March 15, 2015
THE MODERATOR: We have Mike Brey with us.
Q. Congratulations, Mike, great win.
Mike Brey: Thank you, Reggie.
Q. You enter this tournament, the NCAA, in a different locale, because this is a new thing to be going in off an ACC Championship or any conference championship. Your team has been level headed all year. I assume that you expect the same thing to get back to work mode right away?
Mike Brey: Well, we need some rest, I think tomorrow, too. We got back early a.m., didn’t do anything today, and we still need another day of rest. That will give us two days to prepare. This has been a focused group, there is no question. They enjoyed and celebrated one of the most if not the most special moment in our program’s history and well deserved. I also think that they’re a confident group. I’ve never taken a team into the NCAA Tournament off of a tournament championship in our league, and so I think that gives you a whole other level of believing.
Q. And one of the things that you have been able to do is put together streaks of wins during the course of the season and, obviously this is a great example, an ACC Tournament, is a great tournament situation, but this team has been able to sustain its level of play. What do you attribute that most to?
Mike Brey: I think they’re a pretty mature group. You’ve heard me give credit to our leadership. They set a great tone starting back in June and they have been really good in March. I thought they were great in Greensboro, I would say Pat and the Jerian and I would add Demetrius with his voice and drive and they were focused on going down there. We talked about cutting nets down and they interpreted it as wanting shirts and hats, and they kicked it around and certainly they were wearing them on the plane back last night.
Q. As you look ahead a little bit to Northeastern, what do you know?
Mike Brey: I know Northeastern well. I played them a lot in my America East days, when I was at the University of Delaware. They were in the Hall of Fame Classic, so got to see them play a little bit, remember them beating Florida State early in the season, Billy Coen is a bright, young coach, one of the best in the business. They play a lot like us. They spread you out, they move the ball. They’ve got shot makers, they know how to play. They will play a little bit of a match up zone, but, again, it’s a team like this that just won a conference championship tournament, so you go in with some momentum and belief.
Q. What are the tangibles that you take from an ACC Championship, whether it’s immediate or big picture?
Mike Brey: Well, big picture, I think it’s an unbelievable endorsement for our program. The one thing you have heard me say about our program is, we were independent until ’95. We didn’t join a league soon enough. Then we joined a league, then we switched leagues.
We have been kind of an erratic basketball history, as far as where do our fans follow us, who are our rivals? What’s our identity? We established a pretty darn good identity in the Big East, we really did. We were well respected and very consistent. But we never got to Saturday night in New York City, never won, you know, a championship. So doing that in this league, I think, really kind of as I told John last night, I said, “I guess we’re in this league now, it’s official, we’re in!”
But I think it’s great for our program, big picture. Short term, I think it’s great for this group’s confidence as they move into the NCAA tournament, because I’ve never had a team come off a tournament championship moving into an NCAA Tournament.
Q. How different is it watching on Sunday after trying to get them down, back to earth instead of pumping them up?
Mike Brey: The other thing is, that’s our first automatic bid in history! We finally earned an automatic bid. This group will recalibrate and the be hungry quickly. That’s been their MO; it starts with Pat and Jerian, but even those other guys, I know they’re not satisfied. We started talking about the next tournament, which happens to be the Pittsburgh tournament, last night, whatever it would be, and I just talked to them before those guys talked to you about, we just won a really tough tournament, now let’s win another mini tournament in Pittsburgh, and then we will regroup and see what’s going on after that.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Yeah, there was a lot of people on Tobacco Road that are wondering if we broke in their houses and got in and out of town and stole the trophy and came back home! Also what we did in the regular season on Tobacco Road, winning in Chapel Hill and the state, it’s really it’s got ACC country understanding, you know, who we are and we’re really respected, and that’s what I hoped for last year to go in with momentum, and we didn’t do that but we certainly have bounced back.
You hear from a lot of guys. A lot of, you know, Coach Wootten, guys like that. A lot of guys I know from back home were ACC guys and as you can tell from last night, the way the media down there talks to me, I’m like an ACC guy. I was a Big East guy, I was never maybe a true Big East guy, because I grew up in ACC country, and I coached at Duke so it’s interesting how the ACC guys, even when we went down there to say we were announcing, welcome home, welcome back. So it’s funny, I always kind of thought, I’m in the Big East, I just want to be a Big East guy, that’s who we are. Maybe at the end of the day my destiny was to go back to the ACC. Thinking a lot about that on the plane last night. But in the league and around the league, I think it’s very powerful and when you and I think what was so powerful for our program was that we moved to the night sessions. We moved the bracket like the Big East bracket playing at night. We played in prime time and won two great games, everybody in the country watched. It’s great for your program, great for your recruiting, the whole bit.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Oh, I wouldn’t put myself in that category tournament winner, yeah. I think for the people in the true ACC people, that’s a real endorsement, like, okay, man, he’s for real, he’s one of our guys. I think ACC country has been intrigued by me a little bit. I’ve been offered a lot of ACC jobs, when I coached here. So now I’m back there in front of ’em, and, you know, it was really gratifying to see my team play like that last night. They played so well and so fearlessly.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Well, you know, it’s funny how this year has been the karma has been so good that who is standing in front of me when the buzzer goes off but Jerian Grant, and I get to hug him and it’s a good, long hug and certainly get a little emotional. It was so fitting that the two of us happened to be right there when the horn went off, and you saw my quote, he said, “Gosh, is this for real?”
“Yes, sir, it is, definitely for real!”
But seeing our guys celebrate at half court, Roy Williams was amazingly gracious. He’s a long time ACC guy, and it meant a lot what he said about our program, as it did Friday night, what Mike K. Said about our program.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: You know, I don’t know if we flat out said, you know, let’s recruit these tough guys. I mean, the group toughness is just so good. Certainly Pat and Jerian are Pat and Jerian, Demetrius has an edge about him. As I said last night, I know there are commercials about Steph Curry, the baby face, and Steve, that story is ours. What a killer that dude is. I mean, you know what’s the epitome of him last night, he throws the ball away before half. They come down and dunk it, and then bangs down a three right before halftime. You got to have special DNA to do that.
Zach Auguste has got more than an edge, and he controlled it better. I thought he was fabulous down there and went to a whole other level, defending the post against Okafor, and throwing off the big guys last night.
And Bonzie’s toughness. There is a toughness and swagger about Bonzie’s. I’ve had individual tough guys. The collective toughness, though, is really special. You never know how it’s going to come together, but it’s been interesting to watch.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Well, yeah, I mean, I would say most of the kids that are going to get high level Division I scholarships, they’re going to have an edge about them. They can’t be totally soft, and yet skilled.
But we have had guys like that, and now that you ask the question I’m reflecting a little bit. You know, I’ve been attracted to guys like that. Aron Brody was 6 6 undersized guy, but when I watched him in Houston, everyone in the gym was scared of him. I wanted to coach that guy. Hell, I was scared of him when I coached him. And Hansborough, who would get whacky as heck; there was an edge about him, and I wanted that guy on my side.
So I think I do identify with that a little. Demetrius always had an edge about him, everyone in town knows that. And that was good and Connaughton Connaughton could not dribble left handed, so people backed off. His senior year. All I know is when I watched him in Orlando, he made every play. Parents in the stands were yelling at him. He made two free throws, he kinda gestured at him, and
I thought I want that guy. I want to take that guy to Chapel Hill and Greensboro. And Jerian has developed a toughness, but it took all of five years to get him to that point.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Well, by simplifying this tournament and looking at it as just one weekend here, I put on the board in there the three other teams in our mini bracket in Pittsburgh, Butler, Texas and Notre Dame and Northeastern. I put up there the Pittsburgh tournament. You’ve won one tournament, we’ve played some pretty good teams, can we win the Pittsburgh tournament. I told them don’t look at the rest of the bracket; let’s look at the Pittsburgh tournament. Let’s win that, regroup and talk about the Cleveland tournament.
And I do want them to enjoy this for another day. We can’t practice very hard tomorrow. We’re tired. Make sure to enjoy this for another day, and we will be ready to lock in Tuesday and then we’ve got to travel Tuesday because we will have media obligations Wednesday.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: It’s the best place it’s been all the way around. We were at such a high level down there, especially Friday and Saturday, that I think they know how it feels; they know how we prepared. We have a reference point.
We have a reference point of a higher level, and the level we had goin’ there wasn’t too bad. Got us a double bye, but it was another level of stuff, and that’s a group giving of themselves and our bench being good and supporting guys and good attitudes. It’s been a really low maintenance group.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: You know, I think it’s time. I think he knew, peer pressure-wise his teammates needed more consistency out of him, and to be more reliable, and those guys putting heat on Zach is more powerful at this time than me putting heat on Zach.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Well, when those two guys are slashing and we have two guys using ball screens and Demetrius kicked it to another level as well. We’re hard to deal with, we’re coming right down your throat. You know in the games Friday and Saturday because of those two guys we got to the bonus quick and we made free throws. We’ve improved there, we’ve made free throws at a higher level here. But those two guys drives get you to the bonus fast. I thought Demetrius was as potent off the ball screen Friday and Saturday, as Jerian was, and we tried to get ’em both in it. Regular season most of the times it was Jerian, but I thought Demetrius has become a voice, he wants to win, he talked about a trophy all week leading up to the game on Thursday. He’s so pure in wanting his team to do it.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Yeah, well, I felt that in Italy. I mean, you know. We didn’t have this level in Italy that we had in Greensboro, but once he got the ball in his hands and he was the starter, he was going to be fine. Once it was his team and we were able to do that in July and August and not wait until October, I think it sped the process up.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Yeah, I mean, it’s just another way of playing. We’re a little bigger that way. I think we’re able to rebound a little better defensively, which can be a weakness, even though last night, 13 we could absorb, and we could offensively rebound al little bit better. When I’m looking at it, it changes us offensively. We don’t have the spacing we have when Pat is our 4 man and we can really spread the court. You’re always trying to feel that. Bonzie had a tough time covering their big man’s last night, so it was going to be a Zach Auguste night, but it was Bonzie’s night Friday night, and he was great against the middle of their zone. So you’re always feeling that. We’ve gotten more reps at it the end of the season. We played it, we practiced that way a little bit, and then you just kind of read it and see what’s going on.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: No, I think the biggest thing is not to overanalyze. I am at a point in my career I don’t dwell on it. Maybe I would if I was younger. The thing we’re doing different this year is we’re going into this thing after winning a championship and that’s maybe the biggest thing. We handled our league play at another level and I think that gives us a great chance to do more. You know, the job is 365 days a year and I’m motivated to keep want to go make that run, and I’m excited about the possibilities with this group.
Q. (No microphone.) Is there something that you saw was a common theme?
Mike Brey: Eight McDonald’s All Americans! (Laughter.)
Winning a regular season conference championship sets you apart going into this next tournament, and this is the only group that we have had that has ever done that, which is why you feel confident.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Yeah. Our mental toughness, that’s why, you know, we have reference points, heck, I was talking about it in that 9 minute time out. I said, “Guys, we have been in this position so many times, down 9, down 10”! We’ve had to fight our way back to win. We’ve been there, done that.
This group has you know, if we did have a problem with that, it would have showed itself in Greensboro. That’s why I feel better about Pittsburgh.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: I saw that. Indiana State Championship, right? Heck of a bracket. I know what’s on that other side but, boy, we haven’t looked over there. I have a lot of respect for you know, Butler had a similar year to us, bouncing back off a difficult year, first time in a new league. I think that’s great story. Texas has been the most analyzed team down the stretch, but they’re really playing pretty good right now and they’re huge. Again, I have a lot of respect for Northeastern. I coached in that league. You have seniors that have played together, they have won together, they will be loose and they’re skilled offensively and they can make shots.
So we’ve got our hands full and it’s a little bit like guarding ourselves. Guarding the arc and having to attack from a matched up zone when they change to it. Last year they beat Georgetown in the San Juan shoot out and we were kind of watching games in November and that’s the first time I concentrated on them under Billy Coen and was impressed. Watched them a little bit in the Mohegan Sun and watched them against Florida State. They’re good, man. It’s an ACC game.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Where would I be? I would have been somewhere else doing TV or something. Now I look and go, what am I going to do without those two guys? But you know what? On Friday night and really throughout the year, the way Zach, our sophomores, Bonzie now, the way those guys have played, I always like to glance ahead at this time and go, I kinda like that group coming back, it’s a solid nucleus. But Pat and his dad were, “Coach, we’re coming back,” and I took them at their word, no matter how much heat the Orioles put on them.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Somebody laid it on the floor, and the Commissioner came in and said, “You may want this,” and my reply was, “We’re kinda new at this.”
It was neat to see them sitting around in the locker room. They didn’t shower right away, trading stories and checking their phones and talking about different things. It’s really you know, you talk about chemistry and being together and as a coach you’re always you always worry about how it can be screwed up from inside or out and they’re so strong internally, it’s just like refreshing to be around them. I think they’re very hungry, still, even though what they accomplished last night was extremely special.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: They were on fumes. You know, down there, I didn’t talk the whole time out. I let them talk. This thing is running itself. This leadership and this mojo is those guys talking through things, getting on each other a little bit. I started time outs by saying, if we can get a kill coming out of here, the whole complex will change. That’s all we talked about on Monday. We got here, we’re playing tonight because we got kills, three stops in a row, kills. You do that, things will change. Then we got I think eight, three’s, and by the end of the time out they were not only talking but yelling at each ear in a good way, some colorful language! (Laughter.)
And I added in there a little bit, too.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: I never try and get a technical and I had a better angle where I was standing on that drive in all fairness to the official, but I just thought, God, that’s a hard one to get his third, I thought he was gliding out of bounds and I overreacted a little bit, and I did apologize to the officials at halftime and told them “I’m a little excited.”
Q.(No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Yeah, I would say it’s the most confident I’ve been with a team going into the NCAA Tournament. Yep. And I think with the experience and what happened in Greensboro, it’s given me that, and then that.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: I don’t know. I think you can overanalyze that, too. We’ve been through the gauntlet of that league and then the gauntlet in Greensboro, too. What’s interesting is that Northeastern is similar to us. So when we’re guarding ourselves in practice every day we’re guarding a little bit of the Northeastern tendencies, and I think, you know, hopefully that can be helpful for us as we start to prepare on Tuesday.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: I know that was special to turn around, see Murph and Matty behind the bench, C. Jones, Martin, Flaunty, that’s probably all of them, right, of my former guys? And then maybe certainly I got a lot of texts, the best texts were from our former guys, Herring, Atkins, Humphrey, I feel so glad that are they’re part of the program. Wherever they are today, they got their N.D. stuff on. I tell you one guy who is going to wear his N.D. stuff is Matt Carroll in North Carolina, wearing that stuff everywhere.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: He is! He got picked up by the Jazz again, didn’t he? They are going to pick him up. What did he do?
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Oh, was he really?
Q. He was at the scorer’s table checking in, and asking bout the score.
Mike Brey: Who?
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: Gene texted me, too, but I didn’t know that. The Jazz are going to bring him back up. That’s great. When you get and then, you know, Austin Carr, Monty Williams, John Paxton, Collis Jones, the old guard of guys, too, that are really proud of the program. That means a lot to me. When I got here that’s one of the things you want those former guys to feel good about their program.
Q. (No microphone.)
Mike Brey: You probably haven’t seen me as much as everybody here. My demeanor is pretty steady. Some of the people tonight we saw said, “You’re so calm” I am on the outside, maybe not on the inside, I did have a snap moment last night, but when you’re guys look over they gotta see poise and how you talk to them in the huddles, and I’ve been aware of that. Hopefully that helps our guys stay more balanced.
The other reason maybe I don’t panic being down 9 with this team is because we always answer. Other teams I probably would be a little more uptight. This team has always answered the bell. Even when Miami took the lead we were, like, cocky, like boom, boom, boom, Steve, hit that, let’s get outta here. It’s a great trait. All of them that play have really got an edge about them. Even B.J. has developed that, being around these guys.
Q. Mike, you were at Duke when Bobby Hurley was there and now he’s coaching a team into the tournament. When did you first see him as a potential future coach, and what do you think are his strongest assets that have allowed for his success at Buffalo?
Mike Brey: I’m so proud of him, and that is no surprise at all. As a freshman at Duke the questions he asked, how he fought the game, how he talked to you about the game you can only imagine the dinner table talk in that house growing up. How can you not know what you’re doing growing up in that family? I think what really helps him is he is a steady, poised guy on the sideline, and his relationship with players is his greatest strength. I think he’s really a great communicator, connecting with players and a calmer guy in how he leads his team and I’m really thrilled for him. It’s Buffalo’s first NCAA. He made that A.D. look good, and that A.D. was a walk on for me. He was a Notre Dame grad and a walk on for me. Knew that early in the recruiting process, Ian, that this guy was going to be pretty good if he wanted to be a coach.
Q. Mike, people saw Bobby then as an extension of Coach K. as a player. Do you think Bobby has some of his characteristics as a coach, or do you see him as a different Coach?
Mike Brey: I think he’s his own man. The biggest thing we had a hard time with was getting him to talk to the team and as a quarterback be more vocal, and I think that developed later in the his career. You’ve got two strong personalities that are his mentors, his dad and Mike K. I think he’s found his own way and his own way of doing it and for a young coach like that, you know, that’s really pretty good to be able to do that and not copy too much.
Q. Jerian, congratulations on the ACC Championship. You guys went out there and showed what you can do in the tournament situation. Do you feel like that is the best possible scenario to know what you’ve got to face now that you go into this next part of the season?
Jerian Grant: Yes, I do. I think just being able to play in a tournament like that where everyone you play against is a very good team, it will help out.
Q. Pat mentioned that this team kind of wanted to establish itself as a different type of team to kind of reinvent the program, so to speak. Do you feel like you’ve been able to do that with this program at Notre Dame, maybe reach a level that you guys had in your own minds?
Jerian Grant: Yes, you know, winning the ACC Championship is big time; that’s something that big time programs do. Just to be able to do that I think will go a long way in the future.
Q. Where do you see the pivotal key for you guys as you go into the next phase, the NCAA Tournament? What are those factors for you guys as you enter this?
Jerian Grant: Just playing our game. We have been a Top 10 team for most of the season, and as long as we play our game and not try to do anything different, I think we will be fine.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Yes, it’s important. We want to rewrite history here at Notre Dame. We have done something so far, but just to be able to go to the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight and to do something special there would mean a lot.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Well, definitely haven’t had the leaders like me and Pat, us knowing that it can be our last game, the young guys want to help us keep playing longer, and it fuels them and it fuels us.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: We took our message personally. It’s about guarding the guy. Our help defense has been great, but if you don’t need help defense it will help your defense even more. We went up to each and every guy, and we took our message personally to keep our guy in front of us.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: It’s hard to explain. I gave Mike Brey a hug, and he said, “You know, we did it. We did something special, something that’s never been done at Notre Dame,” and it’s hard to explain.
Q. (No microphone.) Jerian Grant: Probably one more day because we talked about cutting nets down, so this will be it for these, but it’s something that we will definitely be able to look at 10, 20 years from now; but we’re not done yet.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: I think definitely in Italy, you know, I seen “Z”, Zach and Demetrius, I think those guys really played up to their potential, and me and Pat were kind of sat back a little bit and watched and saw what those guys can do, and obviously you’ve seen it now, it’s gone a long way.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Like I said, we want to play our game. We feel like if we play our game, we can play well against any team in the country, and if it happens to be Kentucky we will go out on the court confident.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Well, we have had an amazing regular season, but we just won the ACC Championship, something that’s never been done and will go down in history here at Notre Dame, and every year we have a different team, and this year’s team is that much more different, so we have confidence going into the Tournament.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Being fearless and confident and playing your game. You can’t go out there playing not to lose. You have to go out and play your game.
Q. How different is Selection Sunday today than it was a couple of years ago after coming in after a tournament loss?
Jerian Grant: Your confidence is sky high, you’re not worried about who you’re matching up against, once you hear your name, you’re ready to go out there and play, and I think that’s what this team is doing.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: I think it was definitely the trust that we have in each other. If we go down or up, we trust in each other that we’re going to be able to make a come back or weather the storm, and everybody in our locker room knows that we can win and we have confidence in each other.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: The program hasn’t done much in March before. Obviously we’re going to keep getting that until we do something. I think making a statement, winning the ACC Championship is going to gain us respect in the future.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: A lot. Pat always talks about rewriting Notre Dame history, and we’ve done that a little bit this year, but we’re not done. We still have another tournament that we want to go and win it all.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Yeah, going into the game, but once the game started it was all about getting the win. I think I talked about just being able to get a win would be more important than ACC Player of the Year, so I feel like if my team won, I feel like that would speak for itself.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Not really, not at all. We really didn’t focus on what our seed was going to be. It was all about just seeing our name there, and especially last year not being there, we wanted to hear our name and we didn’t care who we matched up with or what number was next to our name.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Should be confident. Like we said, we beat two No. 1 seeds, so we are just ready to play.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Just being on stage with the team, holding up the trophy and cutting down nets. It’s special, something special with your team and we have come a long way together.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: Actually, it meant a lot to me for you to tell me I could be a captain with you during the ACC Tournament. I wanted to be like you, obviously.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: You know, he’s been a big part of my life, and I just talked with him about championships. Like he said, it takes a lot. He had to put in a lot of work and he said you’re going to have to be a great leader, and we joked around a little bit because I teased him because I won an ACC Championship and that’s something he didn’t do.
Q. (No microphone.)
Jerian Grant: He texted all of us. He said to all of us that he watched the game, and I think it was like 4 a.m. where he was at, but he watched the whole game, and he congratulated us, and he was excited for us, and that meant a lot to all of us.
Q. Pat, let me know your reaction to being a No. 3 seed and readjusting your mind after such a whirlwind, exciting tournament that you just completed.
Pat Connaughton: We’re very happy to be a 3 seed. I think this program has done a lot this season, and done a lot of things that have never been done with this program.
To be honest, I don’t think us as a team really cared what seed we were. It was more about just knowing who we were going to play in the first game. We have done a great job of taking it one game at a time during the regular season and transferring that over to the ACC Tournament and taking it one game at a time there.
If we can continue to do that coming out of this tournament going into the next one we will be sitting good.
Q. Pat, you guys have been able to put together a few streaks of wins. Do you think that bodes well for a tournament situation?
Pat Connaughton: Absolutely. The last tournament we played in, we won it, so going into this one, we’re just trying to take Coach Brey mentioned to us that it’s many tournaments. Right now we’re focused on the Pittsburgh tournament and focused on Northeastern, more specifically, and if we can win that one, we will move on. You need to take it one game at a time and play the way we have been playing over the last week.
Q. At what point did you (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: Yeah, I think we enjoyed it. After the game, we enjoyed it today, but it’s kind of like: we talked about it at the beginning of the year as much as we needed to use last year as motivation, we didn’t want to compare things to last year. Similar to that, we need to use the ACC Tournament as a confidence booster. We played well, beat two of the most historical programs in the ACC, and one of them who was sitting pretty as a 1 seed in this tournament, so it will help us, but at the same time this is a new tournament and it is one and done.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: To be honest, you literally just do that. These guys, Jerian, Zach, Steve, you just take a step back and say, “Hey guess what? We are the ACC Champions.” You think about it for a second, and you see what’s going on. It’s great for this program and this team to have accomplished such a thing.
But what makes the team special is that we’re never satisfied. We had a great regular season, one of the best in Notre Dame basketball history, but we weren’t satisfied with just having a great regular season. We wanted to gain experience and win the tournament.
From that we wanted to do bigger and better things. So while our goals are lofty, we will continue to do the same thing that we have done and focus on that first weekend and that first game.
Q. In your mind, what’s the biggest thing about winning a tournament championship like that, whether it’s this year or a big picture thing of establishing the program?
Pat Connaughton: One of the biggest things right here and now is the fact that we won. Arguably, I might be biased, but I think it’s the best conference tournament in America. That right there gives this team a lot of confidence that, no matter who we face, we’ve beat some of the best teams in the country.
To be able to do that and to have that under our belt gives us the confidence and makes us even hungrier moving forward. When you think about it, big picture-wise, it’s great for this team. The 13 guys in that locker room, the coaching staff, everyone in this program to be able to hang a banner and do something this program has never done that will be evidenced in stone and forever lasting, no matter how long we’re alive for, to be quite honest.
Q. Can you give us a timeline of what it’s been like since you walked off the floor?
Pat Connaughton: I wasn’t ready for confetti to come showering down, but when it did, I wasn’t mad about it, by any means. It was cool to be in the center of the court with everyone on the team. After that, honestly, it’s a whirlwind. You stand on the podium, you talk to media, TV, your families, people in the stands, all the other Notre Dame alumni and people that are on the court and, you know, to share with them it was amazing.
We were able to come back here last night and to be back here after having been in Greensboro all week, Jerian mentioned at one up point, “I want to make sure I’m not dreaming.” It’s great.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: To be honest, people from throughout the country. Coach Brey said, “We’re new to this”, which we all got a kick out of. After the game, I carried the trophy around for most of the time, but Bonzie Colson was in charge of carrying the trophy, and he wanted to name the trophy and do some things with the trophy that we let him do on his own time.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: It was amazing. You’re on a flight. I’ve never been so happy on an airplane my entire life. You’re sitting there, one of the things that, you know, I cherish more than anything, obviously I wanted to win it for your school and all that sort of stuff, but when you look at the people around the program, wearing the hats, sitting on the plane, they have waited so long to be part of something like this, and they weren’t even playing, but they gave us support behind the scenes that no one really notices, beside the guys that are involved, and they got to share that with us on the floor and get a tee shirt, a hat, and be part of something this big that’s historic in Notre Dame basketball history. That’s the thing that made me the happiest.
It makes you want to win not just for each other but for them, and to share a moment like that was huge.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: No, I mean, we probably wouldn’t have had as good of a team this year, coming out of last year. This is a different team. We wanted to establish ourselves as a completely different team, almost like a reinvented program so to speak. We wanted it to be different and do things that this program has never done and so far in the regular season and the ACC Tournament we have accomplished that. But moving forward we want to do the same things. We want to do things that this program has never done and hasn’t done in a while and to do that we have to have the same plan, take it game by game, play by play and leave it on the floor, do the same gritty things that we have done all year that have established this team to be the 2015 team, as a different team compared to others.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: Just shock. I remember looking around and seeing who was around me, and I grabbed Steve and we walked to the center of the floor with our arms around each other to where everyone else was, grabbed Jerian and gave him a hug and gave everyone else a hug. It’s funny when you’re a kid and you see confetti raining down, you want to be involved in that, you want to be a kid that grew up and is experiencing that moment with friends that you don’t know and that you hope to know and hope to experience it with.
To have it actually happen, it almost goes in slow motion, you see that coming down and you’re trying to do everything you can to win the game and you really can’t fast forward to having a planned expression for it. It’s natural when it comes.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: You know, the sky is the limit. One thing that this team does is set lofty goals and expectations for each other. There are things that we keep within our locker room because that’s within the 13 guys and the coaching staff, and we are the ones that need to accomplish things. We just want to come out here and take it game by game. I think one of the things that motivates us more is when you look at the regular season we had, and the third best team in the ACC going out of the ACC Tournament, no one picked us to win that thing. No one gave us a shot to win that thing. Maybe they thought we were going to beat Miami, other than that, they thought Duke was going to win it all, and we would be done there. We had the belief in ourselves, and at the end of the day, there wasn’t a lot of respect for that team, so we wanted to grab that for ourselves and move forward.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: It was great. Coach talked about how it’s a great setting for guys on the team from the east coast, guys on the team from the midwest, it’s not a tough location to get to. It’s a great Notre Dame city. There are all those factors, but at the same time to be honest, you could have put us across the country or in a different country and we would have been just as hungry to play and just as ready to take on whatever team steps on the court in front of us.
Q. (No microphone.)
Pat Connaughton: Yeah, I know a few things. When I was sophomore or junior in high school I went over to the games. I’m not sure if it’s the same coach, to be honest, but I have a lot of close friends that have played Harvard guys that have played in programs around that Boston area, so I’m sure I will talk to them, but I think the most important thing for us is playing our game and not being too over over amplifying what they do. It’s more about what we do, do what we do, something that has made this team a special team in and of itself.
Q. Zach, can you talk about this team has been I guess people have said oh, Notre Dame is a perimeter team and that sort of thing, and you guys have done a good job of showing that you are capable of playing against bigger opponents, being strong inside. Can you talk about how would you describe the development of your inside play, both offense and defense?
Zach Auguste: I think it starts with us being strong in self esteem, a great group of guys all the way from 1 down to the 13. I don’t think individually it’s something that we strive for. We play together as a team, and I think it’s something that we have. We don’t hang our heads. We have each other’s back, and I think that’s a trait that we have that makes things.
Q. Steve, would you say that this team has played every time of opponent that you would be facing when you get into the postseason, no matter who you match up against?
Steve Vasturia: When you go through an ACC season you’re going to play a lot of different styles, a lot of different teams with different talents so we’ve got a lot of experience playing against big teams, good teams, and I think that’s good for us, because you’re not sure who you are going to play as you go along, so I think we’re ready for anybody we’re going to match up with.
Q. Steve, following up on that, when you go into the NCAA Tournament, what do you see and I know this is a bit of an unknown for this team, obviously, but what do you see as the pivotal keys for you guys as you try to move forward?
Steve Vasturia: I think like we have been preaching all season, it’s been defense and defense and rebounding because I think our offense is going to be there, no matter what. We have shown that throughout the season, but being really locked in and we got the stops, and we rebounded when we needed to. So if we can get those stops and get out in the open court, I think we will be a tough match up.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: Yeah, it’s been, I think, pretty cool. I think I’ve tried to stick to the same role all season, trying to impact the game any way I can. Most importantly I think it all worked out. We won a championship, and I think that’s the best feeling that you can get from working hard and playing together as a team.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: Not at all really. We were 26 5 going in with a great record and a lot of big wins. Really that’s bigger than the personal stuff, which is a great thing, too.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: Yeah, super excited. Tough not being in last year and having to watch it on TV but being here, watching Selection Sunday, it’s a great opportunity and we’re ready to attack it. Definitely, you know, grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to getting started.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: Just a chance for me to individually get better. These games are going to help us get better and I kind of took what I learned form the first two games and tried to apply that to the rest of the season.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I just couldn’t let my teammates down; I just wanted to make an impact, whether it be offensively or defensively. I let them down a couple of times early in the season with some big games, and I just wanted to be more consistent and be solid.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: Just being more aggressive, both offensively and defensively, not trying to do too much, stick to go my game. I have great teammates and they’re great distributors, they find ways to get you involved with the ball.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: A very completely different environment, very lively environment. Last time we went down there we didn’t have much success there, so I kind of had that on my shoulder as an ugly reminder headed into the tournament to use the motivation and go in there.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: It helps my confidence a lot, tremendously, it’s going to hopefully help my teammates as well but I just want to be responsible for
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I mean, just being there with my teammates and my brothers, it was crazy when the buzzer finally went off. We realized we actually made it. A lot of people didn’t give us a chance, you know, so it was something that we deserved, and it was worth all the hard work and dedication you put in in the off season, and it was very satisfying.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I feel very confident individually in myself and with the team. Hopefully I know my brothers have my back and they’re confident in me, and that’s kept me going throughout the season.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I think it’s good. It gives us another chance to be able to (Away from mic.) And gives us a high low look, where he can be more mid range and I will be down more in the low post. And it gives us great rebounders on the team right now, and that’s just another weapon that we have.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: It’s a pretty cool accomplishment, and it was a fun week down there. We were able to get the three huge wins and come out with the a championship, and I was able to make plays down the stretch, make some big plays on both ends of the floor, and it’s a great honor, so I was excited and proud of it.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: You know, I think we’ve been there as a team in those situations all year. We played in close games, won close games and we have a really unselfish team, so everybody here has proved they can step up and make big shots, and in that moment you have to have the confidence to just know it’s goin’ in.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: Yeah, doesn’t really matter to me. I guess we’ll see down the road.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I think we have to continue doing what we do. We can’t lose sight of our goal. We have to be creative offensively and defensively and can’t lose sight of giving up easy buckets to transition. But I think if we play our basketball and never lose sight of the bigger picture and I think we will be fine.
Q. (No microphone.)
Zach Auguste: I just always felt it’s kind of hanging on my back shoulder, personally, that they’ve never really got past that first round, but right now we want to try and see where we are at and go out there and play our game. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone, we just need to go out there and play our game.
Q. (No microphone.)
Steve Vasturia: I mean, I think like everybody said, we had dreams to go far in the tournament, but the reason we did go far is we were taking it one game at a time. That’s what we have ahead of us. We have a match up for this Thursday night and we are going to attack it just like we have all season.