JR Konieczny Talks Notre Dame Commitment & More
Notre Dame had the opportunity to host JR Konieczny multiple times early in the 2021 Indiana guard’s recruitment and the Irish took advantage.
“It was pretty convenient because it’s right in our backyard over here,” says Konieczny, who lives in nearby Granger.
“We got up there, went over all of that stuff. The coaching staff was number one for me. All of those guys are amazing.”
And by the middle of August, the 6-foot-7, 180-pounder was ready to commit to Notre Dame over offers from schools like Iowa, Butler, Valparaiso, Creighton and others.
“It just felt like the right fit for me,” he says. “I talked it over with my family and we thought it was a good decision.”
Irish assistants Ryan Humphrey and Rod Balanis led the recruitment of the St. Joseph High School star at the start before head coach Mike Brey took a lead role as closer.
“Coach Brey was texting me like every single day after they offered,” Konieczny says. “He talked about all of the plans he had for me going to Notre Dame. It’s really big-time for a head coach to be constantly texting you, asking how you’re doing. It was neat, definitely.”
Brey gave Konieczny a sneak preview of what he could expect to do on the floor with the Irish.
“He brought me in the film room and showed me film of Steve Vasturia, Pat Connaughton, Scott Martin and showed me how I was like those guys,” Konieczny explains. “A lot of those guys play position-less basketball and that’s something I can do.
“I can play like 1 through 4. I can play guard if the other team is going big and we have to play big or I can play the 4 if the other team is going small and we have to go small. I can kind of play any of the positions.”
Notre Dame is hoping to pair Konieczny with another local 2021 prospect, South Bend guard Blake Wesley.
“Coach Brey and all of those guys brought it up during one of the visits,” says Konieczny. “And when we were leaving after I committed there, on the way out, he was like, ‘Now we’ve just got to get Blake too.’
“I started laughing, but I’m definitely on him. I text with him every day. He’s one of my really closest friends, so I’ve been texting with him and talking to him about it, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Irish are also chasing 2021 Indiana power forward Caleb Furst.
“I’ll be getting in contact with him shortly,” says Konieczny, who expects to be on campus often in the coming months and years.
“The whole recruiting process was a blessing for sure. It feels good to get it off my shoulders. It feels good to be committed to Notre Dame. It’s nice to have it over with.”