Mike Brey has the Irish off to a 5-0 start in the ACC. Is this his best coaching job yet?
We have much to talk about in this week’s edition of Monday thoughts. Notre Dame is the best team in the ACC. Aside from that we have more to talk about involving men’s basketball. The NFL playoffs finally delivered for us. Grayson Allen can’t stay out of the news for all the wrong reasons. Let’s get to it.
Is this Mike Brey’s best coaching job so far?
I know there is plenty of season left, but up to date this might be Brey’s best coaching job yet. Just think about it for a second. He’s lost three guys to the NBA over the last two seasons. After back-to-back Elite Eights there was an expected drop off this season because there was no NBA type prospects on the roster. The Irish were also without any real inside presence. But here we are, five games into ACC play and Notre Dame is the only undefeated team. Brey has created a culture of winning.
The Irish play team-first brand basketball. It’s a different man burning the opponent every night. One night it could be Steve Vasturia breaking hearts, the next it could be Bonzie Colson. I think that is one of the best things about this club. In past years you knew Jerian Grant or Demetrius Jackson was going to be the guy with the ball at the end of games making plays. This season the opponent doesn’t know whats coming.
Brey has done an incredible job and if you don’t follow this team closely, a lot of his work has gone unnoticed...but I’m sure thats the way Brey prefers it.
Closing time
Speaking of end of games, Notre Dame is absolutely lethal then. The Irish have been in so many close games over the past two seasons that nothing really surprises them anymore. According to Alan Wasielewski, sports information director of men’s basketball, Notre Dame has outscored its five ACC opponents 45-11 in the combined final 11:27 this season.
#ClosingTime@ndmbb has outscored its first five ACC opponents 45-11 in the final 11:27 (combined) of game action.
— Alan Wasielewski (@NDmbbSID) January 15, 2017
Karl Ravech and Dick Vitale said it best during the broadcast of the Miami game on Thursday. They essentially said you don’t want to be trailing Notre Dame in the last two minutes of a game because it’s all but over at that point. Notre Dame is so good from the free throw stripe that they can ice games away. They also do a great job of handling the ball, so it is hard for teams to create turnovers via the press.
It seems that the Irish have learned their lesson from the two second half collapses against Villanova and Purdue. If not for those two meltdowns, the Irish would be 18-0 right now.
Another tough stretch ahead for the Irish
Ah, the beauty of playing in the ACC. It never lets up. If you thought this three game road trip was tough, look at Notre Dame’s next six games. Five of its next six games are against Florida State, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke and North Carolina. The Irish will be put to the test once again.