Jan. 21, 2002
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
On the game…
“Georgetown came in very ready to play today. They’re certainly the most physical team we have played all year. We gave ourselves chances at times, but they kept wearing us down with a lot of strong bodies. I think (Wesley) Wilson played great for them after only playing six minutes in their last game. They also have that leadership at guard with their 22 year-old senior (Kevin) Braswell who made it tough on Chris (Thomas) tonight. I hope we can learn from this game because they really demonstrated the physical brand of play in our league. We still have a lot of basketball to play and I know we are going to continue to get better as coaches and players.”
On Jordan Cornette and the Notre Dame bench…
“I think he played a fabulous game tonight. I was very impressed by Jordan’s play. I think we learned a lot tonight about our entire bench, not just Jordan. It is encouraging to see because we will need them down the stretch.”
On Notre Dame’s upcoming schedule…
“We are going to try to get this home thing down. Our crowd has been fabulous these last couple of games. We have another tough test this Saturday against another physical team, Seton Hall. It is another big game for us and it will be good to get some rest this week as we get ready for Saturday. We are going to keep on plugging, don’t give up on this team yet. We still have 11 more league games to play.”
Notre Dame Players
Freshman forward Jordan Cornette
On playing against Georgetown’s physical style . . .
“I think going against Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan every day in practice prepares for going against all the other guys in the conference. After going against them in practice, guarding some of these other guys is no surprise when I get out there.”
On Georgetown being one of the best teams the Irish have faced . . .
“I would have to agree. They were going at us from the start and they played real physical and they knocked down their shots. They are definitely up there as one of the toughest teams we have played so far.”
Senior forward Ryan Humphrey
On the absence of Harold Swanagan . . .
“(We missed him) a lot. They kept bringing guys 6-10, 250-260. Jordan is 180 at most and I am not too far behind, but it was just physical. We really had to battle out there to combat the physicalness of it.”
On the Irish shooting slump . . .
“I love it when people double me because I know that Matt, Dave and Chris are going to knock down shots. I have been around those two for three years now and I know those are the best shooters I have ever seen. There are times when they hit five or six in a row in practice. I have confidence in them. Once they start knocking down the shots, it is going to be exciting to see us play. I know they are working on their shots so we can’t dwell on it.”
On positive things that could be drawn from the loss . . .
“We still had a chance (to win) with David Graves going 1-for-9, scoring five points, and Harold Swanagan not playing. Dave is averaging 15 points per game and I know David Graves. I know he is going to come in and work because we need him. He is an excellent player for us. He is kind of the cornerstone of the Notre Dame. Harold Swanagan was hurt and we missed him a lot. That is a positive we can draw out of it. Also, Jordan stepped up and we know he is quality.”
Junior guard Matt Carroll
On what the team needs to do better . . .
“We just have to play better from the start. That has been a problem the whole season. We just have to come out tougher, they killed us on the boards tonight and we have had some trouble rebounding this season. We just have to make sure all five guys on the court are together and play together on the same page. That is a key for us to get back into it.”
Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick
On Harold Swanagan’s absence…
“When you’re missing a guy like Swanagan, you are clearly not at full force. I think Mike (coach Mike Brey) would have loved to have had him out there. He’s a real solid player- he rebounds and does a great job on defense. I think that’s one of the reasons why our big people played so well.”
On Irish freshman Chris Thomas…
“I was shocked at the end of the game when I saw the number of turnovers that Notre Dame had. They’ve got a heck of a point guard. To have so few turnovers against a team like us is really impressive.”
On Georgetown’s youth…
“Last year’s team we had four seniors, and that’s one of the big reasons we started out 16-0. This year we only have one senior, Kevin Braswell, and a young team which is maddeningly unpredictable, and that’s something that I have to live with. The inexperience is causing some of the inconsistencies, but I’m really pleased with the way we’ve been playing.”
On Georgetown’s strength on the road…
“We don’t have a veteran team, but we have played extremely well on the road. Maybe we should go on the road at home. We have played a lot of good games against some pretty good teams this year. Maybe we should start going on the road at home, I think this year we have played better away from home.”
On conference play…
“It’s the middle of the season, league play is kicking in, and I think if you look around the country- the ACC, the Big Ten, the BIG EAST, the big conferences- every game is a battle.”
Georgetown Players
Sophomore forward Mike Sweetney
On difference in contest…
“Everyone just came out playing hard, rebounding, and running. We played pretty good defense and rebounded well and that was our emphasis to come out and do today.”
On Georgetown’s rebounding edge…
“I’m not surprised [by how we rebounded]. We have people that can rebound like that every game, but we just got to come out and do it every game. [Notre Dame playing without Swanagan] was a good advantage, but we went out there and play our style basketball no matter who was out there and who wasn’t out there. It was just a physical game.”
Sophomore center Wesley Wilson
On Swanagan’s absence…
“He is a good player and if he is not in the game, of course it will affect his team’s play. We took advantage of the opportunity while he was out.”
On stopping second-half Irish surge…
“The whole scheme of things is to the win the game and that’s what we wanted to do. We played defense and at the end of the game we played tougher defense. We just knew we had to win because we lost the last game. We came out and played hard and played tough.”
Junior guard Kevin Braswell
On defending Irish guards…
“We have been playing really good defense on the guards that we play. It started when we played Boston College, holding Troy Bell to eight points. Since then the guards on our team came on and played against everyone well. Chris Thomas is playing well. We know Matt Carroll is a great guard. David Graves can shoot the three. We just came out and focused on stopping the guards. We just concentrated on defense.”
On controlling flow of game…
“It was big because a lot of the times this year the opposing team tended to control the game. Today was a time when I just focused on myself and knew that I can control the ball when I want to.”