rooting for Notre Dame, that's the coolest thing in the world for me.
00:07:50
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:07:51
Speaker 4: I love it. Before we dive too much into Notre Dame specifically and basketball, but like, is there any, do you guys have, who is like your biggest inspiration in life? Like when these big decisions are coming up, I know for myself, like I immediately go into talk. I mean, it's, it's my dad. Like I go to my dad and I say, here's the option I got X, Y, and Z. Here's why I like it. But what do you think? Like who in your life has inspired you and been there for you to where, This decision, you were bouncing it off of them as well.
00:08:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would like to say my dad, too.
00:08:20
Speaker 2: He's just been such a strong foundation in my corner, both good and bad. Yeah, I mean, I think that's an easy answer for me. I go to him with, you know, everything. Was he pushing Notre Dame as well?
00:08:33
Speaker 4: I mean, with your background, I figured he's probably like, I'll let my son make his decision, but Notre Dame.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it helps when you kind of know that you have to leave. No, because I loved Penn. I probably wouldn't have left Penn. Like, that was an amazing experience for me. But knowing I had to leave is, like, kind of in the back of your mind. And he would pose a question, like, what if blank?
00:08:54
Speaker 5: I'm, like, done. It would be like Notre Dame. I'm, like, green light, like, done.
00:08:58
Speaker 2: So it was kind of, like, an understood thing, honestly. But, yeah, my dad, like, we're a Catholic family. You know, like, Notre Dame for us is the Mecca. Right.
00:09:07
Speaker 5: Like, again, like, huge, huge fans. My uncle went here. My cousin went. My grandparents are in South Bend.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: Seriously?
00:09:14
Speaker 5: Yeah. So it's like, my uncle went to St. Joe, so did my aunt. Yeah, just like.
00:09:19
Speaker 4: You're going to have a lot of people at your games this year.
00:09:22
Speaker 5: I hope so. Yeah, I hope so. But, yeah, long story short, I don't.
00:09:28
Speaker 2: Know if you're pushing on me. I don't know if you needed to push it on me, honestly, especially with Coach Shrews here. Like, it was done pretty quick.
00:09:35
Speaker 3: Coach, how about for you?
00:09:35
Speaker 1: Inspiration or? Somebody you're always bouncing your ideas off of. I think obviously growing up, like my dad, like I always kind of like my role model and following him and kind of what he's done throughout his career and like where he is now. And then I have a lot of just great like friends and guys that I lean on, right? I've, I spent so much time, you know, work with Brad Stevens for 10 years, uh, Matt painter for four. Like I talked to those guys about a lot of decisions that are going on and happening with me. And then, uh, and then my wife, right. She's like, Right. The ultimate ride or die.
00:10:17
Speaker 3: Like coaches.
00:10:18
Speaker 1: We met in high school, went to junior and senior prom together. And she's been through every up and down with me. So like all decisions like start there and start with her. And then we kind of figure it out from there.
00:10:33
Speaker 3: I love it.
00:10:34
Speaker 4: What is what is life outside of basketball look like for you to something the fans might not know?
00:10:42
Speaker 1: Yeah. And mine's easy.
00:10:44
Speaker 3: Right.
00:10:44
Speaker 1: I don't have to think about this. Like, you know, I had four kids. So like, that's, that's what it is. Family, like families, like just spending time, like, you know, the two boys, Braden and Nick, and then two girls, Caitlin and Grace. And, uh, that's what our, our kind of family affair and that everything kind of involves around them and, uh, what they're doing in life.
00:11:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would echo some of that for sure, like family for me. I got three older sisters, trying to be a great brother, great son. So I would say my life's pretty simple outside of basketball. I read a little bit, go to.
00:11:22
Speaker 5: Church, and hang out with friends, you know, be a college kid. I hang out with my dog, too.
00:11:29
Speaker 3: You got a dog?
00:11:30
Speaker 5: Dog, golden retriever. You got a dog?
00:11:33
Speaker 4: I don't, but I always thought it was– cool when guys in college had a dog?
00:11:39
Speaker 5: I wish I had a dog. And I know it's my family.
00:11:41
Speaker 4: I was like, cause I didn't feel like I had the time.
00:11:45
Speaker 3: For it, but more respect to you. Got it. Family dog.
00:11:48
Speaker 5: That's still your dog. Yeah. It's still my dog. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
00:11:52
Speaker 3: I'm thinking you got a dog at your place here.
00:11:54
Speaker 5: I couldn't, I wish I'm no, I'm never home.
00:11:58
Speaker 3: That's, that was my point. Yeah.
00:11:59
Speaker 1: That'd be tough.
00:12:01
Speaker 5: So awesome.
00:12:02
Speaker 4: Let's, let's, let's get back into recruiting for a second or, or really the portal. Like it's such a new college landscape. I missed it by six months. Portal and NIL was a whole different ballgame back in the day when I was playing football. You had to sit out a year. To be honest, you didn't think about it. Like I was going to get the degree here no matter what.
00:12:21
Speaker 1: Right.
00:12:22
Speaker 4: Then maybe a fifth year transfer. But for you specifically, and then coach will get into you and how you're navigating it, like. I guess first, how does it even work? Can you give the fans an idea? The moment you knew, I have to leave Penn, you join the portal, whatever that even means, and then are they just calling you? Are you calling him? I'm curious on the dynamic on how it works.
00:12:47
Speaker 2: So you have to submit a notification to transfer through compliance.
00:12:52
Speaker 5: So you'll type that out. It could be like a reason.
00:12:55
Speaker 2: And then the NCAA will give you videos to watch to educate you on your decision. And like your rules, your rights, like you should be able to come back. If not, you know, just like all kind of like a legislation right in front of you. Yeah. And you watch a few videos and then next thing you know, you're like, you enter the portal, which is like, you'll get an email notification from like ncaa.org.
00:13:17
Speaker 5: You have entered the portal. Transfer report.
00:13:20
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Like request submitted or something like that. I don't know exact words, but that's when you know, but I actually, it usually takes like two to three days. for that to go through the system of NCAA. And that's when you get, listen, what I understand is a database of players in the portal. But yeah, this time I submitted it. And I guess within the next few minutes, it went through, it cleared. And that's when Coach Farrelly called me. I didn't know I was in the portal yet. But as soon as I was in the portal.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: You thought you had a day to chill, right?
00:13:49
Speaker 5: I thought that's what, yeah, I was planning a day to chill.
00:13:52
Speaker 3: That's hilarious.
00:13:52
Speaker 5: But Coach Farrelly called and I was like, let's go.
00:13:55
Speaker 4: So- I guess now that you're here, how many schools were calling you or once that happened, it was.
00:14:03
Speaker 5: Yeah. I think it's so fast paced now that they'll get in contact.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Like once you're in the portal with like either like your agency or some of that nature and they'll just check your interest like right away probably. Um, so like you hear from a lot, but I think it's kind of narrow of like who you're kind of trying to move forward with per se. Um, especially with me being an older guy. Being through the process before, I knew what I wanted, as opposed to somebody going at the first time just trying to gauge what they might like.
00:14:35
Speaker 5: That could look a lot different, right, with tons of schools, play styles, money.
00:14:40
Speaker 3: I was about to say.
00:14:41
Speaker 5: What was the criteria for you?
00:14:43
Speaker 2: Criteria for me, probably different from others. I want to go to a school that I'm really proud to represent. That was big for me. Again, being at Penn, I was very proud to do that, and that's why I worked so hard is because I'm just proud to be a member of it Um, so like, that's like number one. And I try and almost disregard basketball much as possible in the beginning, just because if basketball does go bad, will I be, will I enjoy being a student there? Will I grow in other phases of my life? Kind of like a holistic approach there. Um, which is influenced by my dad. Um, and then it gets into all the basketball stuff, like fit play style, winning, just stuff that matters to you. Um, And then like money does matter, you know, somewhat. So yeah, that was kind of like my criteria, I would say. And you kind of get just education matters too for me. So like kind of get like a short list of schools already. You know, if you care a lot about academics, athletics, level, like high major, you know, stuff like that kind of narrows it down itself.
00:15:45
Speaker 5: And then it's best fit who you click with the most.
00:15:48
Speaker 3: Was it a stressful time? Um, was it like the recruiting?
00:15:52
Speaker 4: Some people like the recruiting process and I thought the recruiting process was stressful.
00:15:56
Speaker 3: I wanted to know where I was going.
00:15:57
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:15:58
Speaker 3: It wasn't that cool. Like I was like, let's figure it was the portal kind of like that.
00:16:01
Speaker 2: Yeah. The first time after West Point, it was the most overwhelming experience of my life.
00:16:05
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:16:06
Speaker 2: Um, I hated it. Like it really, really stressed me out. Um, but going through it another time, you kind of have your wits about you more.
00:16:15
Speaker 4: Right.
00:16:15
Speaker 2: Not everything that's shining is golden. You kind of understand that. So, I think it helped just being a little bit older and more mature. But, yeah, to your point, it was incredibly stressful. This one wasn't as much. I knew what I wanted, and I felt like the interest was mutual. Nice.
00:16:30
Speaker 5: So it was just like this one was as smooth as it can be, if I'm being honest. Nice. Yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker 3: That's the way you want it.
00:16:35
Speaker 5: But it is absolutely stressful.
00:16:37
Speaker 3: Coach, what about what you saw in his game when he entered the portal that you were excited about?
00:16:41
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:16:43
Speaker 1: Obviously, just, you know, the first thing was just the success that they had. Um, you know, he was, he was playing on a winning team and team that went, you know, went to the NCAA tournament and you see those things, but he's a huge part of it. And, um, let them in scoring, like had some big games. Like he's a guy that's scored in double figures his entire career. Um, and it's like, you know, if you look and you, you don't watch, if you just pulled up an ESPN picture of Ethan Roberts and, you know, and saw the stats and everything else, you're like, oh, man, this dude is a gunner. Like, he's running off screens. He's bombing threes. And then when you watch him play, like, he's a score. Like, it's not just like, oh, I just shoot threes or I just do that. Like, he scores in a lot of different ways. And that was something that was something we were looking for, somebody that could do multiple things, can score multiple ways. Um, but that winning background was, was really big and really important.
00:17:49
Speaker 3: It's awesome. What'd you average? Like almost 17 points a game.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:17:54
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:17:56
Speaker 4: If a recruit fan, someone in the portal wants their elevator pitch on why Notre Dame, what would you do?
00:18:04
Speaker 3: You got a minute, a minute.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Um, A, biggest brand in the world. B, great education. Then I would just get right to the basketball piece. Coach Shrewsbury, like what your goals are, being a pro. Coach Shrews coached the NBA, has had a ton of success at the college level. Around us, you know, our GM, Pat Garrity, played, went to Notre Dame. So you see how much Notre Dame means to you as a person. He came back, was a GM in the NBA. So it was on that side. Trey Whitted coached in the NBA as well. Our Dobo was a scout in the NBA. So if those three things matter to you, you know, this is the place to be.
00:18:37
Speaker 3: I agree. Coach, what's your, you're on the road recruiting.
00:18:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:40
Speaker 3: You got two minutes in the elevator.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:18:42
Speaker 1: Two minutes in the elevator. You, you first start with like what Notre Dame is and how special of a place it is. And then you talk about what it can do for you.
00:18:54
Speaker 2: Right.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: And that is, you know, if you played 10 years, 15 years professionally, like you, you still want to have 40 years of your life to live after that. Right. And like, what do you want to do with that? Like, what do you want to be? And how can this place help you, you know, continue to be great in what you're striving to be? And I think, you know, Notre Dame can do that. And then, you know, from there, it's like, I just want what's best for these guys. I'm trying to teach them everything that I've learned throughout my time coaching and coaching at the highest levels. And like we said, we got some other people that have, NBA backgrounds and experience. And, you know, we're going to give you what's real and how do you get there and how can you help survive when you get there and uh using our experiences to play a fun style and style that people want to watch people want to play in um you know Notre Dame's the place to be I agree.
00:19:58
Speaker 4: With everything you said is there anything that surprised either of you when you got to Notre Dame first time is there anything that was like I didn't realize this was gonna be the way it was for good or or for bad.
00:20:09
Speaker 1: Yeah I, you know what, for me, like, I don't know if anything surprised me. I think it was just the timing of everything.
00:20:17
Speaker 2: Right.
00:20:18
Speaker 1: Like I took the job here in the, the heart of chaos at the beginning of chaos.
00:20:25
Speaker 3: It's a different game, a different game.
00:20:28
Speaker 1: And it's like, was not anything that, that you're expecting.
00:20:33
Speaker 5: Right.
00:20:33
Speaker 1: So like nothing surprised me with like the school campus, like, how we operate, who we're trying to recruit. The timing has been really weird and very challenging. But Notre Dame as a whole has been kind of exactly what I thought it would be.
00:20:54
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would agree.
00:20:55
Speaker 2: I don't know if I've had any surprises. I think I was taken back a little bit about how much I'm in class.
00:21:02
Speaker 5: Coming from Penn. I know.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: I was going to ask that next.
00:21:06
Speaker 2: I've been in class a lot. It's been very challenging academically, which has been great for me.
00:21:11
Speaker 3: I enjoy that.
00:21:14
Speaker 5: I've been really surprised at that.
00:21:17
Speaker 3: Penn was pretty hard, huh? Penn was difficult, yes.
00:21:20
Speaker 5: This is right there.
00:21:23
Speaker 3: How many classes are you in?
00:21:24
Speaker 2: I'm in three currently. It's a master's program. I don't know if that has any difference.
00:21:31
Speaker 3: I did three. My fifth year was a non-degree seeking fifth year. I was in.
00:21:36
Speaker 3: Irish film and folklore. A couple of others like that.
00:21:41
Speaker 1: Viking history.
00:21:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, Viking history, yeah.
00:21:44
Speaker 3: So it's been difficult, but it was a good surprise.
00:21:47
Speaker 1: Great surprise, yeah.
00:21:49
Speaker 4: Have you felt at Notre Dame like the love? It may be different than the NBA, but the love from the professors?
00:21:54
Speaker 5: I was just about to say that. The NBA has been difficult.
00:21:58
Speaker 2: Well, it's been difficult enough, but my professors have been incredible. And even just my cohort itself, I just really enjoy the people.
00:22:06
Speaker 5: That matters a lot.
00:22:07
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:22:08
Speaker 5: I really enjoy them.
00:22:09
Speaker 3: They're awesome.
00:22:10
Speaker 4: It's kind of a bummer that other places aren't like that, but that is what makes Notre Dame a lot different.
00:22:15
Speaker 1: It's really unique that way.
00:22:17
Speaker 2: It is.
00:22:17
Speaker 1: We actually had– this was last week. I remember leaving the office, and it was 8 o'clock or so. And as I got to our conference room, three of our players were sitting in the conference room and their stats professor came over there to meet them to help them study for an upcoming exam.
00:22:40
Speaker 3: That's not happening everywhere.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: I'm walking down the stairs and I'm like, wow, that's unique. They really care about these guys and just want them to have the success.
00:22:54
Speaker 4: How do you balance as a player and as a coach building a winning culture and Being the best basketball player you can be with a workload like that with NIL, which we're about to get into, which is a whole other ballgame I didn't have to worry about. Wish I did, but didn't have to. And then playing at the highest level and being in class at the highest level.
00:23:15
Speaker 3: How do you do it?
00:23:16
Speaker 5: I think, A, it takes a special type of kid. I think Coach would agree to that. We've got a lot of smart guys in the locker room that take care of business in all facets of their life.
00:23:28
Speaker 2: Sometimes you don't know how you're going to do it, but you just do it. And it kind of becomes manageable more over time. But it's, to the credit, like to the professors, they work with you like more than any school I've ever seen. And even just my classmates. Like one just sent me a study guide because like got a podcast and stuff tonight and I got a test tomorrow morning.
00:23:48
Speaker 3: We'll get you out of here soon.
00:23:49
Speaker 2: No worries.
00:23:50
Speaker 5: But that's the point.
00:23:50
Speaker 2: It's just like people are around to help and they really care about you as a person. So when you ask for it, they give you help.
00:23:57
Speaker 5: I agree.
00:23:58
Speaker 3: Coach, how about from you? What have you seen from the players?
00:24:01
Speaker 1: I think bringing the right guys in, you know, first and foremost. Like, that's been really important to us. And guys that want to be challenged and want to push themselves. But then, like, doing enough to, like, not overstep, right? So, like, these guys are in class. They're coming in during off times to get shots up, to get better at their game, to keep working. we have practice now they have stuff at night. Like it tells me in my job is like, I need to be really efficient with their time when I have them. Right. Like, so let's, let's get right to what we need to do and let's cover that. And let's leave here feeling good about it in as timely a manner as possible, instead of just dragging it along for no reason. Um, we try and be efficient with what we do now, you know, so they can, all right, I've gotten this work done. And now I move to the next thing.
00:25:03
Speaker 4: I haven't thought of it that way, but it makes sense because it's a fine line you would love every minute extra you can get. But you understand the value of Notre Dame and understand that they have other responsibilities that make this place so special. So you have to balance that.
00:25:16
Speaker 3: Yeah. Makes sense. Let's get into NIL. Totally crazy different landscape.
00:25:23
Speaker 4: You came here. That was the one thing that was just a little bit different, unexpected. It's it's it is it feels like the Wild West. I'm very happy for all the players for NIL. I think I think they deserve it. What is your experience kind of in general been for both you coaching players that now have this new thing that they're worried about and spending time on? And then for you, what is NIL like in the basketball space at Notre Dame?
00:25:50
Speaker 2: Well, I think like rally has been so helpful for me that I don't worry about it too much. I got my role to me is playing basketball.
00:25:59
Speaker 5: Like, that's my job.
00:26:01
Speaker 2: So, like, I'm not worried about building a brand for myself personally at this time. I'm worried about getting the best experience at Notre Dame and winning basketball games. But to answer your question, like, you know, rallies help me so much, streamline everything to where I show up and do what I need to do.
00:26:21
Speaker 5: But I don't know if I.
00:26:22
Speaker 2: Do a whole lot as much as I thought I would, I guess. Like, from the outside perspective, it's the Wild West and stuff. To me, it's been pretty, like, Pretty tame.
00:26:30
Speaker 5: Organized and regulated. I don't know.
00:26:32
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:26:33
Speaker 5: I think stuff you see on Twitter, I mean, I could type a lie on.
00:26:37
Speaker 2: Twitter, but everybody's going to retweet it and like it. Like, Ethan Roberts is getting $ 12 million a year.
00:26:41
Speaker 5: I don't know. I have questions.
00:26:44
Speaker 3: For that, too.
00:26:44
Speaker 2: I just don't know how true it is. Everything you might see on Twitter, you don't get fact-checked on there.
00:26:50
Speaker 5: So I guess I would counter that with I'm not sure it's as wild as people think. Would you agree with that, Coach Cruz? I don't know.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: That's fair. And like it's different, right, too.
00:27:04
Speaker 4: Maybe a lot of people are coming off of the football landscape, right, and they're talking about Arch Manning making $ 6 million or whatever's going on. That could be a difference, but I do think it's inflated everywhere. You know, you hear everyone say this guy's making this, and.
00:27:18
Speaker 3: It's probably half that, so I get that.
00:27:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, right.
00:27:21
Speaker 3: But that's awesome that Raleigh's working in that way. That's the whole point.
00:27:23
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's been incredible.
00:27:25
Speaker 4: How about for you, Coach, like, leading a group of men that now have another thing that is going on, whether they're worried about it or not, it's here.
00:27:32
Speaker 1: Right. And I think, um, and I will say like being in it and being in the, the heart of it. Um, I think it is as wild as.
00:27:41
Speaker 5: Probably, probably crazy. Yeah.
00:27:45
Speaker 4: I think he's happy to hear how focused you are, which is good, but he, he knows he, you hear it all.
00:27:53
Speaker 1: That's right. So it's just, You know what, I think it's almost like for these guys, it's like if I want to play at the highest level, I'm getting used to a little bit of what it is, right? Like, you know, you had your time when you need to be at practice. You have these other outside things that you need to take care of. Like, it helps. I think it's helping today's student-athletes kind of, manage their time a little better uh figuring out like what's most important to them what they want to be great at and then how do you balance all those things all right like um you know luckily like you know ethan's saying like you know it's pretty streamlined rally like really helps streamline a lot of things for him but you know there's a there's a buck of the time right there there's a buck of the time with school there's a buck of the time with Being a basketball player, there's a bucket of time of trying to spend time with my friends and like whatever it is, your social life, like you only have so much time in the day. And how are you able to manage that? And the people that handle it the best are the ones that have the most success. Because we say like anything that happens off the court, like it's coming with you on the court.
00:29:19
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:29:20
Speaker 1: So if you're not managing all these things the right way, like it's going to affect your play, which is part of the reason maybe why you have some opportunities for NIL.
00:29:32
Speaker 2: Right.
00:29:33
Speaker 4: I think what you said, too, is important. Like, let me just handle the court. The other stuff will come. There's no doubt.
00:29:39
Speaker 3: It's like.
00:29:40
Speaker 4: You talk to any, any sport, you know, high school kid and you're like, they're worried about recruiting. I guarantee you, if you just do what you need to do in the field, the rest will come.
00:29:49
Speaker 3: Right.
00:29:49
Speaker 4: Coach is not going to not see you if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Earlier in this, in this pod, you talked about agency. Like you said something about agency. Is that, every athlete we've had here from Notre Dame, whether it's soccer, hockey, now basketball, I'm very curious on like who has marketing agents like themselves. Is that just a football thing?
00:30:10
Speaker 3: Do you only need rally or do you need someone else? I'm curious, like the basketball landscape of that.
00:30:16
Speaker 5: Um, need might be a bit of a stress. Like you only need rally. You don't need an agent.
00:30:23
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:30:23
Speaker 2: Yeah. You don't need an agent. Like I think some guys on our team don't have agents. Um, I am with an agency called Priority Sports. I think they do a great job. In terms of me for the portal, they were a guide in terms of helping me with NIL contracts, stuff like that.
00:30:45
Speaker 5: I didn't have to handle it personally.
00:30:47
Speaker 2: I could handle just me going to the school. I do have a marketing person too, but again, I'm not worried about building my brand. I'm not actively texting them like, to reach out to people. Um, but I think it is really common. Like I would like for the portal, I think everybody almost has an agent.
00:31:04
Speaker 4: So it's a contractual agent and a marketing agent or those separate entities there.
00:31:09
Speaker 2: Priority is the same thing. Like it's a, what's the word they use? Um, darn, I forgot the word they use, but yeah, full service agency.
00:31:20
Speaker 5: Correct.
00:31:20
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:31:21
Speaker 3: So I have like a.
00:31:23
Speaker 5: Legal person, a tax person, uh, you know, all that stuff.
00:31:27
Speaker 2: But, um, I do think it is really important for the portal because I would have been getting calls from anything and everywhere. You know, just they kind of handled all that, if that makes sense.
00:31:38
Speaker 3: No, that does.
00:31:39
Speaker 4: And I'm always curious on who needs it, whether it's a waste of time or not. Can you handle it yourself?
00:31:44
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:31:46
Speaker 3: What about like percent of the basketball team that you think has agents? Is it half?
00:31:50
Speaker 5: I think Coach may know.
00:31:52
Speaker 1: I would say it's more than half. I would say we're probably– 90%.
00:31:58
Speaker 3: Yeah. 95%. I mean, I think that's cool. I think it's crazy. Five years ago, it wasn't.
00:32:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:04
Speaker 3: No one was thinking of having an agent.
00:32:05
Speaker 1: Two of the guys, two of the guys on our team, I'm their agent.
00:32:08
Speaker 3: So seriously.
00:32:10
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:32:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:11
Speaker 3: They got to get through you.
00:32:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker 5: They got it.
00:32:13
Speaker 3: That's better that way.
00:32:14
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:15
Speaker 1: Yeah. But no, we, I think most of the guys on our team do have an agent and that's, you know, transfer portal purposes. Right.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: Sure.
00:32:25
Speaker 1: That's where it comes into play a lot.
00:32:28
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:32:29
Speaker 1: Just the communication with so many schools, right? Like he would have gotten overwhelmed with a lot of calls if they didn't help kind of funnel those calls a certain way.
00:32:40
Speaker 4: So let's dive into that for a second. I mean, what a cool opportunity this year. You're going to be able to coach both your sons. How do you navigate being a coach, but being their dad, like.
00:32:52
Speaker 3: That seems amazing, but also seems difficult at times.
00:32:55
Speaker 1: How do you do it? I, you know what, it's, it's been, uh, it's been like unique and I know he, you know, he played for Fran McCaffrey at Penn and, uh, you know, I coached against Fran when I was at Penn state and he was at Iowa and he coached his boys and, you know, I talked to him about it. Um, you know, I had conversations with Greg McDermott about coaching his son about, um, Leon Rice. It's at Boise state, a bunch of different coaches, uh, before it happened and you know it's been like fun like I think Braden and he and I are so competitive that we're just trying to win that I don't think we understand the like the moment sure of what's happening he probably just sees you as coach at that point pretty much yeah yeah yeah and um so that part's like and now like having Nick there like Nick's been a great influence on Our team, you know, especially off the court with what he does and, you know, how he is as a teammate, he's been a great influence. But I think it's, you know, I think for those guys it's probably harder than it is for me.
00:34:12
Speaker 3: Sure.
00:34:13
Speaker 1: Right? Because they've got to earn the trust of the guys in the locker room that, you know, they're not telling me everything that's going on or they're not like they're earning their way to playing time or whatever it may be. And, um, you know, I, I probably, you've been here for whatever, eight weeks and three weeks in the fall. Like, um, Brayden probably gets yelled at more than anybody else.
00:34:41
Speaker 5: True.
00:34:41
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:34:42
Speaker 4: Did you ever have a vision at all of coaching your kids at the next level or, or was it no way?
00:34:48
Speaker 5: Right.
00:34:48
Speaker 3: I mean, it's hard to even think about.
00:34:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:34:51
Speaker 4: And on the topic of vision and like, dreams and aspirations. This is kind of a question I always have for, for any athlete or coach at any level or any sport. Do you guys, like, for example, I would dream like almost a year, like periods. I never, I never thought I would try to play in the NFL. I was like, I gotta be a high school starting quarterback. If that happens, we'll go here. I want to be a D one college quarterback. That is my goal. Let me work on that. Are you like, how, how far do you let yourself dream for, for coaching and for playing? Are you kind of like I did? I'm always curious.
00:35:28
Speaker 1: I started, you know what, this is, I knew I wanted to coach right when I was getting out of college and I set this crazy dream. I was like, man, I want to be a head coach by the time I'm 30. Um, not knowing like no clue, like how hard that would be.
00:35:44
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:35:46
Speaker 1: I was, I was just naive as, as all get out. Um, And I set that goal. And then from there, it was just like year to year. Like, man, I just want to be the best coach that I can be, you know, as an assistant coach here or as an assistant coach here. And like, and, and then I've kind of, you know, it's really moved year to year and trying to like accomplish the goal that you set in front of you that year. I love it.
00:36:17
Speaker 3: How about for you?
00:36:19
Speaker 5: This is a good question.
00:36:21
Speaker 2: Um, I honestly dream out really far ahead. Like for example, in high school, when I was like, I was touring division threes in my senior year, just cause I had no offers. I still thought I was going to the NBA, which is insane.
00:36:35
Speaker 3: That's good though.
00:36:36
Speaker 5: Um, so like, I don't know, like I dream, I envisioned feelings like, like even just for this season, just feelings I'm going to have ones of positivity. So like that, that can be year to year.
00:36:49
Speaker 2: Um, but I don't know, I dream pretty far out and I don't like set an expectation per se, like kind of just sets more of a, I kind of just get like a little fire, like ambition about me. Cause I think I can get it, attain it. So I go pretty far out.
00:37:05
Speaker 3: That's good.
00:37:05
Speaker 5: I go pretty far out.
00:37:06
Speaker 3: That's fair. It's different for everyone that we've talked to. So I've always thought that's interesting.
00:37:10
Speaker 4: Cause I, I definitely wasn't running around in high school thinking about NFL.
00:37:14
Speaker 3: I just was trying to take it.
00:37:16
Speaker 4: One right maybe that just helped me like really stress and just think of one thing at a time but everybody's different that's fair and not looking too far ahead but like what are you guys most excited about for this upcoming basketball season which is less than a month away for the start day which we were talking about.
00:37:29
Speaker 1: Yeah it you know what we were we were kind of talking about this um in the film room today as a team um different things like i i think i'm most excited about um I see the work that these guys are putting in, and we're playing a pretty fun style of basketball that's very unselfish. A lot of guys are making plays and playing for each other. I'm excited to watch how this group can keep growing. We've laid the foundation of who we want to be, and now– how far can we take this?
00:38:13
Speaker 5: Right.
00:38:14
Speaker 1: And like, how crazy can we dream and what can we accomplish?
00:38:18
Speaker 5: Awesome.
00:38:20
Speaker 3: I would echo that.
00:38:21
Speaker 2: Like how, man, I just think our group is so unique. We've got a great group of individuals like off the court. We were very close on the court, very connected as well. Like, I'm just excited for us to blossom, honestly, see where we can go. And yeah, it's like, I'm just excited personally just to wear Notre Dame and play for Coach Shrews, this school, play with this team. I just feel nothing but positivity and energy amongst the guys as well.
00:38:50
Speaker 5: It's just pure excitement, joy for each other. I'm excited to get going.
00:38:55
Speaker 4: This could be a Notre Dame thing or it could be wrong to be honest, but going to Rome is going to be pretty sweet. I don't think any other basketball schools are doing that really, but How cool is that? Like, are you guys looking forward? Is that something you guys already talked about? I imagine a lot. You're going to go to Rome and play. Is it Villanova? Villanova, yeah. That's going to be an amazing trip. That seems like an entertaining thing to me, obviously. I don't think other schools are doing that. How exciting is that?
00:39:23
Speaker 1: It's so unique and special. We get a chance to open college basketball. It's the first college basketball game of the season the day before anybody else gets to play. All eyes are on Notre Dame that day. Just the chance to represent Notre Dame to go to Rome, play in Rome. Um, but everything that comes with that, um, you know, getting a chance to, to go to, um, the Vatican and spend time there, go through all, all the other, um, you know, the, the monuments of the Colosseum and everything else.
00:40:08
Speaker 3: It's where's the game going to be played.
00:40:11
Speaker 1: It's a great question.
00:40:12
Speaker 3: Okay. Hey, we're not looking too far ahead of taking it. I have no idea.
00:40:17
Speaker 1: It's in Rome. It's in Rome. Yeah, it's a court, 50 feet. Got two goals.
00:40:25
Speaker 3: It doesn't matter.
00:40:25
Speaker 1: Two goals, a shot clock, and hopefully it's not raining or something. I'm not real sure.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: There's some kind of.
00:40:33
Speaker 1: Arena there that we're going to play in. But it's so unique, so cool. When we got offered it, it was like a yes right away. You can't pass that.
00:40:45
Speaker 4: So in this NIL world, what has been one of your favorite partnerships that you've done?
00:40:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, probably a recent one with suits to you out of Chicago. So, yeah, we're getting custom suits. They're putting.
00:40:59
Speaker 5: Like a navy blue suit with like gold lining on the inside for the Irish baby. So, yeah, really excited. We're going to wear those in Rome.
00:41:08
Speaker 3: I was going to say, you keep saying we. They're doing the team.
00:41:10
Speaker 5: They did the whole team. Yeah, it's really cool.
00:41:11
Speaker 2: They came in and got all our measurements, show the fabrics we're wearing. Yeah, gave us some hats.
00:41:19
Speaker 1: It was some gear.
00:41:20
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:41:20
Speaker 5: It was sweet.
00:41:21
Speaker 3: Did that start with you or did they come to the team?
00:41:25
Speaker 5: I think they came to the team. Yeah, they came to the team. I think Coach Shrews had something to do with that.
00:41:30
Speaker 1: We had just a conversation about like, hey, we're going to Rome. Like we should dress up. We should all look nice. We should all present the right way. And just kind of threw the idea out there to these guys. And then like a couple of days later, You know, rallies like, hey.
00:41:51
Speaker 3: Got somebody worked it out for us.
00:41:53
Speaker 1: And we're like, hey, like they're going to come here. They're going to measure everybody and we're going to get custom suits made.
00:42:00
Speaker 3: So we look good. Yeah. Play good.
00:42:02
Speaker 5: That's right.
00:42:03
Speaker 3: That's right. That's right. I'm all for it.
00:42:05
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:42:05
Speaker 3: Is there a.
00:42:07
Speaker 4: Is there a dream NIL partnership for you? This is kind of your time to just go for it.
00:42:15
Speaker 2: I think it would be cool to work with a dealership and get a cool car like Coach Shrews or something.
00:42:19
Speaker 5: That would be pretty cool.
00:42:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be.
00:42:23
Speaker 5: A car would be awesome. But other than that, I don't know.
00:42:26
Speaker 3: There's a whole section there that would be really good.
00:42:29
Speaker 5: A car would be sweet, man.
00:42:31
Speaker 3: A car.
00:42:32
Speaker 5: That would be a car.
00:42:34
Speaker 3: Coach, I agree with you. All of those are amazing.
00:42:36
Speaker 4: If you could change one thing about the current NIL landscape in the last five years of NIL.
00:42:43
Speaker 3: What would you change? Either of you?
00:42:44
Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't, you know what? I like, I think, um, I think coaches get a bad rap that like, we don't like NIL or something.
00:42:59
Speaker 5: Right.
00:43:00
Speaker 1: Like there, there's all this stuff that's happening, you know, with like the government and like the, um, all these, you know, this protect college sports stuff. Um, Like I actually love it.
00:43:15
Speaker 2: Right.
00:43:15
Speaker 1: Like these guys should be getting paid, um, for what they do for the brands that they create for what they can do with success for not only the basketball program, the football program, but for the university as a whole. Um, you know, I think they have an ad, a lot of value. So I don't know if I would change anything about NIL. Like, um, You know, I think it's, you know, they've earned it. And the players before, you've helped earned it for these guys, right? That part of it, you know, now it's just about, you know, managing it the right way.
00:44:00
Speaker 3: Which Notre Dame is obviously at the forefront.
00:44:03
Speaker 1: Rally's doing a great job with helping our guys manage it and understand, you know, paying their taxes, like, you know, understanding, like putting it away and saving it and finding, you know, investing in different things where, you know, I think we're doing a great job of educating our guys on how to take advantage of it, but how to let that money work for you. Would you change anything or would you agree?
00:44:32
Speaker 5: I'll keep it coming.
00:44:34
Speaker 3: You brought up, I got two more.
00:44:36
Speaker 4: You brought up a good, a good point of like, It's here, so we might as well embrace it and then let's put the infrastructure in place for these guys. What is Notre Dame men's basketball doing to allow your players to know what to do when the money does come in for NIL?
00:44:53
Speaker 1: I think our athletic department does a great job of really putting the things in front of them that are helpful to be able to this isn't a one-time thing. Like, um, yeah, like this could stop at any point in time, just like anybody else, like my job, my, my, you know, family's job or like anybody around here, like the jobs could stop and the money could stop at any point in time. And you have no idea when that's going to happen.
00:45:30
Speaker 2: Right.
00:45:31
Speaker 1: Like, what are you going to do with what you're getting now to help take care of you in the future to help carry your family and your kids and everybody else in the future. And that's the main thing is like trying to educate them on that because it's going to be useful now as a 20, you know, 18 to sometimes 23, 24 year olds to weigh in the, in the future when you're older.
00:46:03
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, again, Rally has been amazing. I talk to, like, four people almost daily from Rally. They're just always there to help. So, like, any help you need, they're there for you. Even infrastructure like an app that now, like, our money comes into, they can calculate, like, the taxes or, like, you can put it away for taxes. Like, the app does it for you. So, certain infrastructure things, too. But I think it's just the people that really help. Like, kind of Coach Schroeder's loon, too. We have the resources around us and knowledgeable people.
00:46:34
Speaker 3: That's awesome.
00:46:35
Speaker 4: I think we finished with this question here is if there's a young athlete out there right now wants to be a Notre Dame men's basketball player, you know, he's having the big dreams we were just talking about.
00:46:46
Speaker 3: What would the advice be for him?
00:46:50
Speaker 1: Work on your game. Like we talked about, like, you know, I think money is there for you. If you're doing what you're supposed to do. Right. Don't let that drive your decisions. Put yourself in the best position possible for you to excel and what you want to excel in. Like if I want to excel as a basketball player, like put all your time into that. I want to excel as a student. Put your time into that. And the benefits will come from that if that's your focus. Yeah. If your focus is just on making money, you can probably go do it anywhere. but like you're going to fall short somewhere else. So, you know, find what it is that you love to do and invest your time into that.
00:47:42
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:47:43
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:47:44
Speaker 5: From my experience, I would say, A, keep God first, work hard. Coach Shrew said it, but also like everybody's past a little different, especially today.
00:47:55
Speaker 2: Inspiration for me is Duncan Robinson. He went like division three. Like, I didn't know what my life was going to look like, but I knew I had to work hard. So like, Keep it the main thing, the main thing. Working hard and believe in yourself. That's a really important thing. And I would also say try and stop comparing yourself to other people.
00:48:14
Speaker 5: That's a big thing.
00:48:15
Speaker 3: Just bloom.
00:48:18
Speaker 5: Be my advice, yeah.
00:48:19
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. Look, this was awesome.
00:48:23
Speaker 4: Thank you guys for being here and sharing your thoughts and insights. I'm very excited for this upcoming season. I wish you guys the best of luck. And thank you guys for joining the playbook.
00:48:32
Speaker 2: Thanks so much.
00:48:32
Speaker 1: Thanks for having us.
00:48:33
Speaker 5: Thank you.
00:48:33
Speaker 3: Of course.
00:48:35
Speaker 4: Thanks for watching The Playbook, a rally podcast presented by Priority.
