Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 OCT. 26, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL fallen. The message is loud." Brey and his Fighting Irish did have a three-year stretch from 2004-06 in which they missed the NCAA Tourna- ment. But that was after a three-year period from 2001-03 in which his Irish were among about a dozen teams to win an NCAA Tournament game in those years and even reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 seasons. That came on the heels of Notre Dame's worst stretch of basketball his- tory from 1990-2000 in which it did not make the Big Dance 10 years in a row — although he has much sympathy for the lack of school support given to the late John MacLeod, the head coach from 1991-99. Following that 2006 campaign, Brey admitted he believed his time at Notre Dame might have run its course, and he contemplated applying for the va- cated North Carolina State job in 2006 to reinvent himself (it was eventually filled by Sidney Lowe). Former boss and Duke head coach Mike Krzyze- wski, along with 2000-08 Notre Dame director of athletics Kevin White, helped set him straight. Brey would go on to win Big East Coach of the Year honors in 2007, 2008 and 2011, posting a remarkable 39-13 league ledger those three seasons in the nation's top basketball conference. In a profession fraught with issues of cheating and lack of integrity, Brey has earned the respect of peers to become president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches board of direc- tors. His childhood favorite, Maryland, came calling earlier this decade, and this past season UCLA reached out a couple of times for its vacancy (filled by Mick Cronin). "This is a destination job, and I think we've made it a better job," Brey said. "I've had two good athletics di- rectors and only two presidents in my 20 years, which is great continuity. That helps a coach stick around. "Another thing is here you work so hard to get your name on the program. It's yours and it takes a lot of energy." Like in 2007 and 2015, after disappointing seasons, Brey believes the combination of veterans such as Pflueger, John Mooney, T.J. Gibbs, Nik Djogo and Juwan Durham can com- bine with the fledgling five- man sophomore class — guards Pren- tiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin and Robby Carmody, forward Nate Laszewski and center Chris Doherty — to return the program to prominence. "Stay the course, keep plugging," Brey said. "They have a chip on their shoulder which is good to see because they got their asses whooped last year — we all did." The sophomore class especially will be pivotal to the future. "It determines the trajectory of a lot of stuff," Brey said. YEAR 20 AND THE FUTURE Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Keogan coached 20 years at Notre Dame (1923-43) before dying in office. Digger Phelps matched those 20 years from 1971-91 before getting forced out despite a good run, specifi- cally from 1974-81 when the program was top-10 caliber. Also departing unceremoniously were John Jordan (1951-64), John Dee (1964-71) and MacLeod (1991-99). Brey, who turned 60 last March, will attempt to become the exception in leaving on his terms, but he main- tains he still has the fire in his belly to continue. "I still have great energy as a coach, and that gets you up and moving in the morning," he said. "When you see this young group that we have, you want to see it through to its fruition, and that will get you through right about where this contract ends [2025]. I'd be 66, and maybe that's the time. "I have never thought about ex- tending it. I know we have some guys coaching into their 70s, and God bless them. I'm not sure that's me. I don't want to say. I don't have any other hob- bies, which worries me. Maybe that's a really good time for me at Notre Dame, especially if we can get this cranking again and get our momentum back." Typically forthright throughout his career, Brey is self-aware and says he is objective enough to know when it's time to depart and say thanks for the memories. "My health is good; my energy is good," he said. "I love being around it, and I know I miss it when I'm not. I love being around the kids, and I have older, veteran coaches telling me, 'Don't retire. Ride it as long as you can.' "I'm not going to ride it if I'm fak- ing it, or if I'm not productive. Be- lieve me, I will be saying, 'You need a new voice; you need new blood.' I'm not going to go kicking and screaming." ✦ 2019-20 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Oct. 29 Capital University! (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 1 Bellarmine! (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at North Carolina* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Nov. 9 Robert Morris^ (ACCNE) 12 p.m. Nov. 12 Howard^ (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 15 Marshall^ (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 18 Presbyterian (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Nov. 21 Toledo^ (ACCN) 8:30 p.m. Nov. 26 Fairleigh Dickinson (RSN) 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at Maryland# (ESPN/2) 7:15 p.m. Dec. 7 Boston College* (ESPN2/U) TBA Dec. 10 Detroit Mercy (ACCN) 7 p.m. Dec. 14 UCLA (ABC) 3 p.m. Dec. 21 vs. Indiana& (ESPN) 12 p.m. Dec. 29 Alabama A&M (ACCNE) 12 p.m. Jan. 4 at Syracuse* (ESPN2/U) 4 p.m. Jan. 8 at NC State* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 11 Louisville* (ESPN) 2 p.m. Jan. 15 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 22 Syracuse* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at Florida State* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Jan. 29 Wake Forest* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Feb. 1 Georgia Tech* (RSN) 12 p.m. Feb. 5 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Clemson* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Virginia* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m. Feb. 15 at Duke* (ESPN/2/ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 17 North Carolina* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 23 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at Boston College* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Feb. 29 at Wake Forest* (ESPN2/U) 4 p.m. Mar. 4 Florida State* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m. Mar. 7 Virginia Tech* (ACCN) TBA Mar. 10-14 ACC Tournament$ (ACCN/ESPN) TBA ! Exhibition; * ACC game; ^ Men Against Breast Can- cer Invitational; # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; & Cross- roads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C.; ACCN — ACC Network; ACCNE — ACC Network Extra 2019-20 ROSTER No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. 0 Rex Pflueger G 6-6 218 5th-Sr. 3 Prentiss Hubb G 6-5 190 So. 5 Cormac Ryan* G 6-5 190 So. 10 T.J. Gibbs G 6-3 185 Sr. 11 Juwan Durham^ F 6-11 223 Sr. 13 Nikola Djogo^ G 6-7 222 Sr. 14 Nate Laszewski F 6-10 225 So. 15 Chris Doherty F 6-8 235 So. 23 Dane Goodwin G 6-6 200 So. 24 Robby Carmody G 6-4 201 So. 33 John Mooney F 6-9 245 Sr. * Must sit out the 2019-20 season per NCAA transfer rules ^ Can apply for a fifth season of eligibility after the season