Mike Brey Notebook: Pittsburgh
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke on Monday afternoon about Senior Night and gave the latest on All-American Bonzie Colson.
On the senior class:
“I had Bonzie (Colson) and Matt (Farrell) in my office, I told them they were spoiled. There’s not a lot of college players that play in the NCAA Tournament four out of four years. They’ve earned it. You look at their run, and it’s fitting they’re the all-time winningest class.
“They’ve hung in there this year with some of the senior class not available. They set a great tone, kept us plugging and helped some of in the program feel like we still have a chance.
“I’m thrilled with what Martinas (Geben) is doing this year. To step in with Bonzie out, he’s the best candidate for most improved in this league. These guys were McDonald’s All-Americans.”
On the plan for Bonzie Colson:
“We will get him in some five-on-five on Monday. His strength numbers and range of motion numbers are better. They aren’t where they were in early December, so we want to be smart. It’s great we have those analytics and measurements to have a baseline.
“He’s done a lot of individual stuff with Coach Humphrey and jumping on that leg to get it in condition. Today, we try a little bit of five-on-five and see how he feels.
“You’re unsure what that would mean for Wednesday. You have to see how much five-on-five he wants to be in and how he feels tomorrow.
On Colson’s confidence:
“Today is important for him to get in some five-on-five. He hasn’t competed against anyone. All his stuff has been by himself or shooting on his own. He’s been simulating movements, but he hasn’t done it against an opponent.
“For his frame of mind, he needs to feel that a couple of times before he plays again.”
On Colson starting:
“I would like to start him even if he feels he can’t give minutes. I’d love for this crowd to be able to give him a heck of an ovation. He deserves it. We’d then sub him out real quick.”
On Colson coaching:
“He’s been unbelievable. Most great players are kind of into themselves. It doesn’t make them bad guys. He’s been so giving to his teammates. He’s helped and talked to them. It’s been amazing. It’s not normal, but it’s appreciated.
“When he grabs a John Mooney, Nik Djogo or Elijah Burns, they feel good because he’s giving them confidence.”
On the passing of Matt Farrell’s grandfather:
“We’re going to get him back Thursday for the viewings and to be with his family. He will meet us in Charlottesville Friday for practice.”
On Austin Torres:
“Whatever we have asked him to do, he does. He’s been great. More than anything, he really sells our culture and our standards. I really appreciate that he continues to sell the message when I’m not around. I think he’s going to be a heckuva a coach. He wants to coach. He and I have talked about some stuff for him.
“I liked that a local guy had a productive career for us and was part of a lot of good things. He exceeded expectations. He’s been better than I thought he’d be. He’s really smart. One thing about Austin, he’s always known who he is. He’s never asked about playing more. He knows he’s an energy guy, a rebounder, and a screener. To know that from your freshman year all the way through, it’s a relief that I don’t have to deal with anything. If I needed him for 12 minutes, five minutes or 20 minutes, he’s there. I’m proud of him.”
On continuing defensive effort:
“We really dug in, and you have your life flashing before your eyes, and you dig in. Having eight guys helps us, and we can stay a little fresher defensively. We have to play some zone to buy some time. It was nice to see us get stops when we really needed to and we haven’t don’t that enough this year to win close games.”
On the frame of mind against Pitt:
“I don’t think it’s a focus on Pittsburgh. We’ve won four of six, and it’s a group that’s excited to play again. We’ve found a pretty good offensive rhythm. We’re scoring again.
“These younger guys want to send the seniors out on a good note.”
On Bracketology putting Notre Dame in the Next Four Out.
“I saw us in there as the Next Four Out. We had a cake and a celebration at lunch. It was Next Four Out cake. You love being No. 75. To be honest with you after what we’ve been through, to see that today – that and 55 degrees really picked me up today.
“We certainly have more work to do, but when you lose seven in a row, and there’s no Bonzie Colson, I don’t think people looked at our numbers as much. If you look at our BPI and our numbers – when you get to the 10, 11 and 12 seed, they all have a lot to work on. We have some things going for us. I’m not squinting as hard as I was in Boston but I’m still squinting.”
On balancing Colson and Geben on the floor:
“They played pretty well together in Maui. It’s one of those things where I don’t want to overanalyze or overcoach it. Geben needs to continue to stay confident. We’re going to throw it in the post to score. Bonzie can play off of him and post some. If we get back to that, we’ll show some film from November of those guys playing well together.”
On the final home game of the year:
“It’d be powerful to get out of here with a win. Our senior class is the all-time winningest class, and they should win on Senior Night. We’re going to have to earn it, but it would be great to finish it on a good note and get to eight league wins.”