Blue and Gold Illustrated

May 2021 Issue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2021 35 MEN'S BASKETBALL The first was Johnny Jordan, who accomplished the feat in 1953 and 1954 (and a third in 1958). A beloved figure as an alumnus and because of his congeniality, the back end of Jordan's career saw the game passing him by and he faltered with only one winning season and NCAA Tourna- ment bid his last four years. After a 10-14 finish in Jordan's 14th and final campaign in 1964, the student body uncharacteristically booed the coaching, prompting Jor- dan's resignation just one year after a 17-9 mark and NCAA Tournament appearance. The second was Digger Phelps, who attained the back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 1978 and 1979, with the former still the lone Final Four berth in the program's annals. He had set an immense bar — and then in his ensuing 12 years became a victim of his own success with only five NCAA Tournament victories. He too had a three-year absence from the tourney from 1982-84, including a 10-17 finish in 1982. A Sweet 16 ap- pearance in 1987 soon became over- shadowed with a 16-13 outcome in his second-to-last season and a 12-20 farewell tour in 1990-91. By the end of his tenure, Phelps' name could no longer be used in the pregame introductions because the booing from the student body had become an embarrassment. At least for now, history appears to be repeating with the highly affable Brey while the program has osten- sibly gone stale, including sub-stan- dard recruiting the past three years. BEYOND 2022 When Brey's Irish missed the NCAA Tournament in the three straight years from 2004-06, he began to believe his six-season tenure with the Fighting Irish had run its course. He was on the cusp of applying for the North Carolina State job vacated by Herb Sendek before Notre Dame director of athletics Kevin White and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski helped convince him otherwise. Brey felt he was at the crossroads then, but it was allayed with a 24-8 mark in year seven, including 11-5 in the Big East, and the first of his three Coach of the Year honors in the league over the next five years. "I would say this group coming back, going into my 22nd year, is in the same boat as my seventh year," Brey said. "… I think I'm right on that mat again. Been there, done that. "… The line is drawn in the sand. A year from Sunday, we need to show up in that bracket. Plain and simple." Or else what? Is Brey inferring that another sea- son without a bid means he will vol- untarily step down? What about beyond 2022? Notre Dame next season will have seven se- niors on the roster — a nearly unfath- omable achievement in today's col- lege basketball. The modus operandi under Brey has been to "stay old." Basketball IQ has been the program's identity and way to compensate for the sheer athleticism of its numerous ACC opponents. If not in 2022, then when? Unfortunately, there is no "wow factor" in the three recruiting classes from 2019-21, especially compared to the 2018 haul that next season will be seniors — yet has a 20-36 league record to show for it. The overall operation right now appears to be twisting in the wind. It seems to be where it was at the end of Jordan's tenure in 1964 (two years later it would be 5-21) or Phelps's in 1991 unless the recruiting vastly improves and the strength/develop- ment accelerate. That is why even Brey acknowl- edges the program is at a "cross- roads." A year from now on Selection Sun- day, we might see another feel-good celebration with Notre Dame return- ing to the NCAA field. There will be the usual stories about resilience, overcoming adversity and the Fight- ing Irish seniors "staying the course," and how the program is once again reinvigorated and resurrected, just as it was in 2007 and 2015. Anything less and the twisting wind could result in quite the tem- pest. ✦ 2021 Signees Excel In State Playoffs Notre Dame 2021 signees Blake Wesley and JR Konieczny led their high school teams deep into to the Indiana Boys Basketball State Tournament as seniors. Konieczny and South Bend St. Joseph High School reached the Class 3A semi-state, falling to Leo (Ind.) High 61-59 in a game decided in the final seconds. Konieczny, a 6-7 three-star recruit and Rivals' No. 127 overall player nationally, scored 20 first-half points but was held scoreless in the second half. St. Joseph won four games to claim Class 3A regional and sectional titles, and reach the state semifinals. Konieczny had 24 points in the regional championship game. Earlier in the year, he broke the school's and St. Joseph County's career scoring record, finishing with 1,996 points. Konieczny averaged 28.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game for the season. Wesley, a four-star recruit and the No. 92 overall player in the 2021 class per Rivals, had 16 points to lead South Bend's Riley High School to a Class 4A sectional title with a 47-43 win over South Bend Adams March 7. His team's season ended with a 4A regional championship loss a week later. For the season, Wesley averaged 27.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game, per MaxPreps. He shot 46.6 percent from the field. On April 4, he was one of eight players selected to com- pete in the 2021 High School Slam Dunk Contest. Both Konieczny and Wesley will enroll at Notre Dame in June. In 2022 recruiting, Notre Dame extended an offer to Nashville (Tenn.) Christ Presbyterian Academy three-star recruit Braeden Moore in March. A 6-8, 210-pound wing, Moore is the No. 125 player in the 2022 Rivals150. He holds offers from 32 schools, including Arkansas, Auburn, Kansas, Ole Miss, St. Johns, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin, among others. Notre Dame has offered nine players in the 2022 class, and eight of them are still uncommitted. — Patrick Engel Irish signee Blake Wesley averaged 27.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.1 assists per game during his senior campaign at Riley High School in South Bend. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

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