Analysis: Notre Dame Culture Highlighted Again Versus NC State
Prior to Wednesday night’s 88-58 romp versus North Carolina State that produced head coach Mike Brey’s Notre Dame record 394th men’s basketball victory, he received a reminder from injured star Bonzie Colson’s father — also named Bonzie — a four-year star at Rhode Island in the 1980s.
“He said, ‘Coach, remind the guys of Bonzie at Georgia Tech his freshman year,’ ” Brey recalled.
That was Jan. 14, 2015, prior to an ACC Championship and Elite 8 run. Starting center Zach Auguste missed the game in Atlanta to tend to an academic matter and to mull over what his role is as a student-athlete at the university.
It was there in Atlanta that the freshman Colson stepped in to register career highs in minutes (22) and points (10) in a hard fought 62-59 victory. Colson even took an elbow to the face that left him bleeding, and Brey praised the rookie’s work because “he energized the rest of our guys.”
That has been a trademark throughout the 18-year Brey era. Just when one is ready to write the team obituary, it tends to galvanize and rejuvenate.
It happened when star guard Kyle McAlarney was dismissed from school after the 12th game of the 2006-07 season — yet freshman Tory Jackson stepped in to help the Irish to an 11-5 Big East record (24-8 overall) and No. 17 ranking entering the NCAA Tournament.
It happened when senior All-American Luke Harangody was lost for a few weeks to an injury late in the 2009-10 campaign when the Irish were reeling and under .500 in the Big East — and then flourished with six straight victories to make the NCAA Tournament with previously little-used reserve Carleton Scott emerging in a major role in the new “burn offense.”
It happened in 2011-12 when top scorer Tim Abromaitis was sidelined for the year on Thanksgiving weekend with a torn ACL — and the Irish still went a remarkable 13-5 in the Big East to make the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the news that Colson would be sidelined the next eight weeks because of foot surgery, and despite losing second-leading scorer and senior point guard Matt Farrell the final 25 minutes because of an ankle injury that is expected to limit him for at least the next several days, the Irish responded with the 30-point pasting of North Carolina State.
“Tell them there’s going to be some other guys that step forward,” Brey recalled the elder Colson prophesizing to him before the contest. “I think we had a couple of guys say, ‘Oh, there’s more for me.’
“We lost a heck of a player to an injury for eight weeks, we lost a heck of a guard in the first half to an ankle injury — and we played fabulously and fearlessly.”
While the program would much prefer to have Colson in the lineup, Brey said a lot can be said for teamwork without him. He’s had three All-American front-line men in Troy Murphy, Harangody and Colson, but the Irish also have found ways to excel without them.
“When you have players of that caliber, a lot of times when the ball goes to them the other four guys will watch and not move as much,” Brey said. “And I think what we got tonight, we really emphasized, ‘Move, move, don’t hold it.’ I thought our movement was really, really good. That happens sometimes when such a gifted guy leaves the lineup.”
D.J. Harvey
The impressive performances began with 6-6, 220-pound freshman making his starting debut after a miserable December and last eight games when the top-50 recruit from powerful DeMatha Catholic shot only 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from the floor. In the ACC opening game win versus Georgia Tech he played only five minutes.
In 30 minutes against the Wolfpack he converted 6-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three-point range to tally 17 points to go with three rebounds, an assist and only one turnover. Harvey said starting, as opposed to coming off he bench, gave him a new sense of purpose and confidence.
“I was coming off a rough few games, so this game, the way the team rallied, the guys were just lifting me up the whole time,” Harvey said. “It feels like I’m back in high school. I feel free to do whatever, not getting out(side) of myself. The guys have trusted me to make the right plays and decisions … it just makes playing easier.”
According to Brey, Harvey’s woeful December might have been a product of his debut preparing for first-semester final exams.
“Having to deliver for exams and the first time he had been in this kind of intense atmosphere academically, I thought we lost him a little bit the week before exams, and then he was on his heels," Brey said. "We were just trying to find him and get him back.”
Brey said he and Farrell had a discussion about whether to start Harvey or 6-9 sophomore John Mooney, and they felt that Harvey had the skill set to be a Pat Connaughton-type figure (2011-15).
“The floor is really open when D.J. is in there,” Brey said. “A four-man is trying to guard him and I thought he really responded well. I sure hope this jump-starts him because he’s a gifted guy.
“He was a starter since ninth grade. Coming off the bench was new territory for him, but a lot of times tonight he was the second big. We were downshifted, and that was a matchup advantage. He did a good job guarding their big guys. He didn’t get buried in the post. He’s physical enough where he can lean on a guy and arm-bar a guy.
“I have him with the big guys with Coach [Ryan] Humphrey where he’s having to play some post defense and rebounding in traffic. Connaughton was fabulous at it as an undersized four-man.”
Harvey said there was a comfort level knowing that he didn’t have to look over his shoulder and worry about getting yanked if he faltered — though he did admit receiving the news he would be starting a day earlier originally affected him.
“I was nervous, I couldn’t sleep,” Harvey said. “The guys, they rallied around me saying this is what I was born to do. It feels good to play like I did in my first career start.”
T.J. Gibbs/Rex Pflueger
With Colson and Farrell both out, Brey was seen right before the start of the second half with his arms around the sophomore Gibbs and the junior Pflueger to take on the leadership mantle.
The duo brings intense defense to the mix, but Gibbs also tallied 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Pflueger, who has been on a hot stretch the last two weeks, added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and no turnovers.
“Our team chemistry really was shown today, that no matter who plays in the game we can all play together,” said the 6-6 Pflueger. “That’s a testament to our team and Coach’s system. No matter who goes down, the next guy can step up and he gives everyone the confidence.
“Even though we lost two very skillful, veteran guys, we have a lot of maturity on this team. That’s the thing that Notre Dame as a program really recruits — people that are not only great basketball people but also great people. So when we came into this game, we weren’t viewing this as a negative without a great player. Obviously it’s something we’d rather have, but we have to go into every game understanding what we have and move forward with it.”
“That’s the one thing this team has always been good at — we all trust each other, one through 14,” Gibbs said. “…Making the extra pass and making the right plays, it’s going to take care of itself. Bonz is a big part, but at the same time we still have some good players on this team.”
“You just see T.J. and Rex go, ‘Okay, we’ve got this. We’re running this now,’ ” Brey said. “It was just really neat to see, and I think that’s the culture of the program.”
Martinas Geben & The Rotation
The senior Geben produced a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds) while fifth-year senior Austin Torres, Mooney, junior Elijah Burns and sophomore Nikola Djogo all played anywhere from 17 to 12 minutes, combining for 14 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
“It would be unrealistic to expect someone to replace Bonzie’s production on the court by himself,” Geben said. “Forcing it doesn’t help the team either, so we know we have teach other’s back and help each other a little more on the court.
“We’re a tough-nosed group and we understand this is a challenge. It’s part of our culture. We’ve had it happen before … Guys understanding who they are and what needs to be done.”
Losing a great talent doesn’t automatically ensure a galvanizing effect. When Jerian Grant was declared academically ineligible the second half of 2014, the Irish did upset Duke in the first ACC game without him — but were 5-13 thereafter.
Brey said everything is still on the table with team identity and potentially getting to 9-9 or better in the ACC, but initially the smaller lineup might be most utilized.
“I liked how we were running and moving,” Brey said. “It’s the best start we got out to in this building in a while. The floor is spread when D.J. is the second big and we’re downshifting, and it really gets some driving areas, and when we got our hands on it we can run and cause matchup problems. I love how we ran. We want to get down the floor.
“If we don’t have it, we talked about just really being patient offensively and keep the ball moving. Don’t stand and watch, and keep the ball moving.
“I loved our 'D' tonight. We’re getting our hands on stuff, we’re getting deflections. If we can get some easy buckets like that, it will help us. I think I’m still figuring out our identity offensively and I’m still trying to figure out who’s good with who. We were winging it a little bit tonight.”
Many times under Brey, that’s when the Irish have been most lethal.
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