Tag: Marcus Hammond

Revisiting some of Mike Brey’s local media day comments

Do you think Mike is regretting any of these preseason quotes?

Back in October, Fighting Irish Wire was lucky to attend Notre Dame’s media day for South Bend outlets. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] spoke with the assembled reporters before the players entered the room, and every answer he gave was a clue into the workings of his team. The atmosphere was an optimistic one as the Irish were coming off a couple of NCAA Tournament wins in the spring. Why couldn’t it happen again with all of these older players returning?

Well, the Irish have reached a crossroads much sooner than they would have liked. They are 8-7 and have lost their first four ACC games, tying with Louisville for last in the conference. The fun of last March has given way to frustration and bafflement as to how things have gone so wrong. Even most of the nonconference victories have not been very satisfying, and there is no reason to think this season will last beyond the ACC Tournament.

So how have some of Brey’s preseason words held up? Let’s take a look:

Notre Dame concludes nonconference play with win over Jacksonville

This should at least inspire confidence going into full-time ACC play.

Notre Dame has to do a lot to prove it can stick with ACC competition. Having lost its first two conference games, confidence in this group is not exactly high. Still, it’s capable of doing good things, which were on display in a 59-43 win over Jacksonville to snap a three-game losing streak. It was not a bad way to end the nonconference portion of the season.

The Irish (8-5) had a rough first half, trailing for much of it and shooting only 9 of 31 (.290) from the field, including 2 of 16 from 3-point range. The struggles continued well into the second half, but they finally found their groove as they went on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead. That was as close as the Dolphins (7-4) would be the rest of the way as their field goal to stop that run with 7:31 to play was their last for the game.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag] came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points for his performance with the Irish so far. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] had identical shooting nights of 5 for 12 while scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. All three of the above players tied for the team lead with three assists, and Starling led the Irish with eight rebounds. As a whole, the Irish did perhaps their most damage with points off turnovers, holding a 17-5 advantage there.

Make no mistake: This was an ugly game that the Irish easily could have let slip away as has been the case throughout the nonconference schedule and the early part of the ACC schedule. Shooting 40.3% from the field won’t cut it against the best teams in the conference, and [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] appears to still be figuring out the right regular lineup for his patented seven-man rotation. That shouldn’t be the case at this point in the season, but here we are.

The big boys will be coming for the Irish soon enough, and no one is going to feel sorry for them if they’re unprepared. A strong conference showing is a must, especially in another down season for the ACC, which has no top-10 teams right now. If something is to happen for this Irish team, it would help to have an upset Friday against No. 14 Miami.

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Mike Brey speaks after Notre Dame loss to Syracuse

Hear the coach’s thoughts on the tough loss.

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame hung with Syracuse the entire time during its ACC opener. In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Orange squeaked out a 62-61 victory. [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] spoke with the media afterwards to talk about the loss. Here is some of what he had to say:

Notre Dame can’t solve Edwards, loses ACC opener to Syracuse

Not a great way to begin conference play.

SOUTH BEND — Coming into its ACC opener, Notre Dame had to know 6-foot-11 Syracuse center Jesse Edwards would be a problem. After all, he entered Saturday’s game as the conference’s leading rebounder and shot blocker. However, the Irish also needed to take his scoring ability into account. Even if they did, it didn’t matter as Edwards dominated in what became a nail-biting 62-61 Orange victory.

[autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag], making his Irish debut in a leg brace, capped a 6-0 run for the Irish in the final minute with a layup that just fell through the basket with 29 seconds left. Having also drawn a foul on the play, he hit a free throw to give the Irish a 61-60 lead, erasing what had been a five-point deficit moments earlier.

Out of a timeout, the Orange’s Judah Mintz, who mostly had been held in check, made a go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left. The Irish took a timeout and then saw the Orange use up their fouls to give. Ultimately, a [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] corner shot at the buzzer missed, and the Irish had their first home loss of the season.

Neither team led by more than five points the entire game, but it was the Irish (6-2, 0-1), who ended up making the more costly mistakes. They committed 10 turnovers and shot only 38.3% from the field. Edwards was happy to take advantage of that as he dominated the paint during a 22-point, 14-rebound afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. Equally volatile was Joseph Girard III, who scored 20 for the Orange (4-4, 1-0).

Goodwin was the top player for the Irish with 16 points and nine rebounds. Together with [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], who had 14 points, the two combined for seven 3-pointers. [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] was a potent threat off the bench thanks to 10 points and eight boards.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Mike Brey meets with media ahead of Notre Dame’s 2022-23 season

Here’s what we heard when we traveled to the Irish’s local media day.

[autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] is coming off his best season coaching Notre Dame over the past few years. Irish fans will be anxious to see how his team will be able to build off last season’s success. Until they learn how or if that happens, words from the longtime coach will suffice. And he has plenty to say about it.

Fighting Irish Wire accepted an invitation to attend a media day for local media at Purcell Pavilion and was with the assembled group when Brey spoke. He addressed everything from the outlook of this year’s team to the ACC’s reputation to players old and new. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone by now, but he knows his team very well and is as much of an open book as you can imagine for a college basketball coach.

Here is some of what Brey had to say to the local media: