Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY PATRICK ENGEL M ike Brey saw all he needed to see one July 2019 after- noon in Champaign, Ill. That day, Notre Dame's head coach offered South Bend natives and then- high school juniors Blake Wesley and J.R. Konieczny on the spot after watching them play at the NCAA College Basketball Acad- emy. As seniors, Wesley ended up ranked No. 103 and Konieczny No. 127 nationally by Rivals. The pair, who lived within a 10-minute drive from his office, became Bray's top targets in the 2021 class after one viewing. He and his staff were frequent guests at their games that winter. Both were regular campus visitors. Konieczny committed less than a month after picking up the offer. It all set up well for Brey to have a pulse on a freshman class' read- iness in a way he hadn't before. They could play pickup games with the current team and stop by campus whenever they pleased. March 2020 rudely interrupted those visions. Recruiting shifted to virtual along with the rest of the world that month. Brey's backyard targets may as well have been in California. "Coach Brey was always like, 'You're right down the road, and I can't come see you,'" Konieczny said. "It was tough in that regard." "It was just so weird," Brey added. "They're my neighbors. I kid them all the time, 'How are you doing, neigh- bor?' Yet I didn't see them for a year." Fifteen months, to be exact. In re- cruiting, that's an eternity to go without seeing top recruiting targets in critical stages of their development — no mat- ter how convincing the initial impres- sion was. Brey turned to highlight vid- eos, streams of AAU games and word of mouth to follow their progression. "Because I didn't have any interaction with them — they probably would have been playing pickup in our gym all spring and fall of their senior year — I kind of lost track of their development," Brey said. Which makes their June 2021 arrival as ready-made instant contributors even more satisfying for Brey. His now two- year-old conclusion that he discovered two impact players one day in Central Illinois has aged well in his eyes. The 6-5, 185-pound Wesley, who committed in November 2020, is al- ready in the rotation, Brey said. His burst as a ball handler, athleticism and defensive ability were impossible to miss when he stepped on campus and are difficult to keep off the court. All of those were on display during Notre Dame's open scrimmage Oct. 13. "He sees the floor, and he plays the right way," Brey said. "He has shot it better than I thought he could shoot it. He loves to guard, loves to compete." Konieczny (6-6, 195) is vying to be the final player in a rotation that nor- mally stops at eight. His shooting stroke and length might have him on the in- side track to it. He has gained about 15 pounds since coming to campus. "He reminds me of [former Notre Dame wing Tim] Abromaitis, a young colt running around with flashes," Brey said. "I think he's learning to pass and cut. All he did was catch, face and score over everybody, and he did that pretty good. But now he has to learn to play with other guys, and a de- fensive stance is still a challenge. "You get into a scrimmage and he'll score eight in a row because he's just a scorer." None of this is news to Brey's players, who saw Konieczny and Wesley's senior-year develop- ment up close through workouts at "The Barn," a small private gym in nearby Granger where Koniec- zny trained during his high school career. He even had access to it in the height of the pandemic. Notre Dame's players, mean- while, had limited hours to work out in Rolfs Hall. Some heard of Konieczny's haven and reached out to him, wondering if they could work out and play pickup games with their future team- mate. Konieczny opened The Barn's doors. His workout home became the unofficial second home for Notre Dame basketball before the 2020-21 season. Wesley joined them too, even though he had not yet committed. Irish players quickly saw two potential difference-makers. Senior Prentiss Hubb inserted himself into Wesley's recruit- ment — current point guard wooing a potential future point guard. The two grew close during workouts to the point where Wesley and Brey called Hubb a meaningful factor in the Wesley's deci- sion to choose Notre Dame. "I've been staying in his ear for a while now," Hubb said. "I could see the poten- tial in him. I want him to be great and I think he could make it to the next level, to the NBA. I want him to be better than me and break all the records at ND." That's all for later on, though. Wes- ley's first step is earning the trust to contribute as a freshman. As he and Konieczny are on track to do. "Both of our local guys," Brey said, "will be playing for us." ✦ Mike Brey Sees His Two Local Freshmen As Contributors Brey expects freshmen Blake Wesley (left) and J.R. Konieczny (right) to be in the Fighting Irish's rotation right away. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS