What Micah Shrewsberry, players said after Notre Dame loss to Wake Forest
Notre Dame men’s basketball saw its season end Wednesday afternoon, losing 72-59 to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Irish fell into an early 8-0 hole and couldn’t climb out of it.
After the game, Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry, freshman guard Markus Burton and sophomore forward Tae Davis spoke to reporters. Here’s what they had to say.
Shrewsberry: Opening statement
“Credit to Wake Forest. Just an old, veteran team that’s trying to get in the NCAA Tournament. And that’s what they look like. That’s how they played. I thought they started the game with a little more juice than we did, got to the quick 8-0 run and we just played from behind the whole game.
But I’m proud of our guys for their fight, for their effort. Not just today, but this whole season. When I get on the internet and I look at KenPom, I see No. 361 in the country in roster continuity. No. 357 in the country in experience. You start three freshmen and two sophomores in the second round of an ACC Tournament game against a team that’s got a few fifth-year seniors and some older guys. Just proud of our effort, proud of our fight.”
Shrewsberry: On how difficult the lack of energy early made the rest of the game
“You just can’t — you gotta use all your effort to come back. I don’t know if it was the energy early. They were, I mean, you talk about desperate teams. If they lose this game, they’re not going to the NCAA Tournament. Everybody knows that, probably for a fact, right? So this is a game they had to have, and it looked like a veteran team that understood that, that knew that, that knew how they had to start this game to come out on top.”
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Shrewsberry: On Notre Dame’s second-half shooting struggles
“I thought they did a good job defensively. I need to go back and maybe re-teach how we’re guarding, because I think the level of physicality that people have used — or freedom of movement, I guess, isn’t a thing anymore, because Markus and [freshman guard] Braeden [Shrewsberry] don’t get freedom of movement. They’re not allowed to move, they’re not allowed to cut, so we need to change how we guard them, and we need to not let people run and cut. I’m teaching our guys the wrong thing by thinking I’m teaching the right thing. Maybe I need to change our strategy and hold and grab and not let people cut, because that’s what people did to us all year.
“If you take those two guys away, it’s a big part of what we do, and people just got physical with them. Didn’t let them run off screens, didn’t let them cut. We got to the basket some, missed some, got to the free-throw line and made a good amount, but they just make it tough on you. It’s not against the rules because it’s not called, right? So maybe I need to change my strategy of how we’re guarding people, and maybe next year you’ll see us do the same thing.”
Burton and Davis: On the steps Notre Dame took this season
Burton: “I think it’s a big step for us, knowing that we’re all new, we’re all new to this, and we’re all young, too. So it’s a bigger picture in the long run, but it was a great season. We did what we were supposed to. We fought all season long. And just know, we’ll be back.
Davis: “I agree with him. It’s motivation. It puts a fire and a fuel in you. Honestly, I think we took great steps this year.”
