NCAA Tournament - Day 1 Update

March 17, 2011

Practice Gallery

Coach Brey and Player Quotes
Akron coach Keith Dambrot Quotes
Akron Player Quotes

Irish at the NCAA Tournament
Practice Report March 17 – Knock Out
Coach Brey Game Preview
Irish on Akron
On Playing at the United Center
Coach Brey Press Conference
Player Press Conference

The Notre Dame men’s basketball team spend the day in Chicago prepairing for the battle with the 15 seed Akron Zips. This morning the Irish headed up Lake Shore Drive to practice on the campus of DePaul University at McGrath Arena before departing for the United Center on the west side of Chicago.

While at the United Center, players met with the media in the Irish locker room, while coach Brey and selected players attended the press conference. After the media session, the Irish took to the NCAA playing floor at the United Center for a 40-minute work out, including 5-on-5 work, and closing out the session with Knock-Out.

Check Back to UND.com for updates as the Irish march on during the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Notes from the NCAA Tournament – John Heisler, Sr. Assoc, Athletic

• The NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee site rep is SMU athletics director Steve Orsini, who played football at Notre Dame in the late 1970s.Other NCAA committee members with Notre Dame ties are current Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith (he both played and coached football for the Irish) andcurrent Xavier athletics director Mike Bobinski (he was a Notre Dame baseball pitcher and later became the Irish athletics ticket manager and assistant business manager). Orsini’s men’s basketball coach at SMU happens to be former Irish coach Matt Doherty.
• The Irish coaches were in their United Center locker room watching the finish of the Morehead State-Louisville game – and watching one of Morehead State’s assistant coaches, former Irish guard Joseph Price.
• The Irish at the United Center were assigned to the NBA visiting team locker room.
• The on-site CBS/Turner Sports producer is Craig Silver, who also produced Notre Dame’s Sun Bowl football win over Miami.
• Representing the BIG EAST Conference in Chicago is associate commissioner Dan Gavitt.
• The report from the Akron camp is that former Irish (and Akron) football coach Gerry Faust as so concerned about showing favoritism to either team that he decided not to come to Chicago to watch.
• Mike Brey remembers watching his son Kyle play football for Buffalo in the final game ever at Akron’s Rubber Bowl – while sitting with Faust and current Akron basketball coach Keith Dambrot.
• The Notre Dame band will play the National Anthem before tomorrow’s early session.
• The senior director of event operations at the United Center is Rob Staverman, whose father Larry was an assistant coach for the Irish with former head coach Johnny Dee.
• —
• Bend native who used to work summers in the Notre Dame media relations office.
• Tournament organizers offered 20-minute shooting segments beginning at 8 a.m. Friday to the participating teams (Notre Dame had the option of coming at 8:20 a.m.) and there were no takers among the eight teams.
• Assisting with administration of the games at the United Center is Lindsay Schrader, a Big Ten Conference intern and former Irish basketball player.