Save for a couple of rare exceptions during his 16 seasons at Notre Dame, Irish men’s basketball coach Mike Brey has never been one to pass out mega-minutes to his players until they’ve perfected his system and paid their dues.
Brey’s coaching style — for better and sometimes worse — is built around player trust, loyalty and smarts.
Terrific players such as Carleton Scott (2007-11) and Russell Carter (2003-07) probably deserved an earlier look and more minutes during their formative seasons.
Other recent players — including Cameron Biedscheid (2012), Alex Dragicevich (2010) and Ty Proffitt (2007) — weren’t willing to wait it out and transferred to greener pastures with quicker minutes.