SOUTH BEND – Usually after home games, Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry exits the post-game interview room in Purcell Pavilion, makes a quick right and and then a quick left and heads back to the locker room.
He took a different route Tuesday after a 100-56 loss to No. 1 Duke,. On this night, after this one, Shrewsberry exited the post-game interview room and took a left, likely headed for a back exit in the building and back across the street to his office in Rolfs Hall.
Or, maybe, the hospital. Shrewsberry hobbled away on crutches with his lower left leg in a walking boot. What happened?
“I don’t really want to get into it right now,” Shrewsberry said. “The season of hell continues.”
Notre Dame played without three contributors Tuesday, including its two leading scorers in Markus Burton and Jalen Haralson both out with ankle injuries. Add the Irish head coach to future ACC’s availability report.
Notre Dame (12-16; 3-12) returns to action Saturday at home against North Carolina State. It remains to be seen if Shrewsberry will be able to coach.
Shrewsberry was hurt in the first half of a game that had long gone lopsided. When Duke guard Caleb Foster tossed in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, that made it 54-22 Blue Devils, in a game the visitors never trailed. But that Duke dominance wasn’t the whole story.
It was what happened to Shrewsberry, who hurt his lower left leg sometime earlier in the first half.
The horn that ended a first half that seemed like would never end finally sounded when Shrewsberry called for one of his players. For the first 10 minutes, Shrewsberry was his usual animated self, calling out sets, working the officials, protesting calls made against his team and calls not made for his team.
At one point, the Notre Dame bench was assessed a technical foul. Then, like that, Shrewsberry sat down on the bench and stayed seated for the rest of the first half.
At intermission, Shrewsberry yelled for freshman center Tommy Ahneman, who hasn’t played this season after undergoing knee surgery in the fall. Shrewsberry summoned Ahneman to help him off the floor and back to the locker room.
As Shrewsberry leaned into Ahneman and walked slowly toward the tunnel that leads to the Irish locker room, a staff member attempted to assist. Shrewsberry waved him off as he continued the slow walk off the court.
It was hard to tell what happened to Shrewsberry, and how it happened. The third-year head coach appeared to slip near the Irish bench sometime during the first half, apparently injuring his lower leg or ankle or Achilles.
Notre Dame spokesperson Josh Bates said at halftime that Shrewsberry sustained an Achilles injury.
When the Irish returned to the court with six minutes left in intermission, Shrewsberry hobbled back out, again with the help of Ahneman.
Shrewsberry wore the black walking boot on his left foot. He returned to his usual spot on the bench. Assistant coach Mike Farrelly was the one coach up off the bench shouting instructions to the Irish. Shrewsberry stayed seated. The Irish gathered around the head coach’s seat during timeouts.
When this one finally ended, Shrewsberry was helped back to the locker room while the alma mater was played by the band at the other end of the arena.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
