ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2021

Trey Wertz

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Postgame Press Conference

Notre Dame 80, Wake Forest 77

Q. Trey, when is the last time you hit a game winning shot at the buzzer, and how good did that shot feel? It looked like you knew it was in the minute it left your hand?

TREY WERTZ: The last one I hit was last year at Santa Clara. I had a game-winning lay-up at the buzzer. Yeah, I was yelling at Cormac, I was, behind you, behind you. And he tossed it back and as soon as I let it go I knew it was good and it kind of went straight through.

Q. Can you just describe the kind of change in mindset or mood even in defense in the last five or six minutes that just kind of seemed to come out of nowhere after a tough first 30 minutes on defense?

TREY WERTZ: Yeah, they definitely punched us in the mouth early on. They hit some shots that I think were a little unusual. I mean, when anybody banks in a three at the end of the shot clock, I think it might be, for lack of a better term, their night. But we knew we had to kind of lock in defensively. We just kept talking about it in the huddles, just chip away, chip away. It wasn't going to happen in one possession. That's what we were able to do the last seven minutes.

Q. Trey, what family members did you have in the arena tonight, and have you gotten to speak to them yet since you hit the game winner?

TREY WERTZ: Yeah, my mom and dad were both here, and yeah, I talked to them as soon as I got done off the court for a little bit. I'll see them back at the hotel for a little bit. But yeah, it was definitely nice to have them here, especially in my home state.

Q. Just what you can say about everything you've been through this season to get to this point and hit a shot like that to keep your season going. Just what it means to you going through the normal flow of a season on top of the fact that obviously the pandemic has made things very interesting to say the least.

TREY WERTZ: Yeah, we were laughing about it actually when I came off the court, that I wasn't even supposed to play this year. And now that I'm back here in the ACC Tournament in my home state, playing in something I grew up watching my whole life. And to be able to hit that shot, it was just really surreal. Just want to keep it going. We don't want to go home. We just want to especially keep playing for the seniors, so it's definitely nice.

Q. You talked when you committed to Notre Dame about one of the reasons was you dreamed about going back and playing in the ACC Tournament. What does it mean for a Carolina kid to play in this tournament and do what you just did?

TREY WERTZ: Yeah, as I said, I've grown up watching them my whole life. I've been to the Greensboro Coliseum numerous times, not only to watch the ACC Tournament but other games, as well. So it was actually my first time playing on the court. It's definitely surreal. It's a dream come true. As a little kid just kind of dreaming of playing in the ACC, and to be able to do that, I couldn't really ask for anything better right now.