Mike Brey Notebook: Loyola Maryland

Notre Dame improved to 3-0 on the season with 83-48 win over Loyola Maryland on Friday evening. Nine different players scored for the Irish, while 23 assists were dished out on 34 made field goals.

It’s clear the Irish aren’t a selfish team and head coach Mike Brey saw that back in the summer.

“I think it goes with leadership and it starts in the summer with your older guys,” Brey said of the character of this team. “I am only in with them once a week. You heard me say our three freshmen are mature and smart. They looked around and saw how we do it. My theme is enforced by our upperclassmen.”

Notre Dame now had two games in row with over 20 assists and Brey issued his team a challenge after seeing one of the NBA’s best play.  

“I told them I was watching the Warriors game and saw a graphic that they had five straight games with 30 assists,” explained Brey. “Why can’t we get 20? We have gone back-to-back with 20+ assists. They really hung their hat on it and it’s beautiful to watch.”

The ball is moving and the team is staying within their lanes. However on Saturday night, Brey saw one player get out of his lane, but quickly got back into it.

“We’re playing a lot of different guys and they really don’t get out of character,” stated Brey. “The guy that character a little bit was Matt Ryan. He stood out like a sore thumb when he tried to go behind his back. That’s not who he is. He wised up and got a screen and knocked down a jump shot.

“When you try to experiment with what you can’t do, you really stand out.”
 

Rick Kimball/ISD Martinas Geben

Some were concerned with how Notre Dame would handle the low post, but Martinas Geben has stepped into that role well through three games. On Saturday, Geben recorded four points, 10 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.

“He’s getting very comfortable,” Brey said of his big man. “He’s giving us a great presence early in a game with that big body with defensive rebounding. I thought he made some great passes out of the post today. He gets 10 rebound and keeps it simple.

“He’s getting more and more confident. We just want to continue to help him with that, because we need him.”

Rotation

It remains to be seen how long Brey will stick with playing nine players, but he is rolling with what is working and that’s playing two bigs at most times.

“We haven’t played small much,” explained Brey. “In the exhibitions we subbed Rex (Pflueger) for Martin. We were smaller. We have not done that. WE kept two bigs in the game. They are so good with the ball and understanding our spacing and screening. We are still very efficient offensively.

“We would lose efficiency offensively last year with two bigs. We’re stepping it up in Brooklyn. I think it’s really interesting for us. The big guys are passing it and we have enough of them to make shots and stretch the defense.”

Another impressive big man was freshman forward John Mooney. The Florida native had sseven points and four boards in just seven minutes of action.  

“I watched John Mooney in those seven minutes and he got some defensive rebounds,” stated Brey. “Certainly he can make a shot with how he has practiced. We need to keep him engaged. He’s going to be important for us.”