Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 AUGUST 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY JACK SOBLE Ask Nikita Konstantynovskyi how his triplet brother, Denys, is doing, and he wants to say he's doing OK. Truthfully, though, he has no idea. Denys Konstantynovskyi is on the front lines of the Russo-Ukraine War. It's diffi- cult to get in touch with him, although Nikita tries whenever he can. Their sis- ter, Anastasia, fled their home country of Ukraine shortly after the war began. "I can't believe what he's going through," Konstantynovskyi told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It's very hard." Denys was supposed to come to the United States from Kyiv, Ukraine, and play junior college basketball with Ni- kita at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 2019. Their sister was supposed to play on the women's team. However, only Nikita received a visa at the time. That started Konstantynovskyi on a path that took him through the most difficult time in his life. He forged last- ing relationships in unexpected places that, eventually, led him to Notre Dame. The 6-foot-10 big man transferred from Monmouth to the Fighting Irish in May. "I have been through everything," Konstantynovskyi said. "The last year of my [college basketball] journey, I wanted to be with people who are not neces- sarily supporting me during the sea- son, but who are go- ing to have a lifelong relationship with me after basketball." CLEAR AIR During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Konstantynovskyi worked out by running up and down the dirt road between his American family's farm and his neighbor's house. The lat- ter had a weight room. As someone from Kyiv (population 2.88 million), he had an adjustment to make after moving to Miami, Okla. (population 12,913). But it was an ad- justment he grew to love. "I loved being on a farm, because it's clear air," Konstantynovskyi said. "Nothing was going to disturb you. Just feeding the cows every day." Konstantynovskyi had never seen cows before he moved in with John and Bea McMain, two fans of Northeastern Okla- homa A&M whose church sponsored for- eign exchange students to live in the area. "He grew to love that quietness and the serenity, the peacefulness," Bea McMain said. "He loved being around the cows. Even now, we FaceTime and he asks, 'How's the cows? How's the chickens?'" Konstantynovskyi started his career at NEO in the dorms. He can still picture the walls of that room, and him inside of it with a suitcase and two pairs of shoes. His roommate, Romanian for- ward George Blaj-Voinescu, was staying with the McMains. B l a j -Vo i n e sc u i nv i te d Ko n s ta n - tynovskyi to dinner at the McMains' farm, and he began to build a relation- ship with the couple. Once COVID hit, the dorms closed and Konstantynovskyi had nowhere to go. The McMains took him in. "He was set up with a family that re- ally has a heart to help international students," NEO head coach Jeremy Jackson said. "They helped him a lot with self-sufficiency here in the states." T h e Mc M a i n s ta u g h t Ko n s ta n - tynovskyi how to drive. He started on a lawnmower, eventually earning his driver's license. He could speak English when he started at NEO, but not very well, and they worked on that with him, too. When Konstantynovskyi introduced the McMains to his parents on Face- Time, who spoke no English, he had to translate. That naturally aided his learning. The McMains helped him get a life- guard job at the local pool as well, re- calling that the kids loved him. Throughout that time — Konstan- t y n o v s k y i l i v e d with the McMains for around six or seve n m o n t h s — he became part of t h e i r fa m i ly. H e was close with their grandchildren, one of whom, Ethan Hall, is a tight end at Tulsa. And he still is, to this day. "They did a tremendous job support- ing me when I didn't have anywhere to go," Konstantynovskyi said. The moment Konstantynovskyi truly felt at home in the U.S., Bea McMain re- members, was a surprise birthday party they held for him. Jackson attended it, too. "He really felt like he fit in," Bea Mc- Main said. "I think he felt like, 'Oh my BLUE AND GOLD New Notre Dame big man Nikita Konstantynovskyi still worries for his family in Ukraine, but he found a second one in America Konstantynovskyi, a 6-10 inside player, aver- aged 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game at Monmouth University last season and will finish his college basketball career with the Irish. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS