Oct. 29, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Quincy University
October 29, 2012
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

Opening Statement…
“It was good to sit on the same bench and to get a feel for how you’re going to rotate guys. One thing I told them after practice was that I’m just so impressed with how we pass the ball. I don’t think anybody in the country can pass better than us when everybody we play really knows what to do with the ball. When we’re sharing like this it’s a good trait to have and really positive. We’ll get to watch some game film tomorrow and come back and play Friday night.”

On the core group of returning players…
“Those starting five have really played a lot of basketball together and they know each other. I really love how Garrick Sherman worked himself in because that’s how he’s worked himself in during practice. He was the number one guy I was concerned with and I just thought he worked himself in like a man. I also like what Cam [Biedscheid] did. As a matter of fact I like subbing them both together. That is something we did tonight and I kind of like that.”

On the play of Garrick Sherman…
“For him it was just being comfortable with the lights on. He was nervous and he was playing it off a little bit. I told him at halftime, ‘I am so thrilled you’re eligible and I’m thrilled to coach you.’ He adds so much to our team. Him going into the game with Cam is kind of neat because he’s been like Cam’s big brother. He’s been very helped to Cameron, teaching him some stuff and getting on his backside when he has breakdowns. All I know is those guys had 17 points off the bench at halftime. That’s interesting to me, coming in and making an impact.”

On the team’s continuity…
“I do think the summer practices really helped us. There’s no question we were really able to teach, but what’s always helped us here is my older guys have taught the young guys in the summer during pickup games. They do a really good job of mentoring those guys. Austin Burgett when he left summer school came in my office and said Scott Martin was so helpful for me this summer. I said you’re going to be that guy for some young guy some day. That’s part of the culture we’ve created here that I’m really proud of.”

On Eric Atkins as a leader…
“The guy is unbelievable. He’s really steady and really confident. He’s running our team and it’s his show. He’s really progressed being older and I’ve deferred to him, asking what plays he wants to run. I’ve talked to him sometimes like I’m talking to Coach Solomon and I would hope that makes him feel like his hands are on the throttle. Overall, he’s been really confident and in charge. His demeanor has been a little different this season. He told me he’s more business-like and I said that’s great. I think that’s just growing up and playing with a chip on his shoulder from how last season ended.”

Notre Dame Players Quotes

Jack Cooley o Senior o Forward

On not recording a double-double…
“I was struggling to get my rebounds I guess. With Garrick Sherman out there I have to fight to get my ten rebounds a game. But that is a great pleasure to have. The team played great tonight. It was really great to see.”

On making it look like the team has been playing together for a long time…
“Coach talked about how everyone on this team is such great friends. We all get along so well. It is so much easier to play with people that you really enjoy. It makes our team play so much better and so much quicker.”

On being up by so much in the second half…
“I don’t think I have ever been ahead by that much in a game before. I saw I had seven rebounds, so I kind of wanted to get three more rebounds before I had to come out. But being ahead by that much in a game is certainly a great luxury to have.”

Cameron Biedscheid o Freshman o Forward

On playing with his new teammates…
“Coming in I knew we have a lot of veteran guys on our roster. I knew just from playing in practice with them that they would have my back out there. I knew they would talk me through everything, and make sure that I was doing the right things on the floor. I felt really comfortable when I checked in.”

On his role with the team…
“Coach wants me to be a scorer. He would like me to be a catch and shoot three-point shooter, but he also wants me to be able to pull up and get to the rack. I think coach just wants me to be a scorer and a solid playmaker. He wants me to be a solid player offensively, and defensively he really wants me to be able to get up on my man and guard more aggressively.”

Eric Atkins o Junior o Guard

On what he was impressed with tonight…
“I like how we were aggressive on defense. We were getting out into the passing lanes. We were picking up full court a little bit. The defense really impressed me a lot.”

On working in the new parts…
“I think that started in the summer. I think they really got used to our flow and our movement. I think that tonight we showed that we have been playing together for a while now, and the new guys are really adjusting to the way that we play.”

On the play of Cam Biedscheid…
“I think he is instant offense because of how well he can shoot the ball. He can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. When he is on the floor we try to look for him. He is one of those types of players that can give us fifteen or sixteen points really quick in a game. That is a huge boost for us. I think we are going to have to look for him, and I think that it will really help us out.”

Quincy Head Coach Marty Bell

On the game…
“That was a true exhibition in how to move the ball, how to make shots, how to play. This is the fourth time Coach Brey has given us the opportunity to come up here to play, and this is by far his best team. He has a really, really talented team, and you can tell they’ve been together a long time. They really trust each other on the floor. They move the basketball as well and rotate the ball as well as any team I’ve ever seen. We tried to compete with them, but it was tough for us. We’re a very young team. We have a lot of young players – freshmen and sophomores. I wanted to make sure I gave him a good exhibition and there’s some stuff he had to work on against us, which I hope he got his kids to go through. But I just can’t say enough about the team he has and obviously the appreciation I have for him giving us the opportunity for our program to come up here. We’re a much smaller Catholic school, but nonetheless it’s a thrill for our kids to come up here and experience this campus and this university. “

On what he wants his team to take away from this game…
“That’s a great question because I just talked to them in the locker room and said, ‘What did you get from this?’ I just said, ‘What did you feel we did well? And what did you feel we didn’t do well?’ And it all came back to one thing: consistency. We showed times where we could move the ball on offense and do some things and execute our stuff. We showed that on defense, but we didn’t rebound consistently. We didn’t take care of the ball consistently and we let offensive energy dictate our energy. Offensive scoring dictated our level of energy. It’s got to come from the other end of the floor. We’ve got to be a much better defensive team and create energy from that end of the floor so we get easier scores.”