Mike Brey Notebook: Boston College
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke about the explosive night on the offensive end as the Irish knocked off Boston College 96-85 on Tuesday night.
On the win:
“When in doubt, put 96 on the board. Maybe we jumpstarted our offense a little bit. I’m thrilled for our guys to celebrate a little bit in the locker room. It’s been a while.”
On offensive explosion:
“Matt (Farrell) is a little more comfortable with stuff. Johnny (Mooney) being available. Johnny is going to score if he plays. It was kind of rotating toward needing a night like this – 21 assists. That looks familiar. Hopefully, we can stay in an offensive rhythm.
On hot start:
“It’s the best we’ve started in a while. We’ve come to the media timeout, and sometimes we have three or four turnovers. It’s the best we’ve started moving the ball and really passed it well. We got great looks because we passed it so well.”
On hanging on late in the game:
“That’s a little bit of the culture of this program. Hitting big shots, especially in this building, it hasn’t happened in a while, but it was neat to see because those guys have delivered before.
“I thought Martinas was fabulous. His jump hook – he was really good around the bucket. It’s a good night for everybody.”
On the final nine games:
“I told them we’re on the back nine and let’s see if we can make a little move. We’re 1-1 on the last nine. Let’s see if we can make a move and see where we’re at by March 1st.
“The other goal is to see if we can win two in a row at home. We used to do that pretty regularly around here. It should be a good atmosphere with Florida State sold out.”
On keeping focus:
“I have not been worried about this group. They have been fabulous as far as having each other's back, not hanging their head and they enjoy each other. That really helps when you go through what we’ve been going through.
“Matt had said they were going to have everyone to his and Bonzie’s place for the Super Bowl. They were going to enjoy it but talk a little bit. They have ownership of themselves, and that’s kind of the culture that’s been built.
“There’s a lot of pressure on your leadership going through what we’ve been through. They’ve hung in there, and I sensed we would play well tonight.”
On Jerome Robinson’s 46-point night:
“I knew it was big numbers. I didn’t know it was that much. He was unbelievable. Rex is our best defender, and we have TJ on him. We tried to double him and then he posted.
“How do you escape that? Just score 95.”
On playing loose:
“We haven’t run as many sets, and we talked about just playing. We’ve got a veteran group that knows how to play offensively. I like that theme. There’s no pressure, and you’re just playing.
“Matt and TJ both shared handling the ball. We had Matt off the ball, so he could catch and fire in the second half. I have to always be tuned in to when to get TJ initiating and Matt off the ball.”
On positive energy:
“It’s a combination of being positive and very realistic with them. With an older team, you can tell them where they are at. When I put the standings up before the NC State game, I told them the seniors had been used to getting a double-bye. I told them it wasn’t going to happen and that was OK.
“If we can get into the middle of the pack – a two-game win streak in our league, you can be back in the middle of the pack and in the discussion. I laid it out and actually said what if we’re sent to Dayton.
“Let’s go to Dayton. A 12-seed might be who we are. I’ll take that. I’ll sign up for that in a heartbeat. I’ll sign up right now.”
On TJ Gibbs squaring up in the lane:
“We’ve tried to get him to shoot the runner and short jump shot over trying to draw a foul. Ryan Ayers does a great job with our guards with shooting drills. That’s one we’ve concentrated on with Gibbs. Just taking the runner at 10 feet versus the impossible finger roll over a big guy.
“He’s such a believer and such toughness. He’s hit two halftime shots that have been unbelievable. He’s a pleasure to be around.”
On injuries:
“DJ (Harvey) will be another week or two. He’s still got some soreness, and he’s in some shooting drills with us. We will not have him for the next two games. Maybe you would have him the following Saturday.
“Bonzie’s X-ray was encouraging and moving along. The end of February could be a realistic shot at having him back on the floor with us.”