It is quite well-documented that it has been a minute since Notre Dame hoops has landed a commitment from a high school recruit. That unfortunate streak came to an end over the weekend, as local standout J.R. Konieczny pledged his commitment to the Irish.

Konieczny, now a junior at nearby St. Joseph High School in South Bend, will join the Irish as a freshman in 2021. His recruitment really started to heat up after an absurd sophomore season in which he scored nearly 24 points per game for the Indians. The Irish offered a few weeks ago, joining the likes of Butler, Creighton, and Iowa on his offer list. Indiana, Ohio State, and Purdue were also recruiting him heavily.

With such a quick trigger following the offer, it was clear that the hometown school was always the one to beat for Konieczny. This is a remarkably early commitment. So early, in fact, that it preempted commitments from any 2020 prospects that are hopefully – hopefully – just around the corner for Mike Brey’s program.

For now, I’m sure Brey and company are more than happy to celebrate the commitment of one of the best players in the state of Indiana’s absolutely loaded 2021 class.

Rankings

It’s clearly too early for most 2021 rankings, so Konieczny is yet-to-be-ranked outside of 247, which has him as a three-star player and 129th overall in the country.

Highlights

There is a real Abromaitis feel to this kid. Very quiet stroke. Consistent as can be, including off the dribble. Gets his shot off quickly but in rhythm. Everything you’d like to see in a shooter. Really soft touch. Surprisingly good ball-handler, good enough to serve him well in his likely off-ball role in college. He’s just really smooth and compact, a natural player.

You hope the frame can hold another 20-30 pounds over the next few years because he is rail-thin. The athleticism is good but it takes a lot of effort from him to get up. Again, he’s just so young, it’s easy to project him getting to “average” in that department. Earns high praise for his defense but most of what we’re able to see is off-ball, free safety type of stuff you see of the best high school players. That doesn’t necessarily translate to being a good college defender, so it’d be nice to see some tough on-ball match-ups over the next two years.

Impact

Two years is practically an eternity in college sports, so it’s hard to really know what the roster will look like in 2021. The Irish definitely need more 3-and-D type players in the coming years, so Konieczny’s commitment is definitely a welcome one. His high school coach praises his being essentially a guard in a taller body, which like I said should serve him and the Irish really well. He’s such a well-rounded player that you just feel good about him fitting into the offense and finding his role.

I suspect that role is mostly off-the-ball as a shooter with just enough ability to keep defenses honest with the ball in his hands. There’s no secret at this point. Mike Brey runs a guard-driven offense, and wings need to space the floor and make defenses pay from outside. More than anything else, that is what this offense needs from the 3/4 position. You feel good about Konieczny being able to do that, perhaps even with a very lofty ceiling near Abromaitis’ sophomore and junior years.

I’m very curious to see how he develops physically and what kind of defender he emerges as over the next couple years. If those areas start to project well, you’re looking pretty safely at a formidable 3-and-D wing in Notre Dame’s future. I’d say they could use one of those.