For the first time in 23 years, Notre Dame will be in the market for a men’s basketball coach.
The University of Delaware supplied the last.
It’s possible it may have the next.
Mike Brey’s impending retirement, revealed initially Thursday by the local paper’s website, just like his Delaware departure in July of 2000, was a breaking story if not a shocking one.
The Irish’s 1-7 ACC start had the odd effect of leaving Brey feeling powerless and ineffective, two things he has never been. He suggested as much after Tuesday’s 84-71 home loss to Florida State.
“I’ve got old guys,” he said of his veteran team. “They do have ownership of themselves but I certainly haven’t been able to help them. I just told them that. ‘I’ve done a horrible job with you fellas.’ ”
So now will come a farewell tour during which Brey, as likeable as anyone college basketball has been fortunate to have in one of its high-profile coaching positions, will be earnestly and deservedly lauded the rest of the season as he closes out his tenure. Nobody will be surprised if the Irish, who won 24 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, rise to the occasion in response.
The winningest coach in Notre Dame’s 119-year hoops history, Brey has won a school record 481 games, including one in a memorable 2017 homecoming at Delaware. There have been 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back Elite Eight trips in 2015 and 2016. He was three-time Big East Coach of the Year and then steered the Irish to the ACC Tournament title in 2015 two years after joining that hallowed contingent.
“Bittersweet to see one of the best in college basketball call it a career,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said after the Blue Hens, buoyed by Jameer Nelson’s return from a minor knee injury, downed William & Mary 80-53 at the Carpenter Center Thursday.
There may be nobody who knows better how and why Brey has been successful than Ingelsby. He was the senior point guard on his first Notre Dame team in 2000-01and then spent 13 years on his coaching staff. He was hired as Delaware coach in May of 2016 with a strong push from Brey, who remains a close friend.
“It’s a celebration of everything that he’s meant to South Bend and Notre Dame and that basketball program,” Ingelsby said. “ . . . I’m not here today without him.”
None of that is a secret
Naturally, not long after reports of Brey’s impending retirement surfaced, so did others speculating about potential replacements. Ingelsby, due to his Notre Dame roots and Brey connections, was on them, as he should be.
What most failed to recognize is Ingelsby has, after all, recruited and coached two of the ACC’s most notable present players.
2023 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE OUT:Delaware to open with CAA game on road. before Penn State
Andrew Carr left Delaware after two seasons for Wake Forest and was named ACC Player of the Week Monday. Justyn Mutts left after one season at Delaware to play at Virginia Tech, where he has excelled and become an NBA prospect for last year’s ACC tourney champs. Another, Ithiel Horton, started at Pitt after showing his promise as a UD freshman.
The challenges, glory and glamour that come with ACC basketball are quite appealing and potentially lucrative, which is why players talented enough to play there and coaches smart enough to coach there do.
Ingelsby is 106-96 in his seventh season as Delaware coach, which won’t and shouldn’t wow the curious observer. He took over a program that was two years removed from its first Colonial Athletic Association title, but had also gone 17-43 since and was coming off a 2-16 Colonial Athletic Association finish.
He has been particularly adept at getting very good players to come to Delaware and helping them excel because some, such as the aforementioned trio, realized they could perhaps flourish beyond the mid-major level. The most notable is actually Nate Darling, who played just the 2019-20 season at Delaware after transferring from UAB before, with one year of eligibility left, instead becoming the first Blue Hen to ever make it to the NBA. He is now in the G League.
Delaware did win the CAA Tournament and reach the NCAA tourney last year with, as the No. 5 seed, an impressive three-game run that culminated with a win over UNC-Wilmington. The Blue Hens, 11-9 this year, will be a long shot to repeat.
“My mindset is going back to the office right now and preparing for [Saturday’s foe] Drexel,” Ingelsby said when asked about being an obvious contender to replace Brey.
Ingelsby added that Notre Dame is “an unbelievable, special place” where he met his wife, Colleen. He confessed to having previously told Brey that the thought of replacing whoever replaces Brey is much more appealing than taking over for the popular Brey himself.
“Today’s not for that,” Ingelsby concluded. “Honestly, we’re gonna go back and prepare for Drexel and head up to Philly on Saturday morning to try to beat the Dragons.”
In the meantime, Notre Dame will begin beating the bushes in what seems like the almost impossible task of hiring a coach who can at least be the equal of Brey.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.
