Nov. 19, 2011

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

On surviving this stretch of games….
“I’m happy that we got through and are 4-0 without [Tim Abromaitis]. I hope it is a blessing in disguise because some other guys have had to play long minutes, and we’ve found out about them. I think it can help us in the future, and I hope that future is Monday night.”

On surprises learned about players…
“We’ve probably learned a lot about everybody except the veteran players. [Alex] Dragicevich, [Jerian] Grant, [Joey] Brooks, and [Pat] Connaughton really gave us good stuff, and they’re all going to be part of the dance. [Mike] Broghammer moved tonight the best he has in a while, and we’re going to need his physicicality. I’m looking forward to Sunday morning when [Scott] Martin and [Tim] Abromaitis are in a white shirt together, and hopefully Eric Atkins is in there because I haven’t seen that in awhile.”

On a number of players achieving career high points already…
“Everybody is happy, but when everyone is healthy there are going to be guys upset about minutes.”

On having a variety of starters…
“I knew we were going to play different guys without [Tim] Abromaitis. I didn’t know it was going to be this much of musical chairs, but it has really paid off. Guys have had to make plays, and we have still found a way to score the ball. It’s all good stuff, but I’m done with basketball camp where everyone gets equal minutes. I want to get my nucleus back.”

On the team’s current position…
“For us to get through this 4-0 without [Tim] Abromaitis is great. I was worried about us beating Detroit with him. I’m glad we’re in this position, but we have a heck of a challenge Monday. They’re (Missouri) really good and really fast. We’re going to have to pick up the tempo.”

On the development of the young players…
“I’m really excited about our young guys. They are all stepping forward. They’ve all had a chance to step forward and play because of our illness and [Tim] Abromaitis’ suspension. I think they’re better and more mature.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Scott Martin o Senior o Guard

On picking up the slack with only seven players…
“The ball kind of bounced my way a few more times tonight. They were kind of trapping and running around, so we were able to move around pretty well and get some open looks.”

On getting through Tim Abromaitis’ absence undefeated…
“I think it speaks a lot of our team. We were able to get through that, and we’re excited to be back at full strength hopefully by Monday. We’re looking forward to the challenge and excited to get out there.”

Pat Connaughton o Freshman o Guard

On his first starting experience…
“It was great. I never thought it would be the fourth game in, so to have that experience under my belt is really a big step forward for me.”

On his the team’s point production…
“It was a matter of weighing the game. You know whatever we needed-Jerian [Grant], Alex [Dragicevich], Scott [Martin]-they all had a significant amount of points. So my point production wasn’t as needed so I tried to stick to the glass.”

Alex Dragicevich o Sophomore o Guard

On playing significantly more time…
“I think before the game I was just worried about, you know, if I go this hard in warm ups, I’m not going to have as much energy for the game. You have to manage your body and think about how you’re going to play.”

On what tonight has done for his confidence…
“I have more confidence in my game-more confidence in how I play with the guys. It was great to be out there. To see the first shot goes down gives you a lot of confidence. Once you get into things, it gets more relaxing.”

Jack Cooley o Junior o Forward

On his double-double and 17 total rebounds…
“I didn’t actually know how many I had until Coach Ingelsby was like ‘Jack you have 14,’ and I was like ’14 what?’ When he said rebounds I was like ‘Oh man.’ He told me to get 20 and this was with six minutes left. So I told him I would try really hard. I was on a roll and Mike Broghammer had a really athletic play and he ended up stealing a rebound from me, but it was fun. The game was really fun.”

On playing for 31 minutes…
“I haven’t played that much since high school. Even in high school the games were barely that long. It felt good to be out there for that long and to know that I could do it, especially with the streak that we’re going into right now. It’s such a relief knowing that we have (Tim) Abromaitis coming back and that Eric (Atkins)’s going to be better. It feels really good right now.”

Jerian Grant o Sophomore o Guard

On establishing his roll on the team…
“You have to be ready to take open shots. They weren’t defending the three point line well and we even had a lot of open looks that we missed, so you just have to step up and take them.”

On hitting three three-pointers in the second half…
“I was just ready to step up and make an open shot, because I didn’t really get any looks in the first half. So in the second half I was just ready to take them when I was open.”

On only having six players at one point…
“We only have one freshman. Everybody’s been here last year and are just ready to step up, even Pat (Connaughton). He doesn’t play like a freshman. He’s ready to step up and play when we need him to play.”

Delaware State Head Coach Greg Jackson

Initial thoughts on the game…
“We got beat by a much better team tonight. They’re a well-coached team, play at a high level and have a lot of size inside. They crashed the boards, and they beat us inside. I thought that was really the difference in the ballgame, and they were able to get a lot more easier shots tonight.”

On Notre Dame’s rebounding margin…
“We really need to work on rebounding the basketball. We won’t play a whole lot of teams with their strength and their talent, but tonight was definitely concerning and we need to improve by preventing some of those offensive boards.”

On the play of freshman guard Tahj Tate…
“Well, I think we need to do a better job of getting everyone else involved. One guy getting 29 points and everyone else not scoring isn’t going to help us win basketball games. We want to get everyone else the ball too and play better as a unit. I think it’s obvious he has the talent and is a great player, but we aren’t going to beat anybody with one player.”

On what he will tell the team moving forward…
“We just need to get better. I liked the team effort. We gave a tremendous amount of effort throughout the night, and if we can keep that up, I think we will be just fine.”

Delaware State Players

Tahj Tate – Freshman – Guard

On scoring a game-high 29 points…
“I was just trying to help my team win. I wanted to do whatever I could to make some plays and keep us in the game.”

On Notre Dame’s rebounding…
“We just need to work on boxing out, and securing the ball better.”

On the positive points from the game…
“There’s really not much I can think of. I guess we shot the ball well from the three-point line, but we still didn’t win. All we can do is go back to work and try to