Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The ACC Tournament tips off this week in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with an interview of Notre Dame basketball father Mike Zona about his son Matt.
In the 1984 NCAA tourney as a player at Iona you had a 1-PT loss to Virginia after your team made 9-17 FTs, and in the 1985 NCAA tourney you had a 1-PT loss to Loyola Chicago after your team made 12-22 FTs: how crucial is FT shooting to pulling off an upset in March? It is huge and is something that I stressed with my son from the time he began playing basketball. Had we not missed the back end of some 1-and-1s…
In 2020 your son Matt was named North Jersey Basketball POY after leading Bergen Catholic to a 22-7 record and averaging a double-double: what did it mean to you to see him receive such an outstanding honor? After all his hard work and all the hours in the driveway trying to get better it was the proper payoff.
What made him choose Notre Dame? He fell in love with it instantly: it was a place he wanted to go and had hoped to get an offer from. Not only would they offer him an amazing education but a tremendous campus life as well, so he felt he would get the full college experience.
What is your favorite memory of the Irish’s NCAA tourney run during his sophomore year (2-PT 2-OT win over Rutgers, upset of Alabama, then a 6-PT loss to Texas Tech)? I remember the Alabama game: it seemed like everything they put up went in that day! Coming off the barnburner with Rutgers and the hectic travel to get from Dayton to San Diego, it was nice to see things break their way.
After spending his 1st 3 years with Mike Brey he got a new coach this year in Micah Shrewsberry: was it a big adjustment to play for a new guy who was brought in from another program to replace a legend? It was an adjustment…but a good adjustment. He realized his position within the team and what he needed to do as a senior to accommodate not just the new players but also the coaches.
Notre Dame has played a tough schedule this year including Auburn/South Carolina/Marquette as well as several ACC schools who will make the NCAA tourney: which opponent impressed you the most? Probably Marquette: they were a very scary version of a team. Now North Carolina is that scary team. Despite coming out on the short end those are games that these kids will benefit from: when you take a licking you need to learn/mature from it.
He got his Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Consulting last year and will be getting his Master’s in Nonprofit Administration this spring: what is his post-graduation plan? We have not had any conversations yet: I just want him to get through the season and then we will address the next step.
He had a birthday last month: what did you get him for the big day? They were up in Syracuse, so we drove up there and had some cupcakes with the team in the lobby of the hotel. He did not really want anything fancy: he is easy!
You played both baseball/basketball in college: who is the best athlete in the family? Probably my daughter Emily: she plays soccer/lacrosse at Salisbury University in Maryland.
Matt scored 7 PTS in 7 minutes in the 4-PT win over Georgia Tech yesterday: do you think the Irish can keep it rolling today? It was a fantastic win for a young team: to beat any team 3 times in 1 year is an accomplishment. They have already beaten Wake Forest in their only matchup of the season 2 weeks ago so if they stick to the plan then they might just beat them again!