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| | Monday, July 17 Bilas: Irish eyes should smile over Brey | |||||
| ESPN.com Editor's note: ESPN's Jay Bilas reacts to Notre Dame's hiring of Mike Brey as its men's basketball coach Friday: 
Mike Brey is a great hire for Notre Dame because he shares Notre Dame's values both on and off the court and has been extraordinarily well-trained for this opportunity. In addition to his five successful seasons at Delaware, he played and coached under Morgan Wootten at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. He was an assistant for eight years at Duke, where he went to six Final Fours and was part of two national championship teams.
Brey has all the qualities in a coach and a person that any school could ever want. He has turned down several high-profile jobs to remain at Delaware, so loyalty for him is not a question. He has been looking for the right opportunity and wouldn't have moved without it. His move to South Bend represents a committment to what could be a great program because I believe Notre Dame has always been a sleeping basketball giant.
Based on my experience with Mike, who coached with me for one year at Duke, he is really fun to be around for players and coaches. He's very even-tempered and makes the game fun. That doesn't mean he isn't demanding or can't be fiery, because he can be. His timing is impeccable in that he knows when to lighten things up.
Two years ago Delaware was preparing to play Drexel in the America East tournament championship game. I happened to be working that game for ESPN. The day before the game, I was in the room as the team was going over film. Mike put together a scouting highlight reel of Drexel. As usual, his scouting report was very thorough, detailed and seriously presented.
At the end of the reel, however, he had spliced in some tape from the movie "Hoosiers." When it was over, he added some levity by saying, "Lately, they've been running a lot of the picket fence." And the players all started cracking up. He then said, "So when they run this, don't get caught watching the paint dry."
All the players had been nervous about the game because it's the Super Bowl for the America East. The winner goes to the NCAA Tournament. The game was going to be nationally televised; the winner would have the time of its lives, and the loser would go home broken-hearted. But after watching that highlight reel, which may not seem like much, the players went out for their last practice before the game with a smile on their faces. They were upbeat, joking to Mike, "I hope you don't wind up like Shooter (the drunken Dennis Hopper character) after the game. If you are lying down by the river after this game, we'll know we didn't do well." That's an example of the nice touch Mike has with his players.
At Delaware, his first head-coaching job, Mike proved to be both a great X-and-O coach and a terrific bench coach. He's able to read his players and make the necessary adjustments. While he believes in his system, he is also willing to tailor it to his personnel, which is the sign of a mature coach. Mike finds a way to enhance the strengths of his players without lamenting what his players can't do.
Mike is leaving the Delaware program in great shape while going to one in good shape. Whoever inherits the Delaware program has a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament next year. At Notre Dame, much will depend on what happens with Notre Dame's recruiting commitments. The timing of Matt Doherty's departure to North Carolina puts Brey behind. But Notre Dame, through some of the work Doherty did and some Brey will do, should still have significant muscle going into next season. | ALSO SEE Accepting the call: Notre Dame names Brey coach Oregon's Kent says 'no' to Notre Dame North Carolina hires Notre Dame's Doherty Division I coaching changes | |||||