Nate Laszewski and Young Irish Adjusting To ACC Play

Notre Dame freshman Nate Laszewski got his feet wet in the out of conference schedule, but January has been a different animal as ACC play started. 

The Irish sit 0-2 in the ACC, but the 6-foot-10 forward has played well in his first two conference games. 

“It’s been a different experience for me,” Laszewski said. “League play everyone is a little bit better and more athletic. I think I’ve been adjusting pretty well.” 

Against Virginia Tech, Laszewski scored 14 points and then last weekend, he scored nine points and pulled down six boards. 

Notre Dame will look to get its first conference win of the year on Saturday as the Irish welcome Boston College to Purcell Pavilion following a week off.

“We were trying to find a rhythm again,” Laszewski said of the bye week. “We were working on talking defensively and staying sharp.”

Head coach Mike Brey is in the middle of a youth movement, so teaching points are made on each end of the floor on a daily basis. 

“We need to continue to find ourselves offensively and get stops defensively,’ stated Laszewski. “We need to get rebounds and get out in transition.” 

It doesn’t get any easier for Notre Dame after Saturday’s game as they go to North Carolina and host NC State next week, but end the month at Georgia Tech before hosting Virginia and Duke. 

“It’s unbelievable,” Brey said of the schedule. “It’s the ultimate challenge. Two teams will be fighting for their life on Saturday. We’ve been in this position before where you just need one. We’re going to have to be good to beat BC.” 

Laszewski has already taken on the attitude of his head coach and knows turning close losses into wins starts with effort and attitude. 

“Every team in this league is really good,” said Laszewski. “It doesn’t matter who we are playing. We have to bring our A-game every day.

“We have to come with the same attitude every single day to win every game. We have to make sure we play our hardest every single time.”