Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/86484
Torres, who eventually landed offers from Eastern Kentucky, IUPUI, Lamar, Navy, Northern Illinois and SIU Ed- wardsville. "I was a really late bloomer. Higher-major schools talked to me and were like, 'Where did you come from?' The mid-majors took advantage of the fact that I was a late bloomer." With commitments from Jackson quick. I'm really excited for him." Creech worked with Torres for just — and fellow top-100 players V.J. Beachem, a small forward from New Haven, Ind., and Steve Vasturia, a sharp-shooting guard from Philadelphia — Notre Dame was looking far and wide for a post player to fill out the class. "Coach Brey and Coach Solomon and the staff talked about Austin quite a bit this summer to me," MBA Select coach Rod Creech said. "Obviously, they saw every single game Deme- trius and Austin played. They were always intrigued. They liked the way he played, but never really acted on it. They never came at me like they were really recruiting him, but they were curious." Creech explained that Brey recently mentioned the need for a 6-6 to 6-8 player. "I said, 'What about Torres?'" Creech recalled. "There was kind of a pause. Then Mike [Brey] said, 'Man, that's a good point.' The next thing I know, they're saying, 'We're recruiting all these guys, and we have one in our backyard we need to take a closer look at.' They said they were going to talk to Austin. "I get the phone call after the in- home visit," Creech said. "They offered and he accepted. It went down really one AAU season, but the fact that two MBA Select alumni committed to Notre Dame in the same week is a glowing endorsement for the club. It's also the first time in Brey's 13- year tenure he plucked local talent. "I'm on cloud nine," Creech said. "I don't know who's happier: Demetrius, Austin or me." GROWING UP IN GRANGER, IT WAS MY DREAM SCHOOL." TORRES ON COMMITTING TO NOTRE DAME "HARD WORK HAS PAID OFF. fenders off the dribble, blocks shots, defends guards and bigs, and tip- dunks from anywhere. "He has crazy ups," he said. "He high-flying ability is Torres' range, which extends comfortably to 20 feet. Creech said Torres takes de- Overlooked by his is kind of like a Dennis Rodman, but he can play offense. Obviously, be- ing around Demetrius, those two just fed so well off each other. We ran that screen-and-roll game, so you've got to pick your poison. Which one are you going to try and stop? "He's going to be really good. This is big-time motivation. He has been up at 5 a.m. training before school. He's fired up." Torres is still trying to wrap his head around how it all unfolded so swiftly, as well as attempting to get some rest. "When they offered me over the phone, I slept on it and actually got no sleep that night," Torres said. "I went to bed around 4 o'clock in the morning. Central Michigan is a great school; it's just not Notre Dame. "I'm in a really good situation right now, and I'm truly blessed." ✦