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Mike Brey held a news conference with his two transfers -- guard Ben Hansbrough and forward Scott Martin -- and here are some of the highlights.
<*> "It's not easy," Brey said of sitting out a year. "But the good thing is you can do so much more with workouts and lifting four days a week and getting them involved."
<*> Brey said neither player can participate in practice when the team prepares for its Ireland trip in August. And neither player can make the overseas trip, according to NCAA rules.
<*> Brey likened Martin to Chris Mullin -- he said as much after watching him in the Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga., as a high schooler. He compared Hansbrough, after some thought, to Jeff Hornacek.
<*> Hansbrough on the Notre Dame system: "Any guard would love to play the way they do. They get up-and-down. They transition, three's, you know. They really get up-and-down and score a lot."
<*> Martin on the Notre Dame system: "I agree with him completely. The style of play is a fun style where you enjoy playing and enjoy being out there. The guys are great guys and I've had a blast with them and I've only been here for a week. I'm just looking forward to getting to play with them.
"They always make the extra pass. You have to respect that."
<*> Brey on how this changes recruiting: "We're still kind of formulating that before we go on the road July 6 and what exactly are you really going to pinpoint with what we have left in that rising senior class but you know your numbers, there's not the pressure on you to deliver so much in that rising senior class when you have these two guys waiting in the wings and you have them for a while. Two years and three years of eligibility is a long time to have them in our program. Probably can be a little more selective and not knee jerk as quick on a rising senior, take our time in the evaluation process through July and make sure we're getting the right guys, right fit."
<*> Brey on whether a point guard will be part of that in 2009: "We'll look at that but we have good guards still in the program, too. Ben can do that and can handle the ball. Ty Proffitt has shown he can do that. Other than Jackson and McAlarney, you have guys that are going to be around. Do you wait until the next year and wait for a really good freshman to hand the ball to. That can be an option, too. There are some very good guards in the rising junior class so you've got to kind of see where you stand and what's going on there. But we'll investigate a good guard and maybe it's a little more of a combination guard. And certainly some front line guys, more front line guys. With what we have on the wings in the program, you feel pretty good where you're at and these guys are two of them and there are some other ones in our program and you feel pretty good there. But the way we play, too, we can play three four-men together. We don't put numbers on our guys.
"But we can be smart with the rising senior class. What, really, is a good fit for us."
<*> Brey said forward Carleton Scott's foot is healing and he'll be ready for the Ireland trip in August. He's jogging lightly and is expected to recover by mid-July.
<*> Speaking of Ireland, Brey said he envisions starting six different lineups there to test different combinations of his current returning players, which will make up this year's roster as no freshmen will be coming into the program.
