Mike Brey Notebook | 1.31
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey spoke on Thursday afternoon as the Irish prepare to take on Boston College this weekend.
On what the team needs:
“We have a little bit of a problem going and getting a bucket off the dribble when we don’t get anything off our movement. Someone who can just go get a shot. That has been a problem for us. We’ve played two really good defensive teams in the last couple days.
“I do think Prentiss (Hubb) and Dane (Goodwin) will become that and if they want to go ahead and do it in February, it would be OK.”
On development:
“We’ve talked about recruiting a bunch and offseason development. You have to when you’re in the situation we’re in with the goals we have for the guys returning. They are all coming back, so it’s a matter of what do we do in the offseason in development.
“One of the things we talked about today was who we felt could make a big jump. A John Mooney jump. Could we have two or three guys make that kind of jump? We’re going to need that. We’re still playing the back nine here and let’s go on the road.
On forward Juwan Durham:
“I want to get him 20 minutes up there. My goal for him the rest of the way, if we can keep him healthy, is to play him a lot. He needs development and I think we have something unique there. Hopefully, we can get 20 minutes out of him on Saturday and maybe he’s back in the starting lineup on Wednesday.”
On expanding Durham’s role:
“27 minutes is the most he’s ever played. I’d love to get him 20 even though he hasn’t played in a while. He’s been doing a good job with cardio. We had something brewing there with him. Then all of a sudden we got knocked back.
“One of the things on my mind is we have to play him. Hopefully, he can handle 20 minutes on Saturday.”
On goals for February:
“I’d love to find a better offensive rhythm. We’ve struggled with that. We take care of the basketball but can we develop a third scorer? Could a fourth scorer emerge this month?
“In college basketball, you get one or two, then the whole complexion changes. I’m also very realistic the youth movement and who we are in the big picture of things.”
On point guard Prentiss Hubb’s big game against Duke:
“I thought he was making good decisions with the ball. He looked to score. He has to look to score for us. He and Dane have the ability to go get a shot and make a play. I want him to build on that. I was very proud of him. He was ready to compete against a really good team.”
On Hubb’s health after tearing his ACL last year:
“There’s no question with him and DJ Harvey missing training camp in the summer – they have played a little bit from behind. I think it can help him. We tested him and I was intrigued with him on Sunday. We tested his explosion. He’s good and trending the right way.
“But to have a summer of being able to play and work on his game will help him. Down the stretch, I want him to go for it and let it rip.
On it being a good time to go on the road:
“Sometimes you get on the road and circle the wagons a little more. You’re loose and you can play. The last two games we had a great crowd and all these people there. You almost feel you have the weight of the world on you. I think our young guys felt that at times.
“It’s probably good for us to be away from our building for a while. Our fans were unbelievable. We didn’t give them enough to cheer for.”
On takeaway from Boston College win earlier this month:
“I went right to The Grotto after the Boston College game last time. I sit in our players lounge and there was about nine minutes left on the game clock and I go into the locker room with about eight minutes left. So at nine minutes left, I look to the left and in one of the chairs is TJ Gibbs with his jacket on and hood up barefoot asleep. The door opens and it’s Rex Pflueger coming in on crutches.
“I looked to my left and looked to my right and I thought ‘Come on. Are you kidding me?’ That was my memory and we somehow won that game. Those six guys really played hard and it was neat to see them celebrate a league win.”