Season Cancellation Left Mike Brey, Irish Seniors Devastated
Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey wasn’t naive or blind the early afternoon of March 12 to the suspicion that his season was already over, even while carrying on with his prep for a game that evening in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
While bussing to an early afternoon shoot-around at a local high school gym in Greensboro, N.C., Brey’s suspicions met reality and he stopped the trip to share the news that the conference tournament was canceled, effective immediately, and the postseason would be wiped out also.
Receiving the news was one thing for Brey, delivering it was another, especially to his three senior captains — Rex Pflueger, T.J. Gibbs and John Mooney — whose careers ended on a bus, via text.
“I told the guys that this is it and there’s not going to be an NCAA Tournament and there’s not going to be an NIT for you seniors,” Brey recalled. “I didn’t get emotional, but to look at the seniors’ body language, their shoulders just shrugged, it was like, ‘Damn.’”
Brey said the only comparable coaching moment he recalled came in January 2007 when he told his team mid-season that star point guard Kyle McAlarney had been kicked out of school and off the team for off-campus possession of a partial marijuana cigarette.
“There are some tough moments when you have to talk and share news in front of your team,” Brey said. “Those two were the toughest.”
Moving On
A clear look to the future for Brey and his program came March 30 when the NCAA Division I Council voted that the winter sports athletes who had their seasons cut short would not be granted an extra year of eligibility in the way the spring sports athletes would.
It’s a ruling Brey supported — as did most college coaches — because the Irish had already played 31 games this season.
“As far as our team,” Brey said, “Rex [Pflueger] moves on in his life, Johnny [Mooney] moves on in his life, T.J. [Gibbs] moves on his life. Then some of the young guys who we feel are really getting better can move up into bigger roles, which is what we’re all about.”
A Familiar View
For all the ups and downs during this 2019-20 season, a few statistical categories remained the same for Brey and his program.
Working under his “sharing and caring” teaching model, Brey coached a team that finished first in the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.68). Notre Dame’s 16.5 assists per game ranked No. 9 nationally.
“That’s always been my biggest theme,” Brey said of his program’s unselfish climate. “There’s a sign in the locker room, ‘Don’t skip class, Don’t throw the ball away, You and I will get along just fine,’ we recruit to it and we really sell it as coaches.”
Between 2014-20, Brey’s Irish finished in the top 10 nationally in fewest turnovers per game all six years and in the top five in assist/turnover ratio three times.
Irish guards Gibbs (second) and Pflueger (fourth), along with sophomore Prentiss Hubb (ninth) each finished in the top-10 of the ACC this season in assist/turnover ratio.
“I’m really proud of the way we play. A lot of people really appreciate the way we play,” Brey said. “We play the right way, moving the ball, sharing the ball and being able to score.”
Awaiting Their Return
Given the indefinite timeline on when campus might reopen and students can return from their isolation spots, Brey’s focus remains on his scattered group of experienced returning players.
Notre Dame’s 2020-21 starting lineup expectedly includes a back-court trio of juniors Dane Goodwin and Hubb, along with redshirt sophomore Cormac Ryan.
Junior Nate Laszewski and graduate senior Juwan Durham — an active 6-11 shot blocker who Brey fully expects to return for his final season — will make up the starting frontcourt.
“That’s a helluva perimeter, I’m excited about it, and I expect our ‘bigs’ to be much better also,” Brey celebrated. “Now, it is just getting us through this crazy time and keeping everybody’s head on.”
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