Nov. 29, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

Opening statement…
“When you have 13 assists on 15 buckets at halftime, you’re pretty darn efficient offensively. I love how we pass it. We can really pass the ball. I hope our fans understand what they’re seeing, because it’s a team that really knows how to play on that end of the floor. I thought we were solid defensively. I love the fact that the game was lopsided, but we stayed in character and we were unselfish no matter who we put in the game. We kept moving the ball like we want to play.”

On Jerian Grant’s game…
“He is a scary talent. He’s calm in letting the game come to him. I think you’ve heard me say it before. I feel like I’m coaching a man. I feel like I’m coaching a pro, because he is a pro. He prepares like a pro. His routine before the game, you probably saw him out there really early. His routine before practice … ever since he has come back it’s like dealing with a man.

“He’s the type of guy that tries to get guys involved first, and we do have some guys that can score. I’m ok with that. But if we stall, and we will, then we start to run some stuff for him. Some ball screen stuff for him. We didn’t have to do that much today, but we have some things that we go to where he is really looking to make a play off a ball screen. That’s the balance point that I really have to keep an eye on. Ok we really need to get him going, because he really gets our other guys going.”

On making the extra pass…
“I think it’s part of our culture here. We’ve had what I think Jay Bilas says a `culture of passing.’ We’ve really moved it and always made the extra pass. We’ve always had a number of guys who can shoot the basketball. But yet it’s part of the culture, it’s part of the older guys letting the younger guys know, especially in the summer when they play pickup basketball, that we make the extra pass here. If you are open, we will find you. Be secure and the let the game come to you and don’t force anything. I thought Zach Auguste was a good example of that today. He made some great passes out of the post today, had only two points at halftime and then he starts running and rolling. He starts the second half and our guys find him. We talked about how our focus has been defense, to get better there, and we’ve made improvement. But my biggest thing was could we score that thing and be efficient offensively again. We have the ability to do that.”

On what V.J. Beachem brings to the team off the bench…
“I love that he is scoring. That scoring really helps us. He’s shooting it so confidently. He is really rising up to shoot the basketball. He still needs to improve defensively and we work with him everyday on that. But he can rebound for us. The ability to have another shot maker out there that stretches the defense gives us another weapon.”

On Steve Vasturia covering opponent’s best player…
“He is unbelievable. He is the quietest guy ever. We tell him `guard him and just make every other play.’ Of course he is making open shots. He’s easy to play with. He’s good guarding his guy. He’s good on rotation. He’s good making shots. He’s good screening and cutting to help other guys get open. He has an unbelievable feel for the game for a sophomore. I almost feel like I’m coaching a guy that has played over a 100 college games. He’s basketball IQ is the highest that we’ve had here at a young age.”

Chicago State Head Coach Tracy Dildy

Opening statement…
“I’m a blessed man to be able to work with our youth every day. So I don’t have a job. This is not a job for me. I enjoy every moment with them. Second thing I would like to apologize for the performance today. We are a much better team than we showed. We lost eight seniors from last year, so we have a lot of new guys. But our new guys work their tail off. I knew we were going to come in here and have a better showing. I’m very thankful to Coach Brey and his staff and Notre Dame for allowing us to come here and play. This is an experience that I want our young people to be able to continue to experience. The hospitality, the money they give us. I know we need to have a better showing in order for them to continue to do this for us. The people want to come and see good basketball. Thirdly, just to let you guys know, that’s a really good team. Coach Brey is one of the best coaches around. There is no team in the country that shoots the ball better than that team. And we played Creighton, who I thought was an exceptional shooting team. But this is a good team. Any time you have so many guys that can shoot the ball and put it in the basket, you have a chance to do something really special.”

On Jerian Grant…
“He’s a pro. I think him doing whatever he needed to do to get back in school that showed a certain level of commitment. And his performance is matching that. When you have a kid his size, his versatility that can shoot the ball, get to the basket, post up and rebound. He’s a pro.”

On Notre Dame’s on-ball defense…
“They are so big and strong. So they were knocking us off our cuts. They cover so much floor. Coach Brey does a great job of getting fresh bodies in. They know their role. They are a well-coached team, they are just a really good team.”

On defending against a team that passes so much…
“It’s tough. You hope a team can guard against the first two passes. When you have a team that is as unselfish as this team where they are always looking for that next pass and the open man … look at the stats. They had 22 assists. This is the type of team that can average around the ballpark of that for the season. That says a whole lot right there.”