Notre Dame vs. St. Francis (III)
Notre Dame, Indiana
Oct. 30, 2015
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
On his team’s play…
“We are still a work in progress on how Zach (Auguste) and Bonzie (Colson) space off of each other. But as you saw tonight we subbed a couple of times and we got to one big guy. Is it Matt Ryan or V.J. Beachem in your Pat Connaughton spot where you really stretch? It’s good to downshift sometimes. That’s why I’m encouraged when a Matt Farrell is doing well, because he goes in and we can downshift. With Matt Ryan or Rex Pflueger, we can also downshift when those guys go in.”
On Notre Dame’s defensive effort…
“Yeah we should be able to guard, we got more wingspan in there in the starting group and ball pressure. It’s unbelievable what it does and we got guys who can get out in the passing lanes and do things. One thing we can do is rebound the ball. Bonzie (Colson) and Zach (Auguste) have rebounded really well. V.J. Beachem’s jumped in there and rebounded for us, so I think we can guard really well.”
On converting points off turnovers…
“Well that’s what won us the ACC championship. We started playing defense coming out of that timeout down and it was Demetrius Jackson’s ball pressure. We can run through passing lanes with length from Bonzie (Colson), length from V.J. (Beachem), Zach (Auguste) because he’s so quick, and Steve Vasturia’s the craftiest defender out there. I feel that we can continue to contest and it all starts with Jackson because it’s exhausting to do what he does, but he’s the guy to do it.”
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Matt Farrell ââ’¬” Guard ââ’¬” Sophomore
On finding a balance between passing and shooting as a point guard…
“If I’m open, I’m going to take the shot. I don’t want to admit that I look to pass first, but I like getting my teammates involved. That’s something I’ve always done. If I’m open I’m going to take the shot. I’m going to do whatever it takes to put the ball in the basket, whether that’s by myself or setting my teammates up.”
On the change of his role from last year…
“It’s exciting for me right now. It’s the first game, so obviously nothing is set in stone, but it’s definitely exciting for me to go out there and get some quality time with the starters and see how much of a rhythm we can get going. It was definitely fun to be out there with them.”
Matt Ryan ââ’¬” Forward ââ’¬” Freshman
On his performance…
“I was most happy with the fact that I had five rebounds. I had an offensive rebound and four defensive rebounds, so I thought that was good. I shot two-for-eight, so not my best day shooting. But I felt like we were getting in the flow, getting used to playing other people now. I think we took a good stride today.”
On what he can improve… “I think I can be more consistent. I’ve got to be able to knock down open shots. As a team, I think we need to fix our assist to turnover ratio. If we can cut down on turnovers and continue to dominate on the glass, I think we will be in good shape.”
On the team…
“We’re taking it one game at a time. Right now we are still 0-0. We’re going to get back to it on Sunday, break down film, and try to make some adjustments so that we can get better.”
Demetrius Jackson ââ’¬” Guard ââ’¬” Junior
On playing in a real game for the first time since last season…
“It felt good to just be playing against another team, have fun, get back on the same bench and cheer for each other. I thought we came out a little fast, especially me. But second half we did a great job locking in defensively, and being under control, especially me, as well as making better decisions with the ball.”
On defense…
“I think we did a good job both first and second half defensively. I think that’s something that we will just have to continue to develop. We can win a lot of games with defense.”
On the bench presence…
“I thought, our blueshirts, when they came in the game, gave us a lift. I thought every single one of them did a good job. Especially Matt Farrell, he gave us a great lift, and the freshmen came in and did great, so did Austin Torres. I’m just very proud because they push us in practice to make us better and it was good to see those guys play that way.”
Bonzie Colson ââ’¬” Forward ââ’¬” Sophomore
On playing as a starter…
“I have a different role, I have to bring the energy right off of the tip. I have to bring the juice and communicate and do whatever I have to do to help us win the game- rebound, screen off the ball and score. I thought we did a great job as a group rebounding tonight.”
On all the members of the team getting playing time…
“I thought everybody played well today. They understood what they had to do individually and that made our team better tonight. They were ready to go which is what we need. We need energy and we need to score, and they can do that for us.”
On taking more 3-pointers…
“Yeah, they have been talking to me about making sure I have good space out around the perimeter every single day at practice. Our captains, Demetrius [Jackson], Zach [Auguste], and Burg [Austin Burgett] have been talking to me about spacing and I think I am doing better with that. I have to be ready to shoot the ball and be able to move around the perimeter and I will be fine. I think I can play both inside and outside. I hit one or two threes last year, I think just one.”
St. Francis Head Coach Ryan Marks
On the learning experience of playing a Division I school like Notre Dame…
“From the standpoint of a NAIA school, it’s very competitive to try to get exhibition games with Division I schools. We talked to our players about these as our best two days of practice all year because we’ll be able to put ourselves under conditions and duress that we couldn’t otherwise simulate in practice. We take some small victories out of this.”
On Notre Dame’s run to take the lead early in the first half…
“I thought when their run first started, I thought we had a couple good shots that we missed. I felt like they settled into the game a little more defensively. They started to extend in the passing lanes a little more. As it extended, they continued to force us out of our comfort zone.”
On the experience of playing at Notre Dame…
“Games like this are the perfect opportunity for teams like us. I really applaud Coach Brey and Notre Dame consistently giving Division II and NAIA Catholic schools the opportunity to come here and experience this. From game standpoint as a basketball coach and basketball fan, it was really fun to see that team up close.”
St. Francis Player Quotes
Ilya Ilyayev ââ’¬” Junior – Forward
On his team’s play…
“We came in with the attitude of just getting better. Obviously they are very good team – Division I, top-25 team in the country. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We looked at the game in roughly five-minute segments. We went a few segments at a time, I feel like we had a successful game.”
On what went right for St. Francis…
“The beginning of the second half was our best segment. The first five minutes we came out in attack mode and then we kind of settled down. In the second half, we really picked it up. At halftime, we talked about our mistakes and came out and executed.”
On the mindset going into the matchup… “I feel like some players had nerves in the beginning and then once those wore off we started flowing. Offensively, we can score on anybody. They’re bigger and faster so defensively it is hard. I think offensively we were nervous at first but once shots started falling, we got better.”
On outlook on conference play…
“We are ranked 11 now. We’re trying to go slowly up the ranks to top-10 then top-5. We are looking to a national championship.”
On his confidence going into the game…
“My freshman year I was Division I, and then I transferred to the NAIA. I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just played my game. They played a little off of me so all my coaches said shoot it so I just let it fly. I went into it picking my spots offensively and had a good game.”