SOUTH BEND — Seated in a green and white swivel chair in the Rolfs Hall lobby before a team dinner of barbecue chicken and sausage fresh off a nearby grill, Notre Dame basketball power forward Brady Koehler shifted and sighed.
He knew the question was coming. After what happened with this program in the spring, it had to be asked.
Why was Koehler still there, still a member of the Notre Dame basketball program, still believing that he and the Irish can do what many insist they never will?
Because Koehler believes. In the place. In head coach Micah Shrewesberry, a fellow Indianapolis Cathedral High School graduate. In the program. In the future of Notre Dame, no matter what that looks like and no matter how long he’s there. Might be for only one more year. Might be for two. He could surprise everyone and stick around for three. Yeah, sure.
He’s there now and he believes and on this July day, after a quick team workout in the boxing ring, that’s all that matters. Time to move forward. Keep moving forward.
“After one bad season, not jumping ship was important,” Koehler exclusively told the Tribune in a 10-minute conversation. “I came here with trust in Shrews and the staff. Just because we had one brutal year doesn’t mean all that stuff goes out the window.”
It could have. It probably should have after Notre Dame finished 13-18 overall and 4-14 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the “punishment” of no trip to the postseason conference tournament for the first time in program history.
Following a year where Koehler averaged 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists, shot .452 percent from the field and .382 from 3 in 30 games with 13 starts, everything about the future seemed so neat. So sure. So clean. Koehler would be part of a key returning core that would build off everything they had to learn and live through last season and be better.
With that core, Notre Dame basketball might be back. Then it all blew up.
In early April, six Notre Dame basketball players became six former Notre Dame basketball players. All jumped into the transfer portal to seek something better somewhere else.
Maybe it was about playing time. Maybe it was about a fresh start. Maybe it was about a bigger paycheck in a time when college basketball players — when college athletes — can earn amounts of money beyond what they ever dreamed.
Whatever the reasons, a group of six players that Koehler figured to be a part of this season were out. One day this guy, the next day that one. Old guys. Young guys. Friends. Talents. Classmates. All gone.
At one point, Koehler looked around and wondered if he should enter the transfer portal and look to better his basketball future elsewhere. With his skill set, dozens of power conference programs would have wanted him.
“Spring was tough,” Koehler said. “I loved that team. We had a great connection. Seeing them leave, that was hard. It took a mental toll on me.”
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It felt like Koehler would leave. It felt like Koehler probably should leave. For advice, Koehler leaned on his family. He leaned on his agent at Priority Sports, former Irish guard Kyle McAlanrey. He sought counsel with the coaching staff, who offered a reassurance that he could be a key piece. He ran through an emotional gauntlet.
He was sad one day, mad the next. Confusion one week, then, eventually, clarity. He wasn’t going to bail just to bail. He still believed in the place. Still believed in Shrewsberry and his staff. Still believed in all the reasons he chose Notre Dame.
He would miss his former teammates, but he also understood his former teammates. They were friends first and would remain so regardless of where they landed.
“It became less confusion and more like, this sucks that it’s over and I’m not going to play with those guys anymore,” Koehler said. “Once we got situated and the guys who stayed, stayed, we got straight to work.”
For Koehler, that meant literally living in Rolfs. Getting up shots. Getting into the weight room to get bigger and stronger and faster. Getting his weight toward his target goal of 220. Getting better. Even after the spring semester ended, Koehler spent additional days on campus before returning home to Fishers, Indiana.
He was in with both feet. His freshman season had its moments of good and not so good. It also showed Koehler that he had to work harder to be better than average.
“It was a solid freshman year (but) it could have been better in a lot of areas,” he said. “I’m glad I played as much as I did. It helped me experience that game. Now I know exactly what to expect.”
Even before the Spring Six split, no player on the Irish roster had more upside, had more of a ceiling to be special than the 6-foot-10 Koehler. He’s long (7-3 wingspan). He can guard. He should score. He can rebound and defend. He’s athletic. His potential is scary awesome.
Koehler has been compared inside Rolfs Hall to a young, left-handed Franz Wagner, the Orlando Magic small forward who was the eighth pick of the 2021 NBA draft.
The next NBA guy from Notre Dame might be Koehler. It should be Koehler. Watch him play and you see it. His head coach does.
“He could average 10 points and six rebounds and get drafted in the first round next year,” Shrewsberry said. “That’s how good he is. He’s got a lot of tools.”
Tools that Shrewsberry wants Koehler to max out every single day this season. No off nights. No games where he’s pulled minutes into a game for a blown assignment or a soft effort at a defensive rebound, both of which happened last season.
There are a set of standards that Notre Dame basketball must live by and meet every single day. There’s also a standard for Koehler, something that Shrewsberry reminds him of daily. His game is here (hold your hand out straight), but with work and effort and determination, it can go there (lift your hand high).
Last season, Koehler was just a guy. This season, he can be the guy.
“I’m unrelenting with him because I know how good he can be,” Shrewsberry said. “At the end of the day, he’s either going to transfer or he’s going pro. I’m not laying off his standard.”
No question.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Why Brady Koehler returned to this Notre Dame basketball program
Reporting by Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
