Mike Brey Notebook | 10.31
Notre Dame will return to Purcell Pavilion on Thursday night to play an exhibition game against Central State. Head coach Mike Brey spoke on Tuesday afternoon for the final time before things heat up and to give some details on Sunday’s secret scrimmage with Cincinnati.
On nailing down definitives about the team after Bahamas tour, practice and scrimmage:
“We got some good information after Sunday to make some decisions, especially about the first part of the season about who we start. We’ll evaluate it over the next couple of days. This group will be answering us a lot during the non-league because we have so many new faces. I walk down the tunnel down to practice, and I remind myself about patience.
“It’s a really neat group of unproven guys who are trying their hardest.”
On positives from Sunday’s scrimmage:
“We were in a hard a game against a really tough and physical opponent that guards you. We were disappointed we didn’t win. It was a hard fought game and came down to game situations. Nothing was very easy against them. It was physical. I liked we had that already.
“I also liked we played in an NBA arena. Sure, we play there again, but for our new faces to play in an arena and go through the routine.”
On freshman point guard Prentiss Hubb:
“Hubb played 25 minutes the other night and started. He was very impressive. He’s playmaking guard and a good defender. He makes plays for people. He’s a good shooter too. He’s gained some weight and will be a key for us."
On sophomore forward DJ Harvey:
“Harvey came off the bench and played 23 minutes. He was our leading scorer. I give a lot of credit to him and how hard he worked in his rehab plan since he was given the green light to go. It’s a test mentally to not play the game for so long. I’ve been impressed with how he came back.”
On senior guard Rex Pflueger’s health:
“He’s healthy. He’s been very healthy. The key for him was the layoff in the post-season. It was almost six weeks. He is probably the healthiest he’s been weight wise. He was really lean at the end of last year, and he’s a little heavier. As an older guy, he’s a little smarter about getting his rest and recovery.”
On freshman guard Dane Goodwin:
“Dane can shoot it. He’s an underrated defensive rebounder. He competes. He’s an all around feel for the game guy. He has a great stroke and has a toughness about him where you feel he can play as a young guy. We have to play him. We have to develop him.”
On freshman guard/forward Robby Carmody:
“He has got himself in great shape. He was a little heavy the summer before his senior year because of an injury. He’s in unbelievable shape. He’s a driving and slashing kind of wing. He’ll guard you, and he’s physical. He really knows how to play. He’s another guy we have to bring along. He has to be part of things this year.”
On freshman forward Nate Laszewski:
“He’s the prototypical stretch four. He’s a big who can step out and shoot it. We want him to shoot it. He’s very confident in where he gets shots in our offense and system. He knows how to guard, and he talks on defense. He rotates over, and he took a charge the other night. He knows how to play basketball."
On junior forward Juwan Durham:
“While he had a year with us, this will be the first time he’s played in a while. He missed high school with a knee and didn’t play much at UConn. He sat out last year, so we’ll have three full years with him. I made a comparison with Martinas Geben. We had to wait on Geben to give us what we thought was there.
“He does some things because of his body type, and we haven’t had a guy like that. He’s gained 20 pounds. He couldn’t bench 185 one time when he showed up here, and he does it 12 times now. I’ve been very pleased with his focus to become a player.”
On freshman forward Chris Doherty:
“He knows how to play and is a physical banger. He knows who he is. He’s a dirty work, screener, rebounder and physical guy. He’s caught up from anything he’s missed from the summer.”
On junior forward John Mooney:
“He needs to keep getting confident. I think he is. He can stretch the floor and shoot it, but he does some other stuff too. He’s athletic around the bucket. When he rolls off a ball screen, he can finish in traffic physically. He’s been making his free throws, and he’s made great strides there.
“I want him to be more confident in the low post to make a move to score. We need someone down there to try and do that. We don’t really have any of that right now. I don’t want him turning stuff down because he can drop step or hit a turn around. I don’t want him turning that stuff down.”
On rebounding:
“We’re going to have to do it as a group. I don’t know if there is one guy out there you say can get double-figure rebounds. I’ll say this, John Mooney and Elijah (Burns) have led us up there. DJ Harvey is capable of seven or eight rebounds a game.
“The other night it was 28-28 on the backboard against a big and physical team that pounds the offensive board. We were better in the first half at keeping them off the offensive boards. It will be a little more by committee.”
On areas of patience:
“Rotation and waiting on guys to step forward particularly in offensive roles. Where our offense comes from will be a search for a while. I’ve got to keep an open mind and keep looking at stuff and experimenting with lineups. There could be an ebb and flow with 10 guys for the whole season.
“Maybe not all 10 are playing night to night, but if one or two aren’t playing as much, you can’t lose them because it could come back around. We have so much unproven stuff, so you have to keep them alive.”
On scrimmage vs. Central State:
“We have six new faces who will put the uniform on for the first on our floor. That’s very important given Tuesday night we start keeping a real score. They need to get comfortable on our floor and get a feel for what it’s like to play in our building when the lights are on. We practice in our building, but the more dress rehearsals for this group is a good thing.”