Decision Day For Top Notre Dame Hoops Target Blake Wesley

Maybe he would have been hard to miss in their own backyard, but Mike Brey and Notre Dame men’s basketball program identified local guard Blake Wesley‍ early in the recruiting process and pursued him relentlessly from the start.

Later this morning, we’ll find out how effective that pursuit was when the 2021 South Bend star announces his college decision.

Last week, the 6-foot-5, 170-pounder announced a Top 6 that included the Irish along with Creighton, Purdue, Maryland, Xavier and Kansas State.

Notre Dame would love to pair the Riley High School star with JR Konieczny, a 2021 swingman from South Bend’s St. Joseph High School, who signed with the Irish last week. The two are close friends and Wesley even showed up at Konieczny’s signing ceremony last Wednesday.

There’s no doubt this is an enormously important decision for the Irish.

One source close to the situation called Wesley “a great talent who has all the measurables. Tremendous upside who has really made major strides as a player this past year.”

A separate source said landing Wesley would be “a huge get” for the Irish and would provide “size and athleticism on the wing.”

With two of the top players in the state just minutes from campus, Mike Brey and his staff made keeping them home a priority for years.

“It would be huge for the community to have two local kids who could have went off but chose to stay to do something special together,” one source said. “JR and Blake would be role models for the youth in the area.”

Another source said that couldn’t be overstated.

“Would be great for our community,” the source said, pointing to the boost the program received from Demetrius Jackson, the last top local talent who decided to stay home.