Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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90 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY MATT JONES M att Farrell has a "great toughness" about him, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has repeatedly said this season. Brey's gritty junior point guard hails from Bridgewater, N.J., an hour's drive outside New York. His playing style and passion for the game had the Irish boss thinking of another New Jersey guard: Bobby Hurley, who helped lead Duke to back-to-back national titles in 1991 and 1992. Under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Hurley set the tone. "He played with that edge," Brey said. "… A lot of familiarity there." Brey was a young assistant under Krzyzewski when the Blue Devils pulled Hurley from his father's pro- gram at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J. Like Hurley, Farrell is a coach's son, playing for his father, Bob, all the way through middle school. Brey couldn't coach his previous two point guards the way he does Far- rell. No, Jerian Grant and Demetrius Jackson — both now with NBA teams — took different coaching than the cur- rent Irish guard. That player-coach re- lationship has blossomed this season. Through 24 games, Farrell was av- eraging 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game, big jumps from a season ago. After averaging just 2.6 points in 13.4 minutes per game last season, the 6-1, 178-pounder has been the linchpin to the team's success this year. "There are a lot of guys that have taken a step up in their game," Brey said. "But from where he was to what he's doing, running the show of a team that's ranked and is in very good posi- tion in league standings, he's the stron- gest candidate for most improved." The roots of that success were laid during last season's run to the Elite Eight. Farrell started all four NCAA Tournament games. He averaged 6.5 points and 1.25 assists in 26.7 minutes, exceeding his career averages of 2.0 points and 0.6 assists in 10.1 minutes. "It's funny because when they told me I was starting, it was nothing big," Farrell said. "People came over, tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Alright let's go, it's your time.' It speaks vol- umes about the culture of our pro- gram. It's just staying patient and then trusting the system. "The way we play really helped me in that situation — not overthinking. Coach Brey really lets us go out there and play freely. That run last year was important for me just confidence wise, being in a rhythm with these guys." In the NCAA games, Farrell shot 10 of 17 from the floor (4 of 7 beyond the arc). He's continued that form this sea- son — 45.3 percent from the floor and 43.7 percent from three-point range. "The biggest improvement he needs is that when he has an open shot he can't turn it down," Brey said. "He is a great shooter and we want him taking a shot when he has it." Farrell's bond with Brey, who targets unheralded recruits like Farrell, has grown stronger. "It's just really easy between us," Farrell said. "If we have something to say, we tell it to each other. It's easy to talk to him about the game because he's such a smart guy and he knows how to work on the offensive end es- pecially, which is fun for me." It's not always basketball between Brey and Farrell. The two tease each other about their beards — "Right now, I think he's got the edge," Brey said — and talk about New Jersey celebrities Chris Christie and Bruce Springsteen. "We connect on a lot of fronts," Brey said. "We're both East Coast guys. He's always been mature beyond his years. Now as a junior you can have fun with him and then when it's time to get down to business, everybody knows it's time to get down to business." Farrell was considered a three-star prospect by Rivals. The one-time Bos- ton College verbal commitment av- eraged career highs for points (19.5), assists (5.9) and steals (3.9) his senior season, when he helped lead Point Pleasant to a 29-2 record. The Irish didn't enter the mix for Farrell until the middle of the season, when Brey saw additional point guard help was needed. Around mid-Febru- ary Brey went to New Jersey, and by halftime of Farrell's game knew he'd found the guard he wanted. With the help of former Irish assis- tant Martin Ingelsby — who first saw Farrell play — Notre Dame was able to get Farrell to decommit from BC in November of his senior season. Far- rell finished out his season, and then committed to Notre Dame on March 11, 2014. Securing Farrell's commitment was a bright spot in an otherwise dreadful season for the Irish, who finished 15-17 overall and 6-12 in the ACC. "Maybe the only good thing that happened in Greensboro [for the ACC Tournament] was the phone call I got before I got on the plane to go down there that Matt Farrell was coming," Brey said. The pull from Notre Dame — where Farrell's grandfather, Robert, gradu- ated from — was too much. Although he considered transfer- ring, Farrell stuck around to lead the Irish. Now, there's no question when Farrell says "this is my team." Farrell's uptick in points is unparal- leled in the ACC. In terms of scoring average, Farrell's improvement of 11.4 is the most in the league, ahead of Ben Lammers' plus-11.2 for Georgia Tech. In December, ESPN analyst Jay Bi- las tweeted that Farrell "may be the most improved player in the country," a sentiment that has been echoed by colleague Dick Vitale "I don't care about that stuff," Farrell said when asked about the distinction. "I just want to win." ✦ Farrell has taken his starting role with Notre Dame and thrived, drawing praise from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who tweeted earlier this season that the junior point guard "may be the most improved player in the country." PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND MOST IMPROVED Notre Dame's Matt Farrell has surged into a key role