Mike Brey Notebook: St. Francis
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke following the 71-53 win and his first career ejection.
On ejection:
“That was an interesting afternoon in Purcell Pavilion. That’s a first for me. I wish that I was maybe a little calmer, but in hindsight, I certainly can’t have my guy sitting in the locker room all by himself.
“I’ve never experienced this. Bonzie and I were watching the game on his phone. That’s new territory for me. That was very unusual.”
More ejection:
“Our T-shirts are “Raincoat,” which means have a raincoat on when people get on you and accept responsibility. The “Power Clap” is when you’re frustrated and making mistakes. As I am talking, Geben is holding the T-shirt up, and I told them I’d wear one the rest of the week in practice.
On Geben’s confidence:
“I tried to really get it going last year. I told him he was starting. He had a tough first two years and actually thought about his future here. He was in a white jersey the whole time, and I didn’t want him to look over his shoulder.
“He started off, and we made a change in the lineup and downshifted. Even though we went away from him for a while, he came and gave us good stuff at the end of the year. When we recruited him, there was a lot there. I always felt we weren’t doing our job. I wasn’t doing my job to have him more productive.”
On the win:
“We weren’t very good offensively, but I thought we defended and guarded to win an ugly game. I’m thrilled the last five minutes, Rob Balanis and your veteran team figure out how to finish it without any problem.”
On Bonzie flagrant 2:
“I talked to Bonzie and told him not to overreact. It’s not a big deal and to get some rest. They were trying to figure out where the ball was and I thought they were confused after the free throws. I started to get a little frustrated.”
On center Martinas Geben:
“He’s really playing well. We’ve been playing him 19-20 minutes, but I thought we have to get him more minutes. He’s been up at 25 and 27 minutes. I told the staff if he played 25 minutes, could he be a double-double guy? Coach (Ryan) Humphrey felt he could, and he’s delivering.”
On slow start:
“It’s been an interesting thing. We’ve talked about it. It’s been hard for us to get out of the gate offensively. Thank God we’ve been defending, or we could be in more trouble.
“If we can get stops and rebound an outlet and get early offense, I think that will help us. If we can get buckets against a non-set defense, I think that will help us. It’s a selling point for the guys to defend because that will help our offense.
“I’m trying to figure out how to help us in the halfcourt depending on who is on the floor for us.”
On Ball State:
“We need our crowd. There is a big Ball State alumni base in this town. I have a feeling they got their hands on tickets. They are a dangerous team, and they can win their division of the MAC. We’re preparing like it’s NC State coming in here.
“Anytime you have an in-state opponent, there will be a good energy in the building. I’m very worried about it, and I’m going to get out of here and watch film on them when we leave.”