Oct. 14, 2008
Head Coach Mike Brey
On the key for the upcoming season…
“We’re ready to get going here. A key for us is pacing this group through a long season. It’s the toughest basketball schedule we’ve ever played in our history, given what the league is and what we’ve done in non-league play. It’s an exciting challenge and one that this group should have.”
On dealing with pre-season expectations…
“We have a lot of potential and a lot to work with. This group will play the same way because they’re older. I don’t think they are distracted by that [pre-season rankings]. They’ve been together for a while, they’ve always remained hungry, and have done some really nice things but they’d like to do more.”
“These guys still do have a chip on their shoulder given how they played in the last game. They’d like to go deeper in both tournaments. There isn’t any complacency.”
“How this group plays keeps you loose, too. We play an attacking, go-for-it style offensively. If you play that way, it probably helps with expectations. That’s something that I have to keep in mind.”
On the difficulty of the BIG EAST schedule…
“We can be really good and I think they realize that. I’m going to have to help them understand that we are going to take some bullets during this season but it’s just hanging in there, staying together. I don’t want them to panic because they want it really bad.”
On improving defensively…
“I haven’t seen us defensive rebound at key times and get key loose balls. We have not done that consistently enough yet. It’s something we’ll focus on. It’s not just one guy. The way our team is built and against some of the athletes we’ll play, it’s doing it as a unit.”
On replacing Rob Kurz…
“I feel like we have seven starters. I was really happy with the way Jon Peoples played in Ireland and all of the confidence that he has gotten coming off that trip. It was great for Ryan Ayers and (Luke) Zeller, as well. We could start different ways throughout this marathon coming up but I know I’m very, very confident in any of those seven starting.”
On the team’s attitude…
“This group wants to be taught and coached. They want to be corrected. Sometimes they want too much feedback because they want to be really good. I don’t ever want guys thinking too much. I don’t want to paralyze them with too much feedback.”
“We’re very proud of leading the nation in assists. That’s something the guys hang their hat on. That sums up who this group is.”
On last year’s loss to Washington State…
“Hopefully we can rotate into the role of being men this year. Washington State was truly men. I have told them to remember that we played against men that night and they chewed us up and spit us out. And can we get to that maturity level physically – being able to rely on each other to block out, dive for loose balls, maybe more than just a specific skill or part of the game is just how they carry themselves. That was a different level of maturity that we can strive to be like.”
On the younger players on the team…
“We want (Tyrone) Nash, (Carleton) Scott, and (Tim) Abromaitis fighting for it. They all got chances in Ireland and we want those guys going for it and playing it. Nash and Scott split playing time in Ireland but Tim Abromaitis is the youngest guy on our team. He’s the one we have to look out for in the fall. He’s different from them.”
On the difficulty of schedule…
“Given these older guys, what they’ve done, they want to play big games. You try to gauge your schedule every year on who you’ve got and what they’ve done to strategically gain an NCAA bid. With the group of guys we have, they should be thrown in there. Let’s go after it.”
On Luke Harangody…
“One of the things we talked to him about was being better about not being distracted on a mistake that he makes or a call. He is so intense and wound so tight. Also, moving him around offensively – he can’t just wrestle around in the low post with the players we have in our league. He is going to have to be a better post defender, too.”
“He’s the perfect storm of athletic ability, psyche, heart, drive and attitude.”
On whether the home win streak was a distraction last year…
“It was for me a little bit last year. It was a bit of a distraction in the preparation. But for our guys, I think it was a confidence boost. You think back to two games that we were flat out beat, Providence and Pittsburgh, and just their will and their belief that they were going to find a way in this building. It’s something we’re proud of. We don’t play worried about it.”
On how he coaches this team…
“They’re older guys, they’re intelligent guys, and their basketball IQ is really high. It’s like teaching an honors class when you come and work with them. You can move quickly. You can make a point one time and it will be reinforced by the seniors and the juniors. They’re not a group that I get too hard on because they’re too hard on themselves sometimes because they want it bad individually.”
On his goals for junior point guard Tory Jackson in the offense…
“It’s hard to put a number on him. I certainly want him to be more aggressive this year. I think he was in Ireland. I think [his role] will just evolve and he’ll become more of a scorer for us, but he doesn’t need to force anything. We had a situation in Ireland where I was trying to get another player’s attention and I was frustrated and yelling, and [Jackson] came over and he said, ‘Coach, I got it.’ I came back [to the bench] and I said, ‘Now that is the mark of a veteran guard.'”
On the importance of getting the sophomores involved… “We really forced that in Ireland because we could afford to. We’re going to need those bodies. Somebody asked me who is the eighth guy, and I would say all three of them (Tim Abromaitis, Tyrone Nash, Carleton Scott). We’re going to need them all because this is a long haul and a brutal schedule.”
On Kyle McAlarney’s role…
“I don’t think there’s a better shooter in the country, and I don’t think anyone would argue that, but he’s really done a great job leading. Now that he’s been back for a year and Rob [Kurz] is gone, I think he’s set a great tone. He’s been really good with those three young guys, trying to get them going and get more out of them.”
On the team’s leadership roles…
“Our four seniors have been magnificent. I haven’t been around better leadership in my career in coaching. And those three juniors are pretty good too. We really have seven men that have really set the tone and are very business-like about things.”
On Harangody and Jackson still being a juniors…
“It’s refreshing. With players like Dominic James at Marquette, when players come in and do so much as freshmen you’re asking, ‘They’re still there?’ I’m sure other people in the league are thinking, ‘We have to deal with him and Jackson for even more time?’ There’s no question that when they showed up they made us tougher. Our seniors probably wouldn’t admit to it, but [Harangody and Jackson] made them tougher.”
On mixing defenses…
“I think we’ve found a niche for mixing man and zone. When you change defenses and play some zone, it’s a little less taxing on the legs. I’m very interested to see how some of our opponents shoot the ball with the new [three-point] line.”
“Basketball IQ helps us. We play a little bit of the 1-2-2 which has been good to us, we delayed press, we play 2-3 and man-to-man. We should be able to change the rhythm of teams.”
On the team’s attitude without Rob Kurz…
“He was one serious guy. But when we’ve been coming in to use our two hours and work out, McAlarney stretches us and he has the Kurz face on. He’s a business-like guy, as are (Luke) Harangody and (Tory) Jackson, but you can always count on [Zach] Hillesland to keep things loose.”
On what parts of Rob Kurz’s game will be missed most…
“The overall dirty work, glue guy parts. We put him on the best big guy all the time. He was also a great screener. Some of the best looks that (Ryan) Ayers and (Kyle) McAlarney got, or even Colin Falls and Russell Carter, were off of Rob Kurz screens. He also got the big defensive rebounds at key times. Rob was one of the guys I was yelling at up to February of his senior year to shoot the ball more, but maybe he knew more than me and said, ‘Coach, we’ve got enough of those guys. I’ll just keep screening and cutting and rebounding and defending.'”
On his expectations for Luke Zeller…
“I think he’s going to have a heck of a year because he’ll get the minutes to do it. It’s hard when you’re the fourth big guy, but when we asked him to deliver in short minutes he really did deliver for us last year. He’s moving his feet better than ever and shooting the ball really well. At our meeting in the spring, he sat down and I said, ‘You’re going to have a heck of a year next year,’ and he said, ‘I know, Coach.'”
On the renovations to the Joyce Center…
“The goal will be to keep our momentum going when we get into the new building. I’m excited to see it finally happen. It will be a very busy offseason with us getting locked out, but it’s all for the right reasons and it’s long overdue. When we joined the BIG EAST in 1995, it’s probably something we should’ve thought about. Now that it’s coming around and you can see it happening, I’m thrilled. It’s going to be classy when we get it done, and that’s who we are.”
On recruiting…
“We’re looking at everything. There are still a couple seniors out there that we’ll explore. We did a lot of work with juniors in September and that certainly is a key. With [Ty] Proffitt’s scholarship still available, we would be open to [a transfer] possibly in the spring because Ben [Hansbrough] and Scott [Martin] have been great endorsements for that. We’ll just keep exploring everything and keep all avenues open.”
Ryan Ayers • Sr. • G
On filling in for [former ND basketball player] Rob Kurz…
“I think all four seniors will contribute to that [taking Rob Kurz’s place on the team]. On leadership, he was a great voice that we had. On doing the dirty work, I think guys like Zach Hillesland and Luke Zeller will definitely step in and contribute. They’re experienced guys who have a lot of tools.”
On being a senior…
“Obviously my confidence has grown. Being an experienced guy, being a senior, just doing little things, like being more aggressive, is only going to help myself and everybody else.”
On if the new three-point line matters…
“No, not really. I think for shooters like myself and Kyle (McAlarney), for example, shooters can shoot. It doesn’t matter where the line is. As long as you have confidence, everybody will be fine I’m sure.”
On (Luke) Harangody’s three-point abilities…
“He’s working on it. He thinks that he can step out with me and Kyle (McAlarney). He’s definitely getting better. That’s a weapon he’s going to show a little bit this year.”
On defensive rebounding…
“I figure the most important thing in defensive rebounding is to have all five guys go to the glass. We have some good guards in Jonathan Peoples and Tory Jackson that can rebound, but also wings like myself and Zach (Hillesland) need to help out the bigs down low in rebounding. And I think that’s the main goal for us all to rebound.”
On the sophomores’ improvement…
“They’re more experienced. They know how to work hard. They developed that work ethic that we’ve instilled in them being here at Notre Dame. They’ve definitely improved and come a long way. And I think they’re going to show some nice things to everybody this year. They just have a lot of ability. Guys like Tyrone Nash- his physical body is really long and athletic and they can definitely help us with little things that Rob (Kurz) did and definitely help the team.”
Luke Harangody • Jr. • F
On how he’d like to grow as a player…
“I’d like to see my growth more on the mental side of the game- coming out strong mentally. Being able to get past a mistakes like Coach Brey talked about. Becoming more emotionally balanced as a player. When I do make a turnover or I do miss a shot, I can look right by it and get on to the next play.”
On increased coverage this season…
“I know that’s going to come. And a lot of people talk to me about how hard it’s going to be, being a target for double-teams or triple-teams. What’s great about that is that I’ve got a great bunch of guys around me. I’ve got Kyle (McAlarney) and Ryan (Ayers) on the outside, Zach (Hillesland) and Tory (Jackson) and a bunch of playmakers, so it’s great.”
On how far the team can go…
“We can go as far as we want to. I think we need to realize that we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’re going to have a huge preseason coming up here, with these first couple weeks of practice. I’m just excited to come out here and play again.”
On their schedule…
“With the schedule we have this year, obviously it’s one of the toughest schedules we’ve had I think in school history, like Coach talked about. I think we still have the same goals: we’re coming out to win every game. We know we can win every game, but obviously the BIG EAST is once again one of the toughest conferences; the toughest conference in the country, in my opinion.”
On motivation from last year’s BIG EAST tournament…
“Last year, coming into the BIG EAST tournament we definitely had larger goals than that coming out. Losing on the first night, that was a huge blow for us. And especially with that second-round loss (in the NCAA tournament), we saw ourselves going a lot farther than that. So this year, I think we’re motivated to do more. I think we’re capable.”
On the start of the season…
“We’re really excited. We love those big matchups, especially going to Hawaii right off the bat, and playing Indiana, playing in possible matchups against Texas and North Carolina, it’s great for us. It’ll challenge us and we’ll see what kind of a team we are.”
On guarding tougher players…
“I’m going to take that as a challenge. Coach and I talked about it. This summer, I was in the gym a lot, and I think I’m ready for that. I’m ready to show people that I can guard that tough player.”
On what he wanted to improve in the off-season…
“I wanted to come out and make myself a little more versatile, step out a little bit more and definitely work on my defense a lot, just guarding that tougher, quicker player and being able to do more on the court. Just becoming that typical, all-around player.”
On shooting threes…
“I think you will see some of that [shooting from the perimeter] this year.”
Zach Hillesland • Sr. • F
On the pre-season rankings…
“The underdog label is something my team has consistently had every year since I’ve been here. We try not to get caught up in pre-season hype and expectations. I think we have a better team than that, and we have higher expectations for ourselves. We’re old enough and smart enough to know better. For some reason it still doesn’t feel like we’ve really been picked to be ranked so high. We’re so used to being the underdog, and we still feel like we have something to prove. I think you have to play that way, if you don’t, that’s an easy way to pick up losses in the BIG EAST in a hurry.”
On the difficulty of the schedule…
“We love it. We’re very excited about it. Our schedule has been criticized in the past for being weak, so we’re excited for the challenges ahead. We’re coming off playing in Ireland, which satiated us for a while, as far as competition goes. We’re excited to get back into it. The seniors and I have been waiting for four years to have this opportunity, and now is the right time for this schedule.”
On the possibility of emerging from the season a better team with a worse record…
“I haven’t wrapped my mind around dealing with wins and losses yet, but we have a tough enough group and smart enough group to know to deal with our schedule, how to hustle on the road. For the seniors on the team, our freshman year we were 1-8 in the BIG EAST, so nothing’s ever going to seem like it’s all that bad. We’ll keep a level head. We’ll always have plenty of opportunities to make our case with the schedule we have in the league we’re playing in. There might be a few bumps along the way, that’s all.”
Tory Jackson • Jr. • G
On what he’s worked on as a player….
“I went out there and took what was given to me. They double-teamed ‘Gody (Luke Harangody), or when Kyle (McAlarney) wasn’t on early in a new game, I took it upon myself to make some short-range, mid-range jump shots to get to the line. I’ve been working on my free-throws a lot more, too. There’s a lot of things I’ve been working on to make myself a better player to just try to get us over the hump.”
On defensive rebounding…
“I think we’ll be fine. Sometimes a lot of us worry about being called for a foul, over-the-back or something like that, instead of just being aggressive and going and attacking the ball. I think it’ll come with time. The way we look, and the way we’ve been playing lately, I think we’ll be fine.”
On being “poor”…
“We still haven’t won a BIG EAST championship, we still haven’t won an NCAA tournament. We haven’t proved anything. We’re still poor. Only one team can win our conference. One team can win the NCAA tournament. And since I’ve been here, we haven’t done that. And that’s a big goal, a big goal for us. That’s probably the main reason why Luke Harangody said that we’re still poor. We haven’t earned anything yet.”
On quieting Coach Brey in Ireland…
“It was a bad play. It was one of those plays where you make a mistake, and he yells at you and might take you out of the game, and I understand. If the other players see him yelling, some of the other players might react differently. They might panic if they see our coach panicking. So I just took it upon myself to just let him know that we’re fine. We’re going to be okay. He’s been helping me out with times like that, too. That’s why I love Coach Brey. He’s just one of those coaches where he allows you to have that openness with him. If he wasn’t as close with us, I don’t think I’d be able to say anything to him, telling him to calm down, ’cause he’d probably drag me out of the game quickly. He’s open with his players and that helps us out, makes us better. At that time, I felt like he might be panicking, and he saw a few mistakes we were making and I just felt like we’d be okay and I just wanted to calm him down.”
On team leadership…
“You’ve got four seniors that lead. But you’ve still got me, (Luke) Harangody, Jonathan Peoples, three juniors that have been under the system for a while and kind of understand the flow of how we play. We all have our opinions. You have four seniors that are going to be leaders, but you have three juniors also that know how to lead.”
Kyle McAlarney • Sr. • G
On finding consistency as a team…
“It’s very difficult to find, especially in the BIG EAST because the BIG EAST is such a monster league. We’re dealing with different players every night and different defenses. It’s really tough. Consistency is definitely something we all want, especially on the road. We hope to start finding consistency at home and let it carry over on the road.”
On dealing with the trend of entering the season underrated…
“You just have to stay hungry. I think we’ve done a good job with that last season, just focusing on what we need to do to get better every single day. We’re not really looking at all of those expectations in magazines and newspapers. It really hasn’t gotten to us and I think the coaching staff supports that. We were 1-8 our freshman year (in the BIG EAST), we’ve seen the worst. We know what it’s like to be there. We’ve stayed humble, that’s key for us.”
On being a team leader…
“I want to be the best in the country at what I do. I want to do what this team needs, which is to score and shoot the ball. I believe I am among the top shooters in the country. I really worked on my skills in the off-season, handling the ball, being strong, moving without the ball, skills you definitely need to be successful in the BIG EAST.”
On the likelihood of winning 14 BIG EAST games again…
“The BIG EAST is a monster league this year. We can’t make any guarantees. Every team can beat you. Winning 14 games, it’s going to be tough. We have the depth and we have the ability to do that. It’s possible we’ll be a better team with more losses. We’ll take it game by game and hopefully that will carry over to the NCAA tournament and the BIG EAST tournament. That’s really what we’re focusing on right now. We’ve learned from the past, we’re more experienced this year. We want to go deeper into those tournaments.”
On the difficulty of Notre Dame’s schedule…
“There are some great opportunities for us. We’re playing top teams, Texas, North Carolina, some top-10 teams. It’s going to be a big test for us. Ohio State will be another great game. I think UCLA will also be a huge test for us. We have some great opportunities this year. The schedule’s a monster, but it is going to show how good of a team we are.”
Jonathan Peoples • Jr. • G
On Luke Harangody’s three-point abilities…
“Back then [when they played against each other on traveling teams] he used to hit a lot of threes. That’s all he used to shoot was threes. I always knew ‘Gody had a great touch.”
On what he’s working on improving…
“I’m going to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball, offensive and defensive.”
On expectations for the season…
“I think we all came here knowing that we could be a great team. And I think we already know that we’re a top team in the country. I think everybody’s got the same goal in mind, so it makes it easier.
Luke Zeller • Sr. • F/C
On being a team leader…
“Being a senior and having a few years under my belt makes it easier. Having that kind of experience is a huge benefit. I’m ready to roll. I definitely know I can do a lot of things to help this team, and I’m ready to go. I’ve been playing basketball since I was a little kid, so it’s not rocket science for me.”
On improving his skills as a rebounder…
Rob (Kurz) is gone this year, and that leaves a big hole on the team as far as rebounding goes. Now a lot of responsibility rests on my shoulders. I’ve worked on rebounding in Ireland and continue to work on it every day. I’m continuing to get better at it. I’m ready to go out there and help with the defense.”
On the difficulty of Notre Dame’s schedule…
“Having competitive games so early in the season will make us closer as a team. We have learned how to adjust to tough games in the past. The biggest benefit for us is having a lot of experienced guys who have played together for so long. We’re ready to play.”