Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Notre Dame
January 6, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening Statement:
“I’ve been at Notre Dame 18 years, I’ve had a lot of great wins – this is as good a win given I’ve got Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell sitting back in their apartment in South Bend, Indiana. I couldn’t be prouder of the group. I thought our defense and rebounding was the difference tonight. A lot of our young inexperienced guys in a tough environment played well, so it’s something to build on.
What did you do defensively against Oshae Brissett that other teams haven’t been able to do?
“We kind of learned to play off him and not let him drive and get stuff around the bucket and make him shoot jump shots. He’s so good driving it, and then he’s so good that if he misses his drive, he gets his own rebound. There are some other guys you can help off of, so we jammed up his drives and made him more of a jump shooter. He made a couple, but we felt if he’s going to drive on us we’re in trouble.”
The way you guys attacked the glass tonight, it looks like you’ve been able to do that all year long.
“I told our guys before the game, we’ve outrebounded our first two ACC opponents, and now our third, and we’re playing those four big guys, rotating them through, and I thought they gave us some great stuff. We’re able to keep them fresh, and our offensive rebounding was certainly a key and I think it’s a strength of ours. We have not been known as a big-time rebounding program. I’m kind of digging this defending and rebounding thing, kind of new territory for our program.”
Pretty sluggish start early in the game. How did you guys get it going by the end?
“All I know is that I looked down at the stat sheet in my assistant’s hand in the first half and we were 1-for-14. We somehow survived it, but again, any win in this league, and any road win, no matter how you get it, is huge.”
Syracuse vs. Notre Dame
January 6, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening Statement:
“I’ve been at Notre Dame 18 years, I’ve had a lot of great wins – this is as good a win given I’ve got Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell sitting back in their apartment in South Bend, Indiana. I couldn’t be prouder of the group. I thought our defense and rebounding was the difference tonight. A lot of our young inexperienced guys in a tough environment played well, so it’s something to build on.
What did you do defensively against Oshae Brissett that other teams haven’t been able to do?
“We kind of learned to play off him and not let him drive and get stuff around the bucket and make him shoot jump shots. He’s so good driving it, and then he’s so good that if he misses his drive, he gets his own rebound. There are some other guys you can help off of, so we jammed up his drives and made him more of a jump shooter. He made a couple, but we felt if he’s going to drive on us we’re in trouble.”
The way you guys attacked the glass tonight, it looks like you’ve been able to do that all year long.
“I told our guys before the game, we’ve outrebounded our first two ACC opponents, and now our third, and we’re playing those four big guys, rotating them through, and I thought they gave us some great stuff. We’re able to keep them fresh, and our offensive rebounding was certainly a key and I think it’s a strength of ours. We have not been known as a big-time rebounding program. I’m kind of digging this defending and rebounding thing, kind of new territory for our program.”
Pretty sluggish start early in the game. How did you guys get it going by the end?
“All I know is that I looked down at the stat sheet in my assistant’s hand in the first half and we were 1-for-14. We somehow survived it, but again, any win in this league, and any road win, no matter how you get it, is huge.”
