March 4, 2004
Coach Mike Brey Quotes
On defending Georgetown…
They shot 28 percent from the floor, and anytime we hold them to 48 points is pretty good defensively. I told our guys that we’re probably pretty well together offensively. We had 16 assists and five turnovers. I think we’re playing better together defensively, and that’s something to build on when head to New York.
On Notre Dame’s performance…
We worked our guys like Chris Quinn and Chris Thomas to start with, winning turnovers and doing a good job. It helps that all three of our big guys know what to do with the basket, so I thought we did a real good job there.
On Jordan Cornette and Rick Cornett…
I thought Jordan Cornette was fabulous. He was guarding shots, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, and just providing good defense for us back there. Rick Cornett continues to improve. He was active, bouncing around, and that’s a career high in rebounds for him. He can do that more than anybody out there, and we need him to keep doing that.
On facing St. John’s on Saturday…
It’s their last game, and one thing about the St. John’s is that they play hard and this is our last game before the Big East tourney. We’re going to get a good shot with them. They’re quick, they’re still hot, and they can play defensively. I hope we can use this game like it’s the first round of the Big East tournament. We need to play well on Saturday and hope that carries over until Wednesday.
On seniors Torrian Jones and Tom Timmermans…
I talked to our team and told them all how proud I am of those two guys. Some of our young guys in the program will understand how Torrian and Tom have handled their careers. For the last three years, they were part of really good basketball teams.
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Senior F Torrian Jones
On finishing out the season…
“We are definitely finishing the season the way we wanted to. We went out to UCLA and played well; we came out tonight for our last game on this floor this year and we played a great forty minutes.”
On Senior Night…
“I was not going to try to change the way I approach the game or play just because its senior night. I went out there played my role, defended [Gerald] Riley and frustrated those guys.”
Sophomore C/F Rick Cornett
On Georgetown…
“They are a very physical team. They’re very strong inside. It’s shocking that they have lost seven in a row. They’re a good team.”
On Seniors Torrian Jones and Tom Timmermans…
“They definitely are big parts of our team. They carry us game in and game out. Tonight was a time to honor them. We wanted to let them carry us through our last home game and they did just that. Torrian went out there and rebounded, slashed and scored, and Tom did his thing on high post and defense, too. Tom and Torrian will really be missed on this team.”
Sophomore G Chris Quinn
On defense and heading into St. John’s…
“Our position defense was great tonight. I think it has to be the same way when we go in Saturday to St. John’s. It’s a tough road test for us. Any game on the road in the BIG EAST will be tough. We just have to use this game for momentum heading into the next game.”
Georgetown Quotes
Head Coach Craig Esherick
On the game…
“To out-rebound Notre Dame by about nine and then to commit only nine turnovers I would say that you would have a pretty good chance of winning. But anytime you play a team as good as Notre Dame, you can’t shoot twenty-eight percent, and I thought a lot of the shots that we had taken I’d take again. I think I’ve said this many times this season, but we missed some real good shots today, some real good shots that I think we can make.”
I thought most of the game we played hard, most of the game I thought we got some shots. I thought the part of the game that hurt us was the stretch where we gave them open threes in the second half. I thought we came out with some life in the second half and then we gave them a couple of open threes. They extended the lead almost to twenty, and we kept fighting, we kept getting good shots, but the ball wasn’t going in the basket. Again, we limited them to four offensive rebounds. They didn’t shoot the ball particularly well today, but we rebounded the ball better than we have in a while and handled the ball better than we have in a while, and then we shoot twenty-eight percent.
On their upcoming game with Virginia Tech…
“In the locker room, I didn’t yell at them, but I said, ‘This game on Saturday has become very important. We have to be ready to play, we have to go over the scouting report on Friday, and let’s not minimize the fact that it’s very important that we win this game.'”
On the struggles of Gerald Riley…
I’m not really concerned, I think Gerald will be fine. He was the guy I thought got some really good looks at the basket and the ball just didn’t go in. I mean, a couple of times he was almost right on top of the basket and the ball didn’t go in. I think Gerald will be fine and certainly I want him to keep shooting. I told him that at halftime, “Gerald, keep shooting. Keep shooting and that ball will go in.” I told the whole team that. I said, “We have a good-shooting team, I may be the only one in the world that thinks that right now, but I told them to keep shooting.”
Georgetown Player Quotes
Senior guard Gerald Riley:
On the difference in the game…
“We played hard, but we had a couple of mental lapses, and didn’t do well on the defensive end. They’re a great team. We came in looking for a victory, but we came out on the losing end. They put up a good effort.”
On the play of Notre Dame guards Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn…
“They are big for the team; they make big shots. They proved it today against us. We went in for rebounds, lost track of our man, and left Thomas and Quinn alone from behind the three-point line, where they knocked down some three-pointers to put us in the hole. We had a couple of mental lapses, and that hurt us throughout the game.”
Sophomore forward Brandon Bowman:
On the team’s 28.1% field goal shooting…
“We couldn’t put the ball in the ocean if we threw out of a boat. A lot of balls were going in and out for us, and the luck of the Irish was on their side. We couldn’t buy a bucket. I thought we took some good shots down in the paint but a lot of shots weren’t falling for any of us, and it showed.”
On half-time adjustments…
“We told ourselves the ball was going to go in the second half. On the defensive end, we focused on stopping the penetration and stopping the three-point play.”
On Saturday’s home contest versus Virginia Tech…
“It is a must win this weekend, so we could go to New York on a high step, a good step. It’s the biggest game of the year.”
Senior forward Courtland Freeman:
On the team’s poor shooting…
“I don’t know what it was. There are no excuses. We just didn’t shoot the ball well, and it didn’t go in for us.”