Nov. 10, 2013

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Stetson
November 10, 2013
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

Opening Statement…
“What I was really happy about this afternoon was that our older guys got off to such a good start. It allowed me to play our younger guys long minutes and together in a game situation, which is just a great experience for them. And the young guys played the way we play. I loved how they played together. So it was a good day for us, early in the season, trying to figure out our young guys. We know who our older guys are. I though it was also a good afternoon for Garrick Sherman and Zach Auguste to have a little more success, because Friday night wasn’t a great one. But I think I mentioned to you, it’s what I told them in the locker room, I said, `Look, play better cause you’re going to play, so bounce back.’ That’s going to be the story of the season, when you don’t play well, be ready to get back and play better

On the play and development of the five subs…
“They stay in character, they know how we play. They’re sharing the ball, they know what a good shot is, they don’t turn it over. They know our offensive efficiency. They’ve learned that, because, number one, they have a high basketball IQ anyway, but also playing against and watching the older guys play for five months now, since June 20. Those guys are great teachers. I’ve been really proud.”

On Demetrius Jackson settling into the college game,
“I think the key is attacking. He was a little sheepish the other night. But we talked to him yesterday, and I talked to him this morning–`Would you just attack, would you just go? I don’t care if you charge somebody, but go to the hole and use that strength and speed.’ I thought he took a big step forward attacking. I also thought he was more solid defensively. He got beat off the dribble, I thought, too easy for his athletic ability on Friday. He was more solid there. That was a good day for him.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Demetrius Jackson – Freshman – Guard

On how he felt during the game…
“Definitely a lot better [than Friday night] and that is all credit to my teammates and coaches just helping me stay to positive and aggressive and also working hard throughout the week. “

On the differences between exhibition games and regular season games…
“The game is quicker, but at the same time, we just try to focus on playing our game and staying in character. We do a great job of preparation all week.”

On specific things he is trying to improve on…
“Mainly, I want to be more consistent–just playing at a high level consistently. I do that just by, in practice, working hard. When I’m in the gym, I try to work on everything, my handle, shooting. “

On taking a leadership role…
“I try to be a leader out there. Eric’s [Atkins] leadership is definitely rubbing off on me, being around him. Being a point guard, I’m always trying to work on my leadership skills and continuing to develop those so that when the torch is passed to me, I can be a great leader as well.”

On completing his first weekend of regular season action…
“It was definitely fun out there. A lot to learn, no regrets about anything, but there’s still a lot to learn. Every game, every practice, I feel like there is always something to learn. So I’m just going to take that and then take the week to get better.”

Garrick Sherman – Senior – Center

On bouncing back after a difficult game Friday night…
“I think that’s one of the things about being a senior, is that you realize how long the season is. It’s only one game, and whether you have that game in the beginning or the middle of the season it happens. It was good that we had a quick turnaround and played today, because it was easy to get out of my mind quickly.”

On making his shots tonight as compared to last game…
“It was a good feeling watching them go in. It’s always good watching the first one go in because it really helps your confidence. Then I was able to carry off of that and had a good night tonight.”

On the team scoring 42 points in the paint…
“That was good for us. I thought we rebounded better today too, and that will be one of the keys for us going forward.”

On the high number of fouls he has had over the past two games…
“I think there were a couple of questionable ones, but I think I need to be more careful setting ball screens. I got one of those earlier today and one fighting for the rebound, and those are going to happen. When you go to the glass, you’re going to get fouled.”

Austin Burgett – Sophomore – Forward

On the team’s performance…
“I felt like we were hitting our shots today. We had a couple of specific plays that really worked and got the ball to the post. I think we really executed what we did in practice this week.”

On working with the underclassmen on the court…
“I felt like we were just getting to know each other and how we play, and we’re really getting the system down and playing well together. We just did what we did in practice and didn’t get out of character.”

Zach Auguste – Sophomore – Forward

On getting back in the flow of things…
“I just wanted to go out there and rebound because I know that’s what we’ve been missing. I wanted to go out and score and be aggressive.”

On settling down after a “wound-up” game on Friday…
“I had a chance to meditate on the game. I watched some film, came back, sat down and talked with coach and he said just keep doing what you do in practice. I went out with a cool, calm and collected attitude and it went well.”

Stetson Head Coach Corey Williams

On why the team is getting off to slow starts…
“Right now, I’m searching for the reason to that question. I tried to relax them a little bit better today, but for some reason, when your nerves take hold to you, you tend to lose sight of what we’re trying to do defensively. They shot over 60 percent from three-point range; you can’t win any basketball games like that. At the end of the day, they’re a good basketball team-this was a tall order for us as a basketball team-but, in order to be in the game, you have to play well and do the little things, and for whatever reason we have been starting off a little slow so far. I anticipated that we would have done a little better job.”

On Brian Pegg’s performance…
“I think he’s the one kid that plays hard the entire game. I think he’s a good energy boost for us off the bench, but he’s one of the guys I have to have in the lineup for the entire game. He’s a competitor, he works hard, he will fight, and right now we have some issues with toughness on the team and he’s the one guy who brings us that toughness. But right now, offensively, he’s having some issues. He’s struggling and has to get better.”

On his takeaway from the game…
“I mean, the second half was 29-28, we got a chance to recognize our own offense a little bit. I thought we did a decent job. Tanner Plemmons came in the game and hit some threes. We have to get better at transition defense, but I think that as we go along, we will get better. We are still learning about each other as a team, we have a long way to go but we have to keep going. Hats off to Notre Dame, they are a fine basketball team and they play basketball the right way. They have guys who can score from the interior, from the exterior, they can penetrate, find each other–they do a wonderful job. I think it was a great opportunity for us to get to play in an environment like this.”