Tag: Riley High School

Notre Dame roster for 2021-22 season

Who will be hooping it up for the Irish this season?

It feels like college basketball remains far away, but Midnight Madness just happened, so it’s closer than you think. To that end, we should look at who makes up Notre Dame’s roster for the upcoming season. Many believe this is the team that can get the program out of the doldrums and back on track towards respectability. A major step in getting people to believe that would be the Irish’s first NCAA Tournament selection since 2017, which also was the last year they finished above .500 against ACC opponents.

This will be the 22nd iteration of the Irish with Mike Brey as coach. Despite having more wins than anyone in program history, he has two losing seasons in the past three and three losing conference records over the past four years. If he isn’t able to get this group to reach its full potential, questions about his future in South Bend certainly will arise. Here are the players who could determine where both Brey and the program headed going forward:

Incoming Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley featured in Herald Bulletin

The Irish have a real devotee coming in.

Blake Wesley has begun working out at Notre Dame to prepare for his freshman season. That’s according to a story from The Herald Bulletin profiling one of the Irish’s newcomers. Wesley, a product of Riley in South Bend, recently played with the Indiana All-Stars. Now, it’s time for him to take the next step in his basketball journey.

Wesley cited the ability to stay close to home and the opportunities to play both immediately and in the ACC as reasons for selecting the Irish. Perhaps more importantly, he’s fallen in love with the overall culture at Notre Dame:

“I like the coaching staff and like the environment around Notre Dame. People just think Notre Dame is about football, but it’s really all sports, football, basketball, baseball and soccer, all that. But I’m looking forward to it, and it’s going to be a good freshman year.”

The story also says Wesley was a Notre Dame football diehard growing up, but he fell in love with basketball after attending a camp hosted by former Irish point guard Demetrius Jackson. The two were able to get a picture with each other that Wesley still has on his phone. It’s like suiting up for the hometown Irish was meant to be all along.

Notre Dame commit Blake Wesley earns hardware at high school contest

The future of Notre Dame got some exposure during Final Four week.

Both Notre Dame and South Bend were represented in this year’s American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships. Specifically, Riley product and Irish commit Blake Wesley was on hand for the competition ahead of the Final Four in Indianapolis. The contest was held Tuesday, but the broadcast was delayed until Sunday on CBS.

Wesley’s first appearance in the competition came in the IHOP Team Shootout, which teamed him with Auburn commit Jabari Smith and UConn commit Azzi Fudd. His team went first, and it took 48 seconds for the group to complete the sequence, which bore a resemblance to the Shooting Stars competition that once took place at NBA All-Star Weekend. The second team failed to make the final half-court shot in 48 seconds, so Wesley’s team was declared the winner. His prize was a trophy shaped like a stack of pancakes, one of the coolest things you’ll ever see:

Wesley also took part in the dunk contest, but he did not fare nearly as well. Scoring a 22 out of a possible 30 on his first dunk of the first round already put him in a hole. He sealed his fate when he failed to complete his second dunk of the round in the allotted 30 seconds, giving him a 15 on the attempt and a 37 overall. Kansas commit KJ Adams ultimately won the title.

Notre Dame Signees Konieczny, Wesley Nominated for McDonald’s Game

Although the McDonald’s All-American Game won’t be held for a second straight year, rosters still will be announced.

Although the McDonald’s All-American Game won’t be held for a second straight year, rosters still will be announced. The first step towards that was taken Thursday when a list of over 700 nominated girls and boys basketball players was released. Among them are Notre Dame signees JR Konieczny of St. Joseph and Blake Wesley of Riley. Both high schools are located in South Bend.

The final rosters will have 48 names, 24 for each gender. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event will be virtual. What exactly that consists of will be announced later. Regardless of what it is, it won’t lessen the honor of being selected for this prestigious game.

Having either Konieczny or Wesley selected would be a great sense of pride for South Bend. No one from a city school ever has made the final cut for this game. It also would provide a grand conclusion to high school careers that will make the jump to the next level in their hometown.