Nov. 7, 2011

Recap | Box Score

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Stonehill College
November 7, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

On Jack Cooley not starting…
“Jack was a little loose on his academic responsibilities. But my plan is to start Jack on Saturday. We need that low-post presence to start the game.”

On Tom Knight’s status…
“He had a severe case of pneumonia. He was really sick. I’m hopeful he’ll be back Saturday.”

On the offensive progression of the young guys on the team…
“When (Jerian) Grant and (Alex) Dragicevich were practicing the other night, and weren’t shooting the ball great, they got down on themselves. Those guys worked harder on defense in practice, and the shots eventually started falling.”

On Tim Abromaitis’ fast start…
“I just think he’s so confident. This summer’s experience with USA basketball was great. He’s on the Wooden and Naismith lists, and rightfully so. We’re going to bottle that confidence for a week, and pop the cork in Kansas City.”

On Scott Martin becoming part of the mix…
“We were talking as a staff, and we admitted that we don’t know our team yet. But Scott Martin needs to be more aggressive offensively with (Tim) Abromaitis out there. Scott lets the game come to him, and really knows how to play. He can’t turn anything down. We also miss his defensive presence. He’s a great decision defender. He led the team in charges last year, and can guard down low really well. He gets great body position.”

On Broghammer’s presence…
“We really need him. He was sore yesterday from Saturday’s scrimmage, but he came back today, and had 10 solid minutes. I’m still trying to figure us out. Once we get the whole team healthy, we’ll have a much better idea of our team.”

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Stonehill College
November 7, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Players Quotes

Tim Abromaitis – Graduate Student – Forward

On not playing during the second half of the game…
“Coach came over to me in the second half and shut me down for the rest of the game. For the next week or two, I’m going to be a little more of a coach and captain of the team. It worked out today that they were able to play without me in the second half. I think we’ll be ready for the first four games.”

On what this game showed…
“I think we definitely showed that we’re a deep team, one through nine. Scott [Martin] hasn’t been out there, but when he gets back we have a lot of guys who can get after it. We’re a really good offensive team, and once we get flowing, I think we’ll be able to put a lot of points up there. I think definitely we got better from the first game.”

On playing defensively…
“I think it’s something we’ll work at and get better. Especially in the first half, we were able to get some stops in the 2-3 zone. Even out of it, we were able to run a little bit more. We put them away in the first half. It was a good look for us, and we’ll probably be doing more of it.”

On Mike Broghammer’s play…
“It’s nice to have him back out there. It feels like it’s been forever, but two games in a row he’s had some pretty good put backs. It’s nice to see and it will be big for us this year.”

Mike Broghammer – Junior – Forward

On his progression from the first game to the second…
“The knees are much less painful. First game was only my second week back since February. We decided to dial it back, and since that went well we’re going to do more and more as we move forward.”

On his conditioning…
“I stayed up on my conditioning pretty well. I did biking and all the stuff that was non-impact to stay in shape, so my conditioning is not bad. It’s one thing to sit on that bike and get winded, but it’s another thing entirely to be out there, running and playing. It’s a totally different type of conditioning.”

On how much playing time he can expect to see… “We’re playing it day by day. For tonight, we were aiming for 10 to 15 minutes. It’s more of what my knees can handle and what I can handle to be effective. At this point, I think they can handle quite a bit. Right now, it’s the lateral stuff that bothers them. I can run pretty well and jump pretty well, but right now the lateral stuff gets me.”

Alex Dragicevich – Sophomore – Guard

On getting into the season…
“You have to get used to playing out there. You’re not playing against yourselves anymore. You’re playing against different teams. They’re going to throw different offensive styles at you. You have to guard them. It was about being confident in my shot and playing free.”

On starting…
“I think Coach Brey is trying to mix things up before we get going in the regular season. We’re going to see which guys respond and set up. Obviously Jack [Cooley] is a proven starter and veteran for us. We need him out there. We’ll see how the line up works.”

On pulling away…
“Everyone collectively got comfortable out there. Everyone was able to play our game. Once we got the nerves out, it became more like practice. We were just out there playing.”

On getting into a groove…
“I’m starting to get a routine down before games. What we’re eating, what kind of shots I take to prepare. Again, a lot of it is being confident in the shots you take.”

Jerian Grant – Sophomore – Guard

On adjusting to playing…
“The first game, I was really nervous. I hadn’t played in a game in a really long time. This second time, I was just out here having fun.”

On his nine assists…
“I like to pass the ball too. I saw guys open and they helped me out by knocking down the shots.”

On finding a rhythm…
“We found our rhythm and started knocking down open shots. We had them earlier but were missing them. Eventually we were able to knock them down.”

Eric Atkins – Sophomore – Guard

On his five rebounds …
“I’m very proud of them. It was a big five, including two offensive rebounds. I pride myself on getting offensive boards.”

On the young players …
“I think they were able to let their jitters out. In the first game, they played a lot. I think they were just a little nervous. Today you saw them both calmer and more composed. They both made shots.”

On early turnovers …
“We could blame the first couple of turnovers on me. I think the difference is that we tried to come out too fast. We were a little jittery. We were able to calm down a little bit and play our game. It gave us a good outcome.”

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Stonehill
November 7, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Stonehill Head Coach David McLaughlin

Opening statement…
“I think a trip like this for our team is great chemistry-wise and to come to a high-level program like this and to play with them is a special thing for our guys to kick off the year. I thought we started the game off, especially the two first segments, strong and I thought we were playing physical. I thought when it was 16-14 early and Patrick Lee picked up his second foul, that set a tone for us, our senior, our leader, and that made us take a step back defensively and Notre Dame went on a run that they can go on. Notre Dame is one, a very well coached team, two a very disciplined team, and they have one, not good, but great player and he really made us pay for all of our mistakes in the first half. I thought with us, we needed to play mistake free defensively, and every mistake we made they found a way to make us pay. They found a way to move a ball and they found a way to capitalize on those mistakes. I think the size difference really hurt us, and they were able to keep getting good post looks, especially over the top. I think they had 14 second-chance points in the first half and that is just something we cannot allow. I thought in the second half our guys played hard. I thought they played more physical. I thought we shot the ball well in the second half. Any time you are down on the road, it is pretty easy to pack it in and I thought our guys did not do that. They continued to play hard and play together. We have a lot to work on, but this game is definitely going to give us a lot of teaching moments for our entire group.”

On the size difference between Stonehill and Notre Dame…
“They started small, and I think that was a little bit to our advantage. Once they substituted in Jack Cooley, I think he had three or four offensive rebounds and four easy shots in the first probably four or five minutes he was in there. I think that really helped the run they went on.”

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Stonehill College
November 7, 2011
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Stonehill Players

Brian Hamor – Junior – Guard

On what it was like to play against Notre Dame…
“It was a great experience for our team. It was a good chance to get out on the court and play together, especially against a BIG EAST team like Notre Dame. They’re obviously well known around the country and I think it was a good experience to see the campus and witness a great atmosphere here.”

On what the team will take from this game moving toward the regular season…
“Tonight was a great test for us. It’s the beginning of the year and our team is going to make great strides to become a better team. Playing against Notre Dame was valuable because we won’t face any teams better than them.”

On Notre Dame’s offensive success…
“Notre Dame set a lot of good screens to get guys open. They’re a strong team, they’re tall, and they play extremely well together. I thought they made a lot of good cuts, and we weren’t able to communicate on defense as well as we would have liked.”

Mitchell Amelio – Sophomore – Guard

On what it was like to play against Notre Dame…
“It was a lot of fun being here, and the biggest atmosphere our team has ever been a part of. To play against a team of Notre Dame’s caliber will help us get ready for the season. We won’t see a team better than this, and we have to continue to work hard to get ready for our season.”

On what the team learned about itself today…
“I think we learned a lot, both positive and negative. Most importantly on defense we need to box out and rebound better. Offensively, we need to keep being aggressive and run the plays we’ve been taught. If we do that, I think we will be able to find success this season.”

On his ability to knock down five three-point shots tonight…
“I was trying to find the open gaps and move around the best I could. Notre Dame ran a zone defense a good majority of the game, so I was looking for the gaps the best I could. I think as a team we’re really good at driving and penetrating so we can find the open guy.”