As Notre Dame gets ready to kick off another season of Men's & Women's Basketball, they all gathered on Wednesday of last week to talk a little bit about the upcoming season! Here is an early look ahead at this years' squads, including some of the key quotes from the coaches and players about what they expect from the 2011-2012 season!
Men's Basketball
In 2010, a senior-laden Irish squad hit the hardwood with all pistons firing, eventually shocking everyone to earn a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed and enjoying an extended winter stay among the nation's Top 10 teams. As we enter the 2011 season, things do not look so rosy. Three of the five key pieces to the winning equation from last year's season have graduated, and a series of career-threatening injuries have also entered the mix. 12th-year head coach Mike Brey now faces his biggest challenge to date: attaining another NCAA Tournament bid.
Notre Dame’s traditionally weak non-conference schedule made a move towards the impressive last season, as the Irish defeated Georgia, California, a top 10 Wisconsin team, NCAA qualifier Indiana State, and a most notable NCAA win over Gonzaga prior to the Big East season, while losing to eventual Final Four foe, Kentucky. This season’s non-conference schedule is challenging as well, with solid programs including Missouri, Maryland, Indiana, Gonzaga, and either California or Georgia on tap in November/December.
Quotes via the Notre Dame Athletic Web Site, www.und.com
Head Coach Mike Brey: On having a less experienced team this year...
"I have to keep reminding myself about patience, especially early. I think we have a lot of really good candidates because only one of them is a freshman. The other ones have been in our program, and usually when we ask those guys to step forward that have been in our program, they've been pretty successful. Never have we counted on so many of them to earn a NCAA tournament bid. I wouldn't say we're younger, I would say we're newer. But I love the fact that (Jerian) Grant, (Alex) Dragicevich, (Tom) Knight, certainly (Joey) Brooks, (Mike) Broghammer, they've all been around and felt it for the last couple years. And they've been around some good stuff. So I'm counting on that for some osmosis to help."
On how the team looks so far...
"We actually have had four one-hour sessions with the whole team. After September 15, you can use those two hours any way you want. We use 60 minutes, so I've been in with them four times. I felt better than I thought I would about how we move as a unit given how many newer guys we're working in. It made me feel like they did really watch and learn. I'm very impressed with where Alex (Dragicevich) and Jerian (Grant) have been as far as understanding how to play in our system. I think playing against and watching those veteran guys in our system last year really helped them. We're going to need them certainly. Right now, the first four games we've got eight (players). After that we've got nine. I don't know if there was ever a team where I could tell on the first day of practice, all right let's start with this fellas ... everybody's playing. I don't know if many coaches can say that. I certainly have never been in a situation like that. There's always a couple guys who are just not going to be in the mix. But all nine of those guys, we're going to need them throughout this season. There's just so many unknowns from four through nine. That could be changing throughout the year, and I would hope that it gives a group really a clear head to go and get better as a team. You can deposit the baggage of, "Am I going to play?" and "How much am I going to play?". We need all of you. We're instilling confidence in some of those younger guys. Certainly (Pat) Connaughton, but the other guys too, to get them to believe that they're really going to be able to help us."
On expectations for this season...
"I think for us, patience is a key word for me with this year's group. Last year's group was a finished product on the first day of practice. They wanted to play right away and they were ready. But to be patient-can we get a little bit better every week? Can we bounce back from taking punches? We're going to take some punches. And can we be in a position to win an NCAA tournament bid? The game plan we've used annually, this group is going to have to scratch and claw to do that in my opinion. Sometime in the summer, we'll be together as a staff, and I'll say, 'Can we fight into the top eight (of the BIG EAST)?' Because obviously our league has been getting eight bids. I feel we can. I feel we can fight our way into that territory again. And if you're into that territory, you're on the board to get an NCAA tournament bid and you take it from there. But I think our non-league schedule is very demanding. We have a lot of new faces that we're going to be figuring out. We've got to be patient and work through it. The good thing about the BIG EAST is there's always enough power in the schedule to play your way into the (NCAA) tournament. We've used that more positively than negatively. It's really helped us. I don't know about Christmas this year for the Brey family because we've got Pitt rolling in December 27. I'll tell you right now, I'm not going to be thinking about Christmas. We might have to do it on the 22nd because by the 25th, Merry Christmas, we've got Pitt coming in. Only in the BIG EAST would they do that. There's a lot of talk about maybe it's the last year of this kind of grouping with all these teams (in the BIG EAST). Maybe it will go out with a bang with some of these team's leaving."
On what he's still evaluating in terms of strengths and weaknesses...
"I think we can really share the ball and we know how to play, which has been the moniker on us. I'm trying to figure out who we will be defensively and how we will play defensively with some of these new guys. Can we extend a little more with an (Eric) Atkins and a (Jerian) Grant on the court, because that's some speed we really haven't had. Do we need to play more zone to keep (Tim) Abromaitis and (Scott) Martin on the floor for a long time? And make sure they don't get in foul trouble. That's probably where I'm going to evaluate us this first week more than anything. I think I have a pretty good feel of us offensively and who we can be. It's how do we defend, and do we change defenses? Those are the things that are my big questions going into Friday."
On using the "burn" offense...
"I think burn is always going to be part of our diet. We'll always use that when we can. I was talking to a coach this morning about it and I said, 'One thing burn has done, it's been a teaching tool on offense because we're just playing.' Certainly you can use it when you have a lead at the end of the game. Sometimes burning is a great way to rest (Tim) Abromaitis and (Scott) Martin and make sure they can finish the game because we need them on the court."
On what they need from Scott Martin...
"He's got to be very aggressive. We talked to him about that. In the four workouts we've had, he's been extremely aggressive. Hunting his shot. It's out there for him to really go out and take. And now he has to do that daily. And he has to do that every game. I think his frame of mind is to do that. I think he's been kind of maybe relishing in this spot. He's certainly talented enough and capable enough to handle a major role on both sides of the floor."
On relying heavily on the starters...
"We've had that a lot. We've had that annually where our key guys are playing a lot. I think we've learned how to pace them throughout the season in terms of how we practice and how long we practice and how much contact there is in practice. End of February, and in March last year, we were probably on the floor maybe 45 minutes (per practice). That group was going to play heavy minutes. I think we have that down. It's a little bit of a different balance, because we need some of those new faces to get reps. Yet, we've got a few of those old guys that I don't want to wear out or get nicked up too bad. I think we know how to pace through it. Now in November, a lot of games come at you quick. So sometimes your practices could be really limited in November as far as reps you're going to get on the practice court."
On Scott Martin's specific role...
"I want him to just go for it. Certainly shoot the ball. I think he spent a lot of time this summer getting reps up shooting the basketball. Because I think he can be a more confident shooter. But his mid-range stuff-we need to post him some. He may be our best low-post scorer. He probably is. So we did some stuff in these workouts where we were four (players) around Scott Martin. So I want to get him in a lot of different places because he can score the ball from a lot of different areas. The way we play offensively is very conducive for him because he knows how to get to the post eventually. He knows how to screen and step back for a three-point shot. Clearing out areas for him to drive. I want him to do a little bit of everything. He and Abro (Tim Abromaitis) certainly have the ability to do that, so we've got to help them get in positions to do things."
On what Jerian Grant is going to do for the team...
"I don't really know. That trends more toward exciting than worry. There's a lot to work with there. I think I told you the story of our practice before the Old Spice Classic, Dan Dakich is down there with the ESPN people and Dakich comes up and says who's number so and so, I said, "Don't. He's ineligible right now, don't screw me up. I want to hold him out." He had moments like that the first month of the season where he and Eric (Atkins) on the blue team gave the white shirts everything they could handle. He had the stress reaction, and like Abro (Tim Abromaitis) was, he's the youngest guy (on the team). Obviously I was really smart and redshirted him in his first year, not his second year. Really got smart on that one. But I'm excited where he could go. As I am with (Alex) Dragicevich. Both of those guys in the four workouts, I left after the first workout and I said, boy those guys have made strides. Now the great thing about them, they're looking and they're excited too. Playing time has been on the table all summer. I told them privately about Abro's situation. Those first four games, we're really going to have you guys in there. Jerian's got a lot to work with. He's come a long way in just a year, and the body's changed. He had to get stronger and older."
On how Jack Cooley and Eric Atkins' experience will help them ...
"If we played tonight, I feel that we have four guys that have been into battle. Atkins and Cooley with my two fifth-year guys (Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin), they've been there. They've really been a part of things and were a big part of last year's team. Those four guys are a pretty good place to start in college basketball. Four guys that have really been into battles and have had success in it. Atkins, I am so excited to see where he is that he's the quarterback. Eric Atkins is going to be a great leader for us, and I see that happening now that Ben (Hansbrough) and those guys have left, he is starting to become more of that. Certainly Abro and Martin are the elder statesmen here, but Eric will be like a captain by the BIG EAST regular season as far as his voice, his input. I think by February, he's going to be one of the better guards in the league. A little bit of an unknown, he didn't make the All-Rookie team. So I'm excited about him."
From a few of the players...
Player quotes also via the Notre Dame Athletics Web Site.
Tim Abromaitis • Graduate Student • Forward
On playing at the World University Games this summer ...
"It was a great experience basketball wise. Playing with and against a lot of the top players from colleges all around the world was definitely a positive thing for me. It was a fun experience to be able to be around those guys and experience China and travel like that."
On what experiences he will take from this summer and apply to this year...
"We really went hard practicing for a week or two when we were in Colorado and getting to China. The little things like that and the habits that guys on our teams have, like what they do to workout and what they do in their free time. I try to take bits and pieces from everybody's game and hopefully it makes me better."
Scott Martin • Senior • Guard
On his role this year ...
"Our big thing last year was rebounding. Rebounding as a team, rebounding as a unit. We have to do that again this year and that means Abro (Tim Abromaitis) and I have to rebound well. But, it also means everybody else has to rebound. Everyone needs to box out their man and then go get it."
Joey Brooks • Junior • Guard
On his expectations for this season ...
"I really expect for us to pick up where we left off last season. My role is to do whatever it takes for us to win. This year, it's going to be being the best defender, guarding the other team's best player, getting to the paint, making plays for my teammates and getting to the foul line."
Eric Atkins • Sophomore • Guard
On what has prepared him to step into a leadership role ...
"Last year helped me to step into this leadership role a lot. Ben (Hansbrough) especially. The work during the summer has also helped. Every expected me to lead during the workouts and during the pick-up games. Everything from last year and this summer has helped me be ready for this season."
Stay tuned for highlights of the Notre Dame Women's Basketball squad's media day!
Cheers!
EXCELLENT article! Is there anything you don't know about sports? Have fun in NYC. Your sports insite is why I'd rather read what you have to say than most prof. sports journalists.
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