Mike Brey opens mouth, says something incredibly stupid

by Rob on Mar 4, 2009 5:07 PM EST in Notre Dame Basketball Comment 8 comments

UPDATE (8:06 PM): Apparently these remarks were so embarrassing that the video of the press conference he held has been taken down by UND.com.

Here's the quote, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune:

When the league conducted a straw poll in June -- once the test-the-waters guys were either gone to the NBA or coming back -- the Irish were picked to finish fourth. With Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody returning, they were thus thrust into the top-shelf television schedule.

All of which had Brey examining his team's league gauntlet the day after Christmas, then turning to his wife, Tish, and saying this: 9-9.

"Where do I sign on Dec. 26?" Brey said. "I don't want to sell us short, but I've been through the cycle of the league nine years now. You thrive when you can, then when rotate up into that (difficult schedule), can you survive?"

Why in the world would Brey say something like that? You have your most talented team in awhile, people are (gasp!) actually talking about you for a change, and you're okay with a .500 conference finish?

Somebody try and tell me why I shouldn't be off the Mike Brey wagon right now. He should know that he is not the best we can do. Not by a mile.

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Comments

I'd respect Brey less if he didn't see this coming.

What’s wrong with admitting it to his wife?

(This also isn’t his most talented team in a while… that was last year, when we had more or less the same lineup, plus in Kurz a 6’10 banger who’s stuck on an NBA roster.)

by Mr Wednesday on Mar 4, 2009 9:01 PM EST reply actions

Dumb dumb dumb dumb move by Brey. I understand when you’re frustrated and up against it, but the Irish had 9 home games and hadn’t lost a home game in forever. He didn’t think we’d win those plus grab a few on the road?

Who is better? I don’t know.

by mhb on Mar 4, 2009 9:01 PM EST reply actions

I think it's just being honest, not dumb

This was not the most talented team, as Mr. Wednesday said. And what does it matter if people are talking about you? People are, generally, very stupid. Sure, maybe he shouldn’t have said this stuff, but he’s just being honest. It’s not like some objective analysts didn’t see this coming.

“Well, if Brey saw this coming, why didn’t he fix it?”

There’s only so many things he can do. One of his best guards in under six feet and the other just isn’t a strong defender. He’s got one legitimate post player who is 6’ 7". You can bring up recruiting, but that’s a different argument. On top of everything, this team is not that different from last year’s when you look at the numbers. It’s just that it’s not quite as good and the competition is a lot, lot, lot better.

Was this dumb to say? Maybe a little, only because it gives people who already hate him some more ammo. But I don’t see anything particularly wrong with Brey knowing where this team was at before Big East play started.

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by CW on Mar 4, 2009 9:26 PM EST reply actions

Gone

This is the straw that breaks the camels back for me. Brey needs to go.

That's shitastic!

by CUBSfaninYANKEEcountry on Mar 4, 2009 9:27 PM EST reply actions

It might be a realistic assessment, but don't we want a coach who strives for better than what is expected?

I think it’s dumb because Brey is admitting that he’s satisfied with mediocrity. He’s been saying things to this effect all year long. It makes you wonder how he interacts with the players. Personally I’d rather a have a no-excuses coach. I can just see Brey telling the team “it’s ok if we win half of our final league games.” Don’t we want a coach who pushes the team always to win, rather than one who is satisfied to win some and lose some.

He’s satisfied with mediocrity. He’s not a winner, and he’s not a motivator, and unless we are equally satisfied with mediocrity and allow him to approach the game like this, then we can never expect to have a legitimate basketball team.

by Gleason on Mar 5, 2009 12:36 AM EST reply actions

While I think it's realistic, I'm not wholly on Brey's side here.

For one thing, he missed rather badly in having only one “first-year” player, Carleton Scott, who basically hasn’t contributed. Maybe a year or two out, he thought that Ty Nash or Luke Zeller could take the place of Kurz for scoring, post defense, and rebounding, but it just didn’t happen.

For another, while it is a realistic assessment, I don’t like him yapping about it to the media, particularly before the season is over. (And while I’m not entirely sanguine about possible effects on in-season coaching, there is legitimate strategy to be had in figuring out when to save his team and when to use it up. The ideal strategy for winning a one-off is not necessarily the same as the ideal strategy for winning ten games and setting the team up for the NCAA tournament.)

by Mr Wednesday on Mar 5, 2009 3:36 AM EST reply actions

I think Mike Brey is right.

Notre Dame had to play a difficult stretch of games against top 25 teams in the Big East (U of L, UConn, Pitt, the ‘Cuse) and they had to play the Huskies twice (the game at Father Joyce-when the 45 game home streak was snapped-and a tough loss at Gampel, where UConn is dominant there just like XL/Hartford Civic Center). But losses to St. John’s, WVU and the UC Bearcats were embarrassing. Even Jack Nolan (voice of the Irish) said if you are 9-9 in the Big East, you still are a good team. Coach Brey was not under fire in 05-06 when the Irish were 16-14 and suffered their only losing season under him in Big East play, but remember that next year, there will be no Tory! Tory! Tory!, no Ryan Ayers, no more Zack Hillesland, and no Luke the Elder (Zeller) and his great NY Times blogs (only reason to enjoy the Times). Hopefully as the Leprechaun Legion cheers on our heroes at the new Purcell Pavillion next year, the Irish will be back to 07-08 form, as ‘Gody goes for National POY honors, and Psycho-T’s brother (Ben Hansbrough) may be a combination of both ‘Gody and his brother and maybe a Final 4 berth.
I hope Jack could talk to Mike about this on ’Inside Notre Dame Basketball’ at http://www.und.com this week and on the radio tonight before the game with the Red Storm.
Go Irish, beat Red Storm, thanks Tory/Ryan/Zack/Luke the Elder!

Philip Fitzsimmons says Padres rule,Dodgers suck!

by Philip Fitzsimmons on Mar 6, 2009 11:27 AM EST reply actions