Tag: St. Joseph 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:

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.

J.R. Konieczny Signs National Letter of Intent for Basketball

National Signing Day always is exciting for prep athletes. It’s when they announce where they’ll continue their careers at the next level.

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.