Mike Brey Notebook | August 5
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke following his team's scrimmages on Sunday afternoon as the team prepares to head to the Bahamas later this week.
Aug. 8, 5 p.m. ET vs. IBA Elite
Aug. 9, 7 p.m. ET vs. NPBA All-Stars
Aug. 11, 7 p.m. ET vs. Bahamas All-Stars
You can view highlights from Sunday's scrimmage here:
ISD Video: Notre Dame Hoops Scrimmage Highlights | 8.5.18
On DJ Harvey's heath:
“He’s getting there. I think more like October 1st will be when we evaluate him. He’s made good progress but a microfracture is a little slower, and everyone reacts differently. The technology is better than when Chris Thomas had it about 15-16 years ago.
“We have to be really patient with him. He would be a key guy for us.”
On Harvey being in shape:
“He’s down to 228. He ballooned when he went home because he couldn’t do any cardio. He’s on the elliptical and doing some cardio now. He’s done a little better with his diet this summer to get him down.
“From October 1st to November 1st, where is he on November 1st? Is he bouncy? Is he exploding off that leg?”
On redshirt option for Harvey:
“We always have a redshirt option with him. I’ve talked with him and father back in June about it, and it’s certainly something he wasn’t thinking about. It’s nice to have that flexibility.
“I talked to Chris Thomas about the procedure, and he said if he wasn’t in such a hurry to get to the NBA, he should have redshirted. It took him almost two years to feel like he had his pop back.
“We’re going to push him and see if we can get him ready this year, but it’s nice to have that fallback plan.”
On freshman Prentiss Hubb:
“He should be full speed on September 1st. We can get into our 5-on-5 stuff. The first day of fall practice is October 1st. We want to slide TJ off the ball to shoot it a little, so Hubb has to be ready for us.
“I think he will be ready. By November 1st, I think he’ll be moving great."
On freshman Chris Doherty returning to the program:
“Doherty is coming back in August. I think he was a little overwhelmed. Our summer bridge program is intense. We’ll get him back, and he’s communicated with me that he wants to come back. We’re all about working with guys.
“Our old guys have done a good job teaching them on how we play here.”
On driving and kicking on the offensive end:
“Last year, offense was hard for us. It was just hard for us to score at times. Watching us this summer, we have some more weapons, and we can stretch the floor to drive and kick.
“We still pass the ball, and that’s part of the culture. I’ve been proud of our three young guys, (Nate) Laszewski, (Dane) Goodwin and (Robby) Carmody. They had a good initial feel for the game, and they have fit in really well."
On the freshmen adapting to the game:
“I think Goodwin has a great feel for it too. Carmody and Goodwin have a great feel for the game, and they can put it on the floor a little bit. They can make shots. They can be a little more physical than they think and they’ve gotten stronger.
“Laszewski gives us that stretch four guy, and he’s been good for us. All three of them I thought they were attacking and getting comfortable.”
On F Nate Laszewski:
“He can go to that corner, and you have to guard him. You have to get out on him. Our spacing is good this summer because we have threats out there. It opens up TJ or Rex on a drive.”
On F Juwan Durham:
“He had a tough night around the bucket today, but his length changes shots. He blocked some shots. He’s still getting comfortable, but he’s stronger. He can score a little more around the bucket than he did today.
“I think I have to get him confidence. If you think about him the last three years, he was injured as a senior, didn’t play much at UConn and didn’t play last year. He hasn’t played in a while, so we have to get him more confident. He has been very good this summer and feeling out how we play.
“I have the four big guys, and we’re going to sub them two at a time down in the Bahamas, and that’s probably what we’re going to do during the season.”
On the challenge of a young team:
“Who knows after Pflueger or Gibbs? We will start different guys different nights down there. It’s fun to try and figure out how we score and who we are on the defensive end.
“There are more question marks than in any of my years.”
On rotation:
“The one thing is we’ve never had to rely on this many freshmen in my 19 years. All four of them have to play. Hubb has to play. If you watched the other three, they are good enough to play.
“We just have to get them ready and comfortable. They’re going to play and make mistakes, but we have to play them. We need all four of them.
“One thing I told him is that it’s a marathon and it’s not a quick thing. It’s too bad he can’t go to the Bahamas because he would have got some playing time down there. We’ll get him back in August and see how it unfolds.”
On F Elijah Burns:
“I talked to him back in May, and I told him he was going to start for us in our practices in June and in the Bahamas. He doesn’t have to force anything and keep it simple. He set great screens, and all of them were legal today. He crushes people. He defends. He gets offensive rebounds. He communicates. He’s a great communicator.
“He helps us flow when he’s in there. He’s just really good for us.”
On the Bahamas trip:
“Our guys will get a break. The two days we don’t play, we’re not going to the gym. We’re not going to the gym on Friday or Sunday. They have worked really hard academically and athletically this summer. I want them to have some fun down there.
“I want to take a page out of Maui. We did a pretty good job out there. I told them to hang out at the pool in the morning but in the afternoon get out of the sun and get your energy.
“To get three games with this group, when we come back on Monday, we’re going to have a better feel for our team, which we need.”
On goals of the Bahamas trip:
“I think we know who a Pflueger and who a Gibbs are but after that, we are searching a little bit, and that’s expected. The great thing about down there is you sit on the same bench and substitute, and when you come back, you have a better feel.”