A lot more to like in this one for Notre Dame basketball against SC State

SOUTH BEND – A dozen thoughts while watching Notre Dame basketball run its record to 4-0 on Wednesday, Nov. 11 with a 99-59 home win over South Carolina State ...    ∎ That was downright ridiculous from fifth year guard Ethan Roberts. How ridiculous? How about making nine of his first 10 shots and seven of his first eight from 3? How about scoring 25 points? How about doing all of it in 11 first-half minutes? How about a career-best 36 points on 10 3s in the first 25 minutes? See? Ridiculous. His 10 3s tie the school record also shared by guards Matt Farrell and Kyle McAlarney. Roberts checked out for good with the rest of the starters with 9:56 left and the Irish up 34.  Pod of Gold 11/11: Former Notre Dame football captain/CB Shawn Wooden More: Injury indefinitely sidelines key contributor for Notre Dame basketball ∎ Consider it a lesson learned for sophomore power forward Brady Koehler, who banged in a 3 in front of the South Carolina State bench with 3:45 left in the first half to extend the Irish lead to 46-23. Koehler couldn't help but turn and say a few choice words to the Bulldog bench, which didn't go unnoticed. Koehler was hit with a technical foul and spent the rest of the first half on the bench. It's OK to have an edge and Koehler does, but time and place, BK.  ∎ Irish sophomore center Tommy Ahneman, who was ruled out for the next six to eight weeks with a right "arm" injury suffered in the first half of Monday's game against Eastern Illinois, will have his right hand/wrist placed in a cast on Thursday. The cast is expected to remain for seven weeks. Ahneman has targeted the Dec. 30 Atlantic Coast Conference opener at home against Stanford as a possible target return game. Ahneman is a natural left-hander, but just happens to shoot a basketball with his right hand.  ∎ We knew the Irish bench needed work, and we saw it again on Wednesday. Operating with four reserves around one starter (Braeden Shrewsberry), the Irish saw their first-half lead sliced from eight points to three in less than three minutes. Back came the four other starters, who then delivered a 23-3 run to put the home team up 20. Notre Dame led by as many as 37 points early in the second half before the first Irish reserve saw the floor at 9:56 when five reserves checked in.  ∎ It was one of those nights from the free throw line for Logan Duncomb, who came into the contest shooting 73.7%. He made one of seven on Wednesday, but stayed with it to offer nine points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two assists in 23 minutes. ∎ Hey, Bryce Ruglass-Dortch and Gan Solongo, these next seven weeks are yours. Let's see what you can do for this team this season. Ruglass-Dortch was the first big off the bench – for Duncomb – at 14:42. Solongo entered at 5:21. Both need more work. More work as is reps, which they're going to get plenty of until Ahneman returns.  ∎ For the second time in three home games, Notre Dane never trailed. The Irish led for 39:07 and by as many as 41. ∎ Twelve assists to three turnovers against that pressure in the first half? That's not a good sign for Notre Dame. That's a great one.  ∎ It's not illegal for the student body and/or area residents to attend a Notre Dame basketball non-conference home game, is it? Just wondering.  ∎ It was weird in the best of ways to wake Wednesday and see Notre Dame sitting there second among all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference teams for steals – 12.0 per game through three games. Heading into the South Carolina State game, Notre Dame trailed only No. 6 Virginia (13.25) for steals per game. Notre Dame's 17 steals in Monday's win over Eastern Illinois were most for the program since Jan. 6, 2002, a 74-72 home loss to Villanova. The Irish finished last in the ACC in steals per game (4.45) last season.  ∎ Wednesday was the first day of the fall signing period - what was once national signing day for basketball – and it came and went with no movement from Notre Dame basketball. The Irish secured no commitments from high school seniors this fall but still plan to sign at least two prep players for the 2027-28 season. With such an emphasis on the transfer portal, traditional college basketball recruiting is no longer, well, traditional. Notre Dame would like to find a balance of both – traditional recruiting and the transfer portal - but also is still in a wait-and-see mode of what its roster will be in the spring.  ∎ The season's about to really get real for Notre Dame, which leaves Sunday for Las Vegas and the revamped Players Era Festival. The paid-to-play, multi-team event is now divided into two segments – eight teams (including Notre Dame) play three games in three days next week while 16 others play three games during Thanksgiving week. Notre Dame opens PE8 against top-ranked Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. General admission seats at Michelob Ultra Arena are currently available for $249 each.  Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com