Ingelsby: New Notre Dame Assistant Antoni Wyche "A Great Hire"

In two years playing hoops together at Notre Dame, Martin Ingelsby and Antoni Wyche got to know each other pretty well.

“He was a junior my freshman year,” says Ingelsby. “Great guy, great teammate. We spent a lot of time together on the court and off the court. He was tight with some of the football guys, so I got a chance to connect with those guys, got to know Autry Denson and some of those other football guys that he hung with.

“He kind of took me under his wing. I was a point guard and he was kind of a shooting guard. I joked with him that he needed to keep me close and happy so I passed him the basketball.”

Their relationship continued when each joined the coaching ranks.

Ingelsby is now the head coach at Delaware following several years as an assistant with the Irish while Wyche is back in South Bend as a newly-hired assistant for Notre Dame following stints at Lehigh and Siena.

“I obviously grew up in a basketball family,” Ingelsby says. “My dad was my high school coach. I thought it was always something once the ball stops bouncing, I would have an interest in; coaching, teaching, being an educator.

“I don't know if Antoni thought that when he left Notre Dame. I think he wanted to play professionally and he did have a nice career overseas.”

For Wyche, the ball stopped bouncing in 2009, when he joined the Lehigh staff.

“He started to establish a presence, developing talent, recruiting great kids,” says Ingelsby. “He had success at Lehigh and then he made the jump to Siena.

“A really sharp guy, hard worker, great connector.”

Ingelsby says he’s not surprised by Mike Brey’s choice to hire Wyche.

“I think it's a great hire for Coach Brey, getting a former player who wasn't his former player that can connect with a different era of Notre Dame Basketball,” says Ingelsby. “He's very, very well-connected nationally, maybe most importantly in the Northeast area due to his experience. He's got a wealth of experience recruiting that area and he's recruited at academic institutions.

“One, he understands the mission of the University of Notre Dame, but he also recruited at Lehigh. He also recruited at Siena. Those are strong academic institutions. Siena has a really passionate alumni and fan base. They really support their basketball program. You're getting a guy who’s been in the profession, he's experienced. He's a grinder. He's got a blue-collar mentality about him. I think that will transition really well to what Coach Brey needs from him.”

Ingelsby says Wyche has been involved as a recruiting coordinator, as a defensive coordinator of sorts Siena and with scheduling.

“He's had his hands in a little bit of everything,” says Ingelsby. “I would think he'd be great on the court with the guys from a skill development standpoint. He's seen a lot, he's experienced Big East basketball. He's played overseas. I think he will be a natural on the floor, being able to communicate and teach and coach. I just think he's got a great presence about him, a great poise that will translate really well.”

Wyche seems destined to be a head coach one day.

“I would think so, yeah. He's a hard worker. He's very well-connected. He's a really sharp guy. Obviously, getting that experience at the high-major level will be really beneficial to him and he'll have a chance no doubt about it to be able to lead his own program in the near future.”