Feb. 16, 2005
Coach John Thompson III Quotes
On Comparing the Notre Dame game to the Boston College game…
“Unlike Boston College, tonight we were getting wide open shots and easy looks, but the ball just didn’t go in. Against Boston College we had trouble we weren’t running any offense. When you can’t get the shots in, you tighten up and stiffen up.”
On the Notre Dame team…
“They are a very good team. They were extremely aggressive tonight. We missed shots because they are a very good defensive team. “
On Notre Dame shooting…
“At halftime, they made eight shots and six of them were threes. They have shooters and we allowed them to get some looks that if we are going to win; we can’t let them have. They got guys that when you leave them open they are going to make shots. The beauty from where they stand is that they have a multitude of guys who can put the ball in the basket.”
On Preparing for St. John’s…
“Every game is important and there is no one game that is more or less important than another. That’s what conference play is all about. Winning on the road is difficult. We have had some success on the road and Sunday’s game is on the road again. We are going to regroup and grow from this and hopefully be better Sunday than we were tonight.”
Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey Quotes
On the game…
“It was certainly a good league win for us, beating a team in the top 50 of the RPI. It was a different style of play for us, and they’re a very good basketball team. Again, it was a good win, but we don’t have much time to think about it because we’ve got a big road swing coming up.”
On the Irish team…
“I’ve always felt we’ve had a high basketball IQ. It is a different style of play, and you do have to be in position. For the most part, I thought we were [in position]. We did a good job not giving up three-point shots at key times. I thought that Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn really controlled the tempo of the game.”
On senior guard Chris Thomas…
“I thought he did a great job playing people in the first half. In the second half, when the match-up was conducive, he drove a couple of times, and we cleared out the baseline for him. He really made very good decisions.
“I told him that this was the ultimate test for a point guard: managing the game. You can’t just go down and take a shot, because then you’ll have to play defense for thirty seconds again. I thought that, for the most part, he kept us really solid and smart offensively.”
“He’s involved on every play and he wants to win so badly. Maybe people don’t see this as much, but he’s a great captain. He’s led at practices, especially now at such a key time in the season.”
On the foul shooting of Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn…
“I thought tonight we got into the bonus, and we picked our spots. When they’re in the groove, it’s hard not to put a hand on them.”
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Senior forward Jordan Cornette
On the team’s focus…
When a team starts getting caught up in RPI, strength of schedule, rankings, and who we need to beat, that mentality will have you beat before you know it. We’re just trying to go out there and play good basketball every time we step on the floor.
On the upcoming game vs. Providence…
Providence is 1-10, but that’s probably the most deceiving 1-10 in the history of college basketball. We know we have a heck of a team that we’re about to face. That 1-10 means nothing to us-it’ll be a huge road win if we can go up there and get it.
Junior guard Chris Quinn
On last month’s loss to Georgetown…
It was definitely some motivation. When we were sitting in the locker room after the game last time, Coach Brey told us to keep it in the back of our minds because we’d get to play them again at our place. It was in my mind individually, and I know it was on our team’s mind that we had to get these guys back.
Sophomore guard Colin Falls
On coming into the game…
We kind of had a chip on our shoulder because we thought we let one get away last time. We were really focused today because we wanted to get the win back.
Junior center Torin Francis
On tonight’s physical style of play…
The BIG EAST is a physical conference and I think on any night, the team that’s more physical is the team that’s coming out with the win. If you look at our losses and wins, it proves that to be true. So tonight we came out aggressively on defense because we knew we were going to win it on defense.