Mike Brey Notebook | NC State Loss
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey showed some frustration for the first time all season as the Irish fell 77-73 to No. 17 NC State on Saturday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.
On the loss:
“To beat one of the better teams in this league, we will have to shoot better than 40%. That’s where we are at all the time. NC State was really gifted offensively and beat us up in the paint. I loved that we battled. They were men and we were a little young. You get what you deserve. I was very impressed with them.”
On finding offense late in games:
“Anybody can take the shot when there are 15 minutes left or in the first half. Sometimes guys are a little nervous. I thought that happened against UCLA. We didn’t know who to really go to, but we’ve been going into John (Mooney).
“We had a hard time getting it to him there and forced some things. Those were killers for us. They made every big shot or every big put back.”
On concern about running Mooney into the ground:
“He’s really tired. That’s why we have to play Chris Doherty right now. We just can’t play this league schedule with seven guys not knowing (Juwan) Durham’s situation. I’m really guarded. I don’t know if Mooney will practice the next two days. We have to be careful I am concerned about it.
“He’s given us everything. It’s unbelievable, but he’s tired.”
On freshman guard Dane Goodwin:
“It’s something to grow on there for him. He needs to be aggressive. That’s probably the first ACC game he’s really been aggressive and felt part of it. We started him and maybe that helped him. I love he hunted his shot and drive. He was active. We want to build on it.”
On taking the redshirt off Doherty:
“He gave us good minutes and he’s a warrior. I could care less about redshirts. That can be a little overrated. You can always redshirt a guy. We need to have him ready. He’ll play on Tuesday and the rest of the way.
“I just don’t know what’s going on with Juwan’s situation.”
On freshman Nate Laszewski struggling shooting the ball:
“That was on my mind as I walked off the court. How do I help him tomorrow? He’s given us some good stuff. You think back to how he played Virginia Tech. I was going ‘Wow.’
“He’s had great looks he hasn’t made. I tell him to not hang his hat on it, but if he can get to the backboard - when he rebounds the ball, I think it helps him. Flush it and move on be ready to play 20 minutes on Tuesday.”
On not making shots:
“It's been very frustrating for me not to be able to find a consistent offensive rhythm. We have some skilled offensive guys out there and getting looks. We just haven't been able to do it. It just puts so much pressure on your defense.
“Getting into the 70s, we should have a parade. We’ve been locked in the 60s. We got to 73, but against a team like that, we have to get 80 at home. It’s frustrating and we have to figure out how to help them.
“If our guys have open looks, we have to take them. If it’s a good look, keep taking it.”
On freshman point guard Prentiss Hubb:
“He’s been great. I feel for him. He tried to make some plays. The three he had - those are the threes he’s made the last two games. He’s had a hard time finishing, but he’s learning there are some athletic dudes back there. If he can turn a corner and get to the rim, he’s got to go.
“He’s been great with the ball. He’s getting a little winded. They were pressing us and we had 15 assists to nine turnovers.”
On Georgia Tech coming up on Tuesday:
“We play a good team who is hard to score on and we have a hard time scoring. That’s a bad recipe right now. They don’t score it a lot, but they guard you. We’re going to have to make some threes over the top because they have a shot blocker.
“We have to get some rest tomorrow. We have to practice for 30 minutes on Monday and then go battle again. We still have two more games in this stretch when we come back home.”