Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2020 37 MEN'S BASKETBALL Brey and his staff are paying closest attention to a group of nine returning players who are scattered all over the country — and even in Canada — taking their classes online while stuck in self-isolation. "Nobody is in trouble academi- cally, but this is a strange new world," Brey said. "We can't afford to lose a guy who's coming back." So while the Irish coaches and aca- demic support staff are doing all they can to engage and assist the players from a distance, Brey said ultimately it's up to the guys to take care of their own business — knowing full well college kids, distance and an independent course structure aren't necessarily a recipe for scholastic success. "Grow up and be men," said Brey, offering an old-school message to a young group of students. "Right now, if you're not a young man and can't handle your business, you're going to fall on your face — and that may be a good message for some of these kids. "Handle your stuff from where you are and take it seriously. We're going to be calling, we're going to be checking, but we can't hold your hand." ✦ Three-Point Play 1. Taking The Fifth Facing a shortage of production and experi- ence among his returning interior players, head coach Mike Brey shared the good news that 6-11 forward Juwan Durham is set to return for a fifth year in 2020-21 as a gradu- ate student. Durham averaged 7.8 points and 4.6 re- bounds in 17.5 minutes in 2019-20, and fre- quently provided Notre Dame with some early scoring and energy. 2. Valuing The Basketball Staying true to his "sharing and caring " teaching model, Brey coached a team this sea- son that led the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.68). It's the sixth straight season Brey's Irish have finished among the top 10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. 3. Big Shoes To Fill With the departures of Irish seniors John Mooney, T.J. Gibbs and Rex Pflueger, Notre Dame heads into next season down 46 per- cent of its scoring, 48 percent of its rebound- ing and 49 percent of its assists from this year. — Todd D. Burlage Fighting Irish Add A Pair Of Players In April Notre Dame approached the offseason and late signing period content with its established nine scholarship players for 2020-21. Seven returners and two newcomers — freshman forwards Matt Zona and Elijah Taylor — were enough for head coach Mike Brey's liking. Until, that is, one irresistible name popped into the transfer portal and Notre Dame decided to take a swing on an intriguing high schooler in Florida it had been monitoring for a couple months. The roster changed in a hurry, awaking tides previously expected to be dormant for a while. Notre Dame landed two new additions in the span of eight days in early April, doubling the size of its newcomer class. The Irish nabbed an April 3 commitment from Tony Sanders Jr., a 6-7, 175-pound three-star forward from Gulliver Prep in Miami. Then they secured a pledge from Santa Clara transfer guard Trey Wertz April 11. Both recruitments lasted a matter of days after offers were made. And both players committed without ever having visited the campus because of the NCAA's recruiting dead period instituted due to COVID-19. Notre Dame began recruiting Sanders early in his senior season, and Irish assistant Ryan Humphrey attended two of his games in person. Eventually, after the coaching staff decided to add one more high school player to the 2020 class, Notre Dame offered Sanders March 31. Sanders chose the Irish over Dayton, where he visited in February. "He played anywhere I needed," said Gary DeCesare, Sanders' coach at Gulliver. "Defensively, he could guard a one, two, three and a four." As a senior, Sanders averaged 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. He shot 42.0 percent from the floor and 34.0 percent on three-pointers, with more than five three-point attempts per game. Wertz, meanwhile, became a fast priority for Notre Dame once Brey watched just a few min- utes of game film after Wertz put his name in the portal March 24. In a similar manner, Wertz — in search of a new destination with an offense built on spacing and flow — needed merely moments to identify the Irish as an ideal match. "I could tell by the first couple possessions of offense that I could fit in really well in the spread out, free-flowing system," Wertz said. "[Brey] loves guys with freedom, and that's just my game." In two seasons at Santa Clara, the 6-4, 185-pound Wertz averaged 12.0 points in 64 games, starting 58 of them. In 2019-20, he aver- aged 11.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range. He scored at least 20 points three times, with a season-high 31 in a win over Pacific Jan. 18. Wertz has two years of eligibility left. As of now, he will redshirt the upcoming season, but the NCAA is reportedly voting May 20 on a rule that would lift the sit-out requirement for undergradu- ate transfers. If passed, it could go into effect for the 2020-21 season, thus making Wertz eligible right away. Look for more in-depth features on Sanders and Wertz in the June issue of Blue & Gold Illustrated. — Patrick Engel Tony Sanders Jr. committed four days after Notre Dame offered him, wrapping up a recruitment that had been brewing for a few months. PHOT0 COURTESY RIVALS.COM Guard Trey Wertz, Notre Dame's newest addi- tion, averaged 12.0 points per game in two seasons at Santa Clara, where he started 58 contests. PHOTO COURTESY SANTA CLARA