‘Jersey Tough’ Notre Dame Awaits No. 1 Villanova

Mike Brey said he first encountered New Jersey toughness while recruiting Bobby Hurley to Duke.

Brey, a former Blue Devils assistant, has made a career of recruiting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast over his career, with the Garden State being a key recruiting ground for the 17th-year Notre Dame head coach.

Three of Notre Dame’s key figures have New Jersey ties: senior guard Steve Vasturia (Medford, St. Joseph’s Prep), junior guard Matt Farrell (Bridgewater, Point Pleasant Beach) and freshman guard T.J. Gibbs (Scotch Plains, Seton Hall Prep).

New Jersey is just one part of what Brey calls “I-95 tough,” a reference to the major interstate that runs along the East Coast and passes through Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Providence, R.I., and Boston.

But what makes New Jersey in particular such a hotbed of basketball?

“You’re able to get great pickup games in that area, especially in that state,” Brey said. “They play really good high school competition. They’ve got like bragging rights to be better than the Philly guys or the New York guys.

“There’s a lot of things that keep a chip on your shoulder when you play back in that area, and specifically Jersey.”

Notre Dame will play in Newark, N.J., on Saturday at noon against No. 1 Villanova. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

The I-95 corridor has produced many of the sport’s biggest stars, and has been kind to the Irish as of late.

“I-95 is good to us, and the edge that those guys have has helped our program,” said Brey, who noted he’ll stay in the region to recruit while the team goes back to South Bend.

Villanova has it, too.

“Nova has a great mental and physical toughness,” Brey said. “You just watch what they did at Purdue to win that game against a heck of a team in a tough atmosphere. There’s where we’re going to have to be able to match that.”

Vasturia, who went to high school in Philadelphia but whose family now lives in New Jersey, said he expects a good number of friends and family for Saturday’s game at the 18,711-seat Prudential Center.

The 6-6, 212-pounder was asked what it means to be “Jersey tough.”

“Just not being afraid to stick your nose in there and not backing down from anything,” Vasturia said. “With this team, those qualities go to a lot of players, not just the guys from New Jersey. It’s just kind of bringing that hard-nosed mentality and coming in every day and working hard.”

And while Vasturia might not look like the classic tough guy, Brey lauded the quality in his captain.

“Steve’s toughness is kind of subtle, but there’s not a tougher guy in this league than Steve Vasturia,” Brey said. “He’s got a great edge about him. It’s just his delivery is a little different.”

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