National Signing Day always is exciting for prep athletes. It’s when they announce where they’ll continue their careers at the next level. On Wednesday, Notre Dame benefited from it when 6-foot-7 guard J.R. Konieczny signed a National Letter of Intent to join the team in 2021-22. That Konieczny hails from St. Joseph in South Bend is not at all lost on Mike Brey:
“We are thrilled to add J.R. to our program. It is great to have a ‘local product’ in a Notre Dame uniform. Our staff has watched him grow up in this town and get better since he was 13 years old. He has worked to become a 6-[foot]-7 guard who can shoot, handle the ball and has a great feel for the game. He is a perfect fit for how we like to play.”
ESPN has rated Konieczny a four-star recruit, and he’s been listed as one of the top 150 high school basketball seniors. During the 2019-20 season, he was named third team all-state, averaging over 24 points a game. After scoring 42 in a sectional semifinal, he was named the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week.