Micah Shrewsberry reflects on support he received during tumultuous stretch

It’s been a difficult season for the Notre Dame basketball team. Amid it, head coach Micah Shrewsberry is still aware of the support that he has received from fans this season.

On Saturday, Notre Dame won a close game over Pitt. That ended a two-game losing streak and a stretch of games where the Irish had lost five out of six games. After the win, Shrewsberry reflected on the support he’s received and the tumultuous stretch the Irish have been on.

“I’ve had a lot of, like — I’ve talked to a lot of people,” Micah Shrewsberry said. “Texts from coaches all over this state, high school coaches. Texts from coaches all over this country, right?”

Those messages of support that Shrewsberry has received have come from all over the country. That includes Pitt head coach Jeff Capel, who was checking in despite being competitors in similar situations this season.

“After the game, you know, Jeff Capel and I are competitors. Like, we’re competitors, man. We want our teams to win. We’re in the same conferences. I told him after the game, ‘Hey, man. You are a real one.’ Because he went out of his way to text me. I don’t know. It may have been the first time I’ve ever texted Jeff Capel, or he’s texted me,” Shrewsberry said. “But he sees me and he says, ‘Man, I want to reach out to him. Make sure he’s doing okay.’ That just shows who he is as a person. Because his team is up and down and losing and winning, and like he’s going through the same stuff.”

Micah Shrewsberry is now 25-35 in just under two seasons at Notre Dame. This year, he has the Irish at 12-15 overall and 6-10 in ACC play. At times, his frustration has become evident in press conferences. That includes recently knocking over a microphone in a press conference.

“So, a big part of it is his people around. That’s Notre Dame people. There’s a lot of former players. That’s a lot of fellow head coaches that are here at Notre Dame that like it just shows how much they have your back. That just keeps pushing you forward. The people that you work with on a daily basis. Our staff has been super positive and great with our guys and prepared each and every day,” Shrewsberry said.

“So, I know I’m not doing this alone. There’s a lot of people that are behind me. There’s a lot of people that are behind our team. It helps you kind of keep pushing forward and carrying through.”

Notre Dame has four more regular season games remaining this season. That starts with their final road trip of the season where the Irish are set to travel to Clemson and Wake Forest.