Jan. 31, 2016
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POSTGAME QUOTES
No. 25 Notre Dame 85 (15-6, 6-3 ACC), Wake Forest 62 (10-11, 1-8 ACC)
January 31, 2016
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.
Mike Brey, Notre Dame head coach
Opening statement…
“I was thrilled to get Burgett in the starting lineup. He’s been practicing great. My feeling was [Rex] Pflueger missed a day and a half of practice with a twisted ankle, [Matt] Ryan a little with a hip flexor. I’m thinking to myself, we got Demetrius back. I want my four captains on the floor to start the game. I want veteran guys, and I thought it really lifted Zach, Demetrius, and Steve to have Burg out there. Certainly he got us off to a great start.”
On getting Demetrius Jackson backââ’¬¦
“I thought he’d be ready to go. Yesterday at practice he was good. He was cautious, but I figured he was really good. I stole him a couple blows before media timeouts and tomorrow he doesn’t need to do anything. We just need to get him some rest, but we seem to have gotten through it ok.”
On the play of A.J. Burgettââ’¬¦
“Burg is such a smart defender, and how about how he flies in for defensive rebounds too with his athletic ability. Burg is really a good position guy and he knows how to help. He’s been in our system for four years. And I wasn’t even worried about him shooting. He’s a great conveyer of the ball. He’s easy to play with on both ends of the floor. He’s easy to play with because you know what you’re going to get out of him. And then he’s making open shots, that’s just another level.”
Notre Dame Players
A.J. Burgett, Senior Forward
On whether he was surprised by getting the start…
“A little bit, I knew I was going to play today, but then he [coach] called me and brought that to me. We had a team meeting last night at the hotel and he told everybody. I just try to play the game I play.”
On his performanceââ’¬¦
“I feel like I was just trying to do what I’ve done in practice since Christmas break. I try to come in and make everybody better and move the ball with an extra pass. Demetrius talked to me before the game and said, ‘If you have an open shot, just take it.’ So I did that today.”
On how he handled playing a significant role after limited playing timeââ’¬¦
“Demetrius would talk to me a bunch. I am roommates with Zach so we talk everyday, talking things out. It gets things off my mind that are racing through my head. It’s good to get that off of my chest everyday.”
Zach Auguste, Senior Forward
On getting the game goingââ’¬¦
“It was just about trusting the offense, having great movement, and tightening the glass. I think that was a great energy boost for me, being on the glass, and that just carried on with my offense.”
On Austin Burgett’s Performanceââ’¬¦
“I wasn’t surprised. It was well deserved, he’s earned it. He’s been working hard in practice. He came out there and did what he needed to do. We weren’t surprised. We expect that of him.”
On coming off of a loss last weekââ’¬¦
“We have great bounce backs. We carry that edge, and it’s sad to say that we had to have a loss to do that, but I think it’s great for us. Now we’ll continue to get wins and continue to build our resume.”
Demetrius Jackson, Junior Guard
On his injuryââ’¬¦
“I’ve never really had anything like this, but I feel good and confident in my movements. When I stretch, it stretches well. I feel good and I want to continue doing the things I was doing when I was rehabbing it, but hopefully it’ll be like it was never there. I was not really thinking about it today, and when you’re not thinking about something it’s like it’s non-existent. I feel it now a little bit after playing a long game, but I feel good and I just want to continue taking care of my body so I can be back and be even better than I was before.”
On playing with Burgettââ’¬¦
“He did such a great job defensively and he set the tone. I think he grabbed the first couple of rebounds and he hit the open shots. That’s the stuff he does every day in practice so it was really good to see him transfer that stuff from practice to the game court.”
On having all four captains in the starting lineupââ’¬¦
“It allows us to have a mature group. We can really talk to each other well and then go out there and execute. With Burg just shooting the shots and the 3 ball, he spaces the floor well. He was a great weapon for us and we want to continue having him in there.”
Danny Manning, Wake Forest head coach
On covering Notre Dameââ’¬¦
“They do a great job of spreading the floor and making shots. Tonight, they made nine threes and they also made the ball to the paint. They’re a very difficult team to cover and tonight’s game, for us, that was a deep down. We put up some resistance, but overall, as a group, we didn’t have it.”
On being down seven at the start…
“You never want to put yourself in that situation. We’re bottom back in certain games and Notre Dame is a very good ball team. Mike [Brey] has them playing at a great level right now.”
On Demetrius Jacksonââ’¬¦
“Getting [Demetrius] Jackson back for this game, to me, he’s one of the catalysts on this team – he had 8 assists – did a great job of facilitating and getting other guys involved.”
Wake Forest Players
Bryant Crawford, Freshman Guard
On his consecutive 20 point gamesââ’¬¦
“My teammates are doing a good job of finding me when I’m open and I’m knocking down shots.”
On defending Notre Dameââ’¬¦
“We knew coming into an ACC game, it would not be easy. They’re a good team and well-balanced as a team.”
On Notre Dame’s zone affecting second-half scoringââ’¬¦
“The zone definitely slowed us down. And we just didn’t make our shots and couldn’t go on a run.”
On guarding Demetrius Jacksonââ’¬¦
“It’s the same challenge guarding any other point guard. Just have to go out and compete every time.”