Dec. 1, 2013

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

Opening Statement…
“Demetrius Jackson obviously wanted to start today and we’ve liked that lineup in practice, and he’s been getting better and better since the Santa Clara game. We got some great looks early, but didn’t make them. But our efficiency was pretty good. You play that many guys and you have 28 assists and only 5 turnovers–we’ll take that. We did a good job on the arc because they made 16 on Friday. We had a lot of different guys playing, and I’m still searching: who’s where, who’s playing what. Who knows who finishes the game in Iowa City on Tuesday? I have no idea, so all ten of them have to be ready.”

On Pat Connaughton’s play…
“We told him he’s got to score for us, and I think he took only three or four shots last Sunday. He’s got to shoot the ball. And when he drives, I don’t want him to be a dish-off guy. He’s an amazingly coachable guy, you tell him something and he goes out there and does it. That’s how he practices and it was good to see him play that way. He got some great opportunities out there and he is our best rebounder. I challenged the big guys and said `How could you let the 6’5 guy lead us in rebounding?’ I think it is an important game for him because he’s going to have to score for us.”

On Demetrius Jackson…
“Jackson has so much energy and juice for us. He’s good defensively for us, and he’s starting to get in there and make plays. He gets to the basket, he gets fouled and now he’s making his three-point shot. He’s very comfortable and we want to capitalize on that.”

On current line-up and any reason for change…
“I think we stay with what we have here. I think we’re going to keep playing this way. I feel we need to stay the course with this and ride this for a while and see what we get out of it. Our attention to detail has to be off the charts to win on the road. As much as the guys love winning at home, there is nothing like winning a tough game on the road.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Jerian Grant – Senior – Guard

On team scoring over 100 points…
“With the new starting lineup we have we can score a lot more points and have the fast break available a lot more. Defensively it helps us in being able to press full court a little bit and rebounding won’t be a problem.”

On what it will take to win against Iowa…
“It’s going to take a lot. Iowa is a great team and we’ve been watching them the last few days and we’ll be ready to play them, the guys are excited for a road challenge like this.”

On scoring his 1,000th career point…
“It means a lot to me. It’s a select group of guys, 50-something players out of all the players that have played at Notre Dame and to be named with those 50-something players is exciting for me.”

Eric Atkins – Senior – Guard

On playing with Demetrius and who plays point…
“We really work it in at practice day in and day out and he always plays with me in practice. I think we’ve both been doing a good job of spacing the floor and shooting it so when we’re not on the ball it’s not that big a deal. We just have to be ready to shoot and drive off the ball.”

On his shooting…
“I’ve been shooting a lot, I don’t know how well I’ve been shooting but I’ve been shooting a lot more. But coach wanted me to score a little bit more so I’ve been taking them and I put a lot of work in on that this summer to get better at it.”

On team having 28 assists and only 5 turnovers…
“It’s a great weapon, not turning the ball over is a great weapon. You’re able to limit their transition opportunities and usually are getting very good shots.”

Demetrius Jackson – Freshman – Guard

On starting…
“I found out a little bit later in the week. In practice coach let me know I was going to be starting so it was exciting. I just needed to do whatever I did to get me there and stay consistent with my play and to be aggressive. I’m still working on trying to be more consistent.”

On playing high school teammate Robert Mischler…
“It was cool. It was just like high school open gym days. I was very happy for him when he made that three, especially because we were up so much. But I was very happy that he could hit that shot here in his hometown, he’s a great guy and good person.

On hearing his name starting…
It was definitely very cool to hear my name finally. It’s one of my goals I’ve been working towards and I’ve been really busting my butt to get there where I’m good enough to start. Like I said earlier, my goal is the same whether I’m starting or coming off the bench.

Pat Connaughton – Junior – Guard

On second half rebounding…
“Rebounding is something that we always have to focus on and we can always get better. We’re going to take pride in that going forward. We more or less were focusing on using the second half to really propel us to the game on Tuesday. They’re a big physical team so were going to have to rebound there so we really focused on that in the second half.

On kick starting the team…
“It was something this past week that coach has been harping on me for. Last weekend I took three or four shots and it’s something that they needed me to do, be more aggressive. It’s something I’m used to doing; I’ve done my whole life. This is a role on the team that I’m expected this year and I’ll need to jump-start this team.

On having to play down low…
“I feel good. It’s something (that I’ll have to do) now that we have this lineup and it’s something that we work at in practice. I’m guarding guys like Tom Knight and he’s 6’10 and 30 pounds more than me. It’s something that I get reps at in practice and it’s exciting so it’s easy for me to get those rebounds and finish around the rim and stuff like that.”

Cornell Head Coach Bill Courtney

Opening Statement…
“Notre Dame’s a good team, obviously a very good offensive team. We’re not a great defensive team, so when you put those two things together, it ends up in a thirty something-plus margin of victory. We’ve got to continue to get better, but they are a very good offensive team; they’re experienced. We tried to take away the paint a little bit in the first half, and they came out and hit that barrage of threes. Whatever it seems that we did, they countered it. That’s what experienced teams do.”

On how Notre Dame was able to take control of the game in the second half…
“We were essentially trading baskets. I think they hit like five threes in a row, and we were getting twos at that time, so they were slowly stretching the lead out. Then we had a couple possessions where we didn’t score, and they continued to score. They really got hot, and they got some easy baskets around the rim and in transition. I think those easy baskets really got them going, and it helped them to get some confidence, and start making those three-point shots.”

On Notre Dame’s defensive adjustments…
“It did take away some of Robert Hatter’s penetration, but at the same time, I thought we executed pretty well against the zone. I can’t really complain a lot about our offensive effort, with the exception of our turnovers, particularly our live-ball turnovers that gave them transition baskets on the other end. Really from an offensive perspective, I thought that we executed pretty well; we just didn’t do anything on the defensive end.”

Cornell Player Quotes

Robert Mischler – Sophomore – Guard

On playing in front of a home crowd with old teammate Demetrius Jackson…
“That was really special. Obviously I’d like to come out with a win but it was something I will never forget playing alongside Demetrius tonight in front of my family and friends.

“I got a lot of people to come out to the game, and it was good to see a lot of familiar faces out there. Cornell had about 100 tickets for the game and I think I took about 50 to 60, so it was great to have that kind of support. It was a great experience.”

On defending Demetrius Jackson as soon as he was put into the game…
“It was something I wasn’t expecting but something I will never forget. Hugging Demetrius at the end was great–we were really close for the three years that we played together and I’ve been talking to him all week leading up to the game–so it was really special seeing him.”

On his personal performance…
“Coach put me in in the first half and I turned the ball over, which I can’t do. That was one of those live ball turnovers, which Coach says we need to watch. At the end I hit a three with fifteen seconds left which was good, but as a team I think we need to get better defensively. The credit goes to Notre Dame–they’re a really good team–and it’s tough to beat them at home.”

On getting the three at the end…
” I just got a good clean look: Montez Blair threw a good pass to me in the corner and I just knocked it down.”