Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/705594
MEN'S BASKETBALL "It was a situation where me and Coach Brey were in contact all year," Humphrey said of joining Brey's staff. "That's something I've tried to do is always congratulate him or pick his brains throughout the year to try to be a better coach. "He's always been a mentor to me, so we had an open line of communi- cation. I thought it was just another one of our many talks that we had had prior to this and he said, 'I've got some movement and let's be in con- tact.' I didn't have any idea it would transpire as fast as it did." Ayers joked that Brey is the same man as he was when he coached the new Irish assistant, except for the lack of mock turtlenecks these days. "I knew when I was done playing that I'd like to get into coaching," Ayers said. "I love teaching the game and being a part of it and teaching young people to develop their game, and I've been ingrained in that since I was a kid with my father. "I come from a teaching family and that's something I've always wanted to do." Prior to filling the positions, Brey told reporters that the job openings were attracting significant interest. But the coach said he wanted to fo- cus on mostly former players, mainly captains and team leaders. "I'm excited about what I can do with my staff," Brey said at the time. "This staff that we had, we maxed it out together. It was time for change on both sides of the coin. It was an unbelievable ride, but I think rein- vention is great for me." Part of what made the jobs so at- tractive is Brey's standing at Notre Dame. According to a recent story on ESPN.com by Jeff Goodman, Brey ranked first in the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches in terms of sta- bility. "It's difficult to imagine a scenario in which Brey doesn't remain in South Bend until he chooses to re- tire," Goodman wrote. "The 57-year- old has made the Irish nationally relevant, going to the NCAA Tourna- ment eight times in the past decade and also making consecutive Elite Eights the past two years. "It would take an elite-level job to Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has taken the Irish to back-to-back Elite Eights. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND