Dec. 13, 2014
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USA Today 
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening Statement…
“I’m really proud of the team, I thought that was a really thorough performance. We really defended them, guarded them, and we were efficient offensively. We were really prepared to play the past two days. I love how mature we prepared and its great to be 1-0 in the league.”
On Zach Auguste against Florida State’s three seven-foot players…
“It was a huge day for Zach. In the last high-level game (versus Michigan State) he wasn’t very good. All you heard about was those big guys and I thought it was great for him to perform like that. He got us started scoring inside and that was a key and he’s good facing the bucket and making decisions. He really knows how to roll off of great passing perimeter players and those guys really know how to find him and finish. That’s a big step for him tonight and his confidence, and that he did it in a league game.”
On Demetrius Jackson and Jerian Grant…
“They are assassins. What they do to people and how they go after people…. I’m so excited about what’s developing with those two guys. I certainly put them up with any backcourt in the country the way they are evolving right now.”
On the bench…
“I thought our bench was great tonight. I thought our bench gave us great minutes. I thought [Martinas] Geben came in and gave us great minutes, I thought [Austin] Torres came in and gave us great energy, [Austin] Burgett came in and gave us good stuff. It was limited but they had a big role in this. Our key guys are going to play a long time in big games. But I thought all three guys we used off the bench did great.”
On how he prepared his team to play against Florida State’s big centers…
“The two things we talked about were blocking out and can we rebound the ball and not get scorched on the backboard. Twelve offensive rebounds, you can absorb, and shoot well offensively, 51% from the field. I thought we were machine-like on offense at times. We really know how to play on that end of the floor and move the ball. We are getting a swagger on how to move people around. That’s really neat to see here in December.”
On driving the ball…
“I think we are underrated as drivers. Everyone says `Oh, you have shot makers’ – we do have that, but those `shot-makers’ can also get to the hole and draw fouls. We were good from the foul line too.”
On the team having 10 dunks in a league game…
“The Irish are throwing down baby! The Irish are throwing down! How about that? We got some guys that can finish don’t we? But to get a league win under your belt before Christmas is huge.”
On what triggered the team’s great rebounding in an 18-2 run …
“We are pretty good at getting a feel for their offense and being able to get our block outs. We almost need a little bit of time to get a feel for their rhythm and how guys are going to the board and I thought to end the half we were really good, we were outrebounded by one and we only gave up 12 offensive rebounds. We just want to hold our own on the boards with our smaller lineup and I think we did that and got key rebounds when we were building the lead to put it away.”
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Zach Auguste · Junior · Forward
On his offensive performance…
“I just have great teammates. They helped me get the ball and they pushed me all game. We emphasized being aggressive and grabbing rebounds.”
On sending a message to the ACC with the win…
“Last year, we were trying to figure out who we were in the ACC, but this year we’re trying to put a footprint down and make a statement.”
On matching up against three seven-footers…
“A lot of people thought that I struggled against Michigan State’s big men, so I came in and tried to make a statement and show people that I can bang with the big men down low. I wanted to challenge myself and be aggressive to show people I can dominate.”
On the team’s next step moving forward…
“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing and play our basketball and don’t try to lose ourselves in the lights. We’re just trying to make a statement in the ACC.”
Demetrius Jackson · Sophomore · Guard
On Zach Auguste’s performance…
“It was huge for us. Zach really established himself early. That was one thing we focused on. We really wanted to establish the low post early, and he did a great job. They had some big guys in there, so for him to do that tonight, I’m really proud of him. He was patient and picked his spots. Our big guys really played like men today.”
On his comfort level this season compared to last year…
“I put in a lot of hard work during the offseason and our team just works so hard. We deserve to have fun and that’s what we did tonight. We went out, played really hard, and had fun.”
On adjusting the offense when the opposing team pressures on defense…
“When they get up and pressure the guards, we love that. We just want to make good decisions within our offense.”
Jerian Grant · Senior · Guard
On the explosiveness of Notre Dame…
“We have a different team and guys are athletic. We’re playing 21 instead of having guys on the 3-point line and are up at half court pressuring the ball. We have a lot of athletes.”
On having so many weapons on offense…
“Its great. We can go inside, we can shoot, and we can drive. We move the ball and everyone is in sync. I don’t know how many assists we had today, but we were really moving the ball. Having an unselfish team where it doesn’t matter who’s scoring where guys can shoot and guys can drive, it’s definitely hard to guard.”
On the momentum turning in Notre Dame’s favor in the first half…
“We just talked about getting stops. Once we were getting stops we were running the floor and the energy was there. We got on the fast break, got some dunks and got some good looks.”
On the importance of having both him and Demetrius Jackson getting rebounds…
“That’s going to be really important. We’re not really playing any more teams with a 6’6″ center or a 6’5″ power forward. We’re going to be playing a lot of big guys so making sure me and [Demetrius Jackson] stay on the glass is going to be really important.”
Pat Connaughton · Senior · Guard/Forward
On the team…
“It’s a different team. We pride ourselves on making this team a different brand of Notre Dame basketball and it’s for the better. Something from the seniors down, starting with me and [Jerian Grant] we wanted to leave something with this school and this atmosphere that was different than years past, especially different than last year, and everyone has bought in. We have each others’ backs in the locker room and we want to play up to our expectations and not anybody else’s.”
On whether this win was a statement…
“It was more of something where we just came out and played Notre Dame basketball. I don’t know how much a statement it may be because its just one league win. We’re going to enjoy this win but at the same time we have a lot of work ahead of us, a lot of improvement that we can make and its fun doing. It’s fun working with these guys, it’s fun when we have our group sessions and we enjoy playing with each other. If you look at the game tonight, everybody was smiling and having a good time. We were playing hard and we had each others’ backs. That’s the way we wanted this team to be built upon, the morals we wanted to be built upon and it’s the way we’re going to keep plugging.”
Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton
Opening Statement:
“We lost to a team tonight that I thought was much more efficient at executing their system. A mobile five man like Zach (Auguste) tonight created a lot of problems for us. It’s the first time we have played against a guy who moves around, who’s that athletic and who played the five position. We knew going into this game that because they basically start four perimeter guys and a mobile five man, who’s really a power forward, it’d be a little bit more of a challenge than what we’ve been accustomed to defending. It proved to be exactly the problems that we had with this team; a team that knew exactly what they wanted to do and were extremely patient. They executed very well. It’s the first time we’ve had this team together this year and they were so much more efficient offensively and defensively. We had that period there in the first half where I think we went about five or six minutes without a basket. They took the lead and we were digging out of a hole for the remainder of the game. And once they got into a rhythm in the second half, obviously they extended the lead and we were a little more desperate, shot the ball quicker than what we had anticipated. That’s what a good team like Notre Dame will do to you. They are very efficient, extremely talented, very well coached. This team has an unselfish spirit about them. They move the ball, make the extra pass. They know exactly what they’re looking for. They have two guys who are outstanding shooters. Two guys who are very good off the ball like that. It was a tough match up for us. When you have to contain the dribble, you can’t get very much help with guys who shoot the ball that well in the perimeter. So they were a tough match up for us and I can imagine they’re going to be a tough match up for some other people in the league. So you have to give them credit. We just got beat by a team who was better than we were tonight.”
On missing Aaron Thomas tonight…
“That’s part of basketball. Sometimes you have guys with turned ankles, sometimes they get in foul trouble. That’s kind of part of what I call those basketball demons that raise their ugly head towards the course of the season. Somebody else just has to step up. For us, we just have a lot of moving parts this season. We have a young squad. We have some youngsters there that I think will continue to work hard. We’ll get a few more games under their belt and develop a little better identity and be more consistent. I think that will definitely help us.”
On the frustration of not being able to play full strength…
“Well sometimes in coaching you run into those periods in your career where you have a couple years in a row where you run into those things. We’re kind of going through that period. We had a nice run there, about four years, where we didn’t have any injuries. We were kind o f floating around there. Then we lost six seniors, and now we are regrouping. I’m very confident that we’ll be right back where we were. We’ve been very consistent. But this is part of the challenge of when you’re in a league as tough as the ACC. You have got to be consistent with your development of the youngsters and have to do it every year. And a lot of times, a lot of teams in the country are a turned ankle away from having challenges. And this is our period that we’re going through and it’s a little more challenging for us, but we’ll find a way to overcome it.”
On what it takes to beat Notre Dame…
“Well the challenge for us was that it was a tough match up for us. This team was a tough match up for us because they’re very efficient. They only turned the ball over five times. They’re the leading field goal percentage in the country. And we had to be at our very best and play as close as possible to our potential for us to be successful. They’re a good basketball team. But I don’t think we gave them our best shot. I thought they played pretty well. Right now, like I said earlier, they’re more efficient. They play together with a spirit, a chemistry that is very difficult and will be very difficult for a lot of teams in the ACC to play against. You just have to give them credit. It wasn’t as much of what we didn’t do, as much as what they did do.”
Florida State Player Quotes
Montay Brandon · Junior · Guard
On playing in Purcell Pavilion…
“It was our first ACC game on the road, so I feel like we, the older guys, knew what to expect but not the whole team. It was definitely tough. The atmosphere was tough to play in tonight.”
On trying to calm down the younger players…
“I mean, of course we were talking to them. But once you are out there on that court it’s definitely a little different. It’s a different feeling.”
On Florida State’s offense in each half…
“In the first half, we moved the ball and stuck to the game plan. In the second half, we kind of broke off. Everybody started trying to do…we started just breaking away with one pass…trying to score off the first pass, and against Notre Dame they’ll make you pay. In their next possession, they are highly efficient so they’re going to move the ball and get a great shot every time down the floor.”
On defending against Zach Auguste…
“We had a lot of defensive miscues. Our low-side man is supposed to come over every time and protect the rim. And every time, we didn’t. What was it, four dunks? Something ridiculous, right? Yeah, that was ridiculous. That was the problem, defensive miscues. He had a great game, not taking it away from him, but those four dunks came from defensive miscues.”
On looking ahead…
“We’re going to be better. We won’t let this one be over. We’ll definitely be better. We’re going to work hard every practice. We’re going to do whatever we’ve got to do. Every one will go home and look themselves in the mirror, and try to get everything right. So hopefully we’ll get it right. Basically, that’s all we need to do. Reality check and come out next practice, give it all we got, and get ready for Tuesday against North Florida.”