New Notre Dame Men's Basketball Coach would make history, give fans hope for future

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Notre Dame Men's Basketball program is entering a new era-- as the university is closing in on hiring a new coach-- Micah Shrewsberry-- after Mike Brey's recent retirement.

Shrewsberry is a familiar face in Michiana; he spent two years coaching basketball at IUSB-- and has put in time with teams and organizations such as Butler University, Purdue University and the Boston Celtics before joining up with Penn State in 2021.

This year, he helped take the Nittany Lions to their first NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.

While fans may be sad to see Brey retire, they're ager to find out what Shrewsberry will accomplish in the program as someone born and raised in Indiana.

"I'm born and raised in South Bend, huge Notre Dame fan," said Trevor Cochran. "It's huge because you got to understand the location, you got to understand the type of people you're getting in Indiana. Especially Notre Dame, you got to understand it's a different type of place. Also, I think that he could recruit well here based on the fact that he recruited well at Penn State."

While the deal has not been confirmed by the university, this would be a significant hire for Notre Dame-- not just in terms of talent. 

This would mark the first time that Notre Dame would have black men and women leading their top three sports programs-- joining Marcus Freeman as head football coach and Niele Ivy as head women's basketball coach.

Though fans are excited about the experience Shrewsberry will bring courtside.

“You know, honestly, I think it’s great for the representation of it, obviously for the athletes themselves. In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what color skin they are, it just matters whether they can do the job very well, and I think all three are great coaches," said Cochran.

The news is also drawing praise from players.

According to analyst Matt Freeman, Penn Kingsman and future Notre Dame Basketball player Markus Burton said he "can't wait for him to get to town."