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Notre Dame basketball: DJ Harvey defends teammates

By Mychal Hunter

SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 13: D.J. Harvey
SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 13: D.J. Harvey /
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Sophomore forward for Notre Dame basketball DJ Harvey takes to twitter after UCLA game

Saturday night was tough for the Notre Dame basketball team. Following a tough loss to a better than expected Oklahoma team in NYC on Tuesday, the Irish went cross country to Westwood to face UCLA.

The good guys found themselves with just 20 points in the first half, accompanied by an 11-point halftime deficit. That lead swelled to 14 early in the second before Coach Mike Brey’s squad found its footing. They eventually led 62-57 with 3:45 to go. UCLA came back and their best player, sophomore Kris Wilkes, drilled a triple with a second left to lead the Bruins to victory.

All that and more can be found in Chase’s recap. I am more interested in what happened after the game. Yesterday, a Notre Dame “fan” took to twitter and decided it would be a good idea to tag DJ Harvey, John Mooney, Rex Pflueger, Temple Gibbs and freshman Prentiss Hubb and declare that “these freshmen are horrible.”

DJ was having none of that:

You have to love this kid.

As pointed out by Mason earlier today, and myself a while back, these guys are talented, but still just freshmen. It is my belief that freshmen need until mid January before they figure it out. This team is still 6-3 and ranked 57th in the nation by KenPom.  They are top 75 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. That defensive number is pretty impressive given how young the team is. This team is also 7th in the nation in turnovers with 84 in 9 games, which is absolutely incredible.

The shooting from deep has not been there, but I remain optimistic that it will come around. Temple and Laz are pure shooters who are going to turn it around. I also think Dane Goodwin is a much better shooter than he has shown. At a certain point, the game just starts to slow down for freshmen, and when it happens — when it clicks — it will be obvious.

Next. This Notre Dame basketball season will be about growing pains. dark

Bottom line, I still believe this crew needs time to gel. The fact that they didn’t roll over in a true road game when they were down 14 is impressive. The next step is just learning how to put those games away.

Oh and one more positive, Mike Brey is still the head coach.