I think everyone is excited for the college hoops season to kick off in the next couple of weeks. But before the fun begins, Mike Brey and his Fighting Irish received a commitment Friday from Blake Wesley, an outstanding prospect from their own backyard.

Blake Wesley, a 6’4″ shooting guard at Riley High School in South Bend, finally committed to the Irish after a years-long recruitment with a few twists and turns. Wesley chose the Irish over his other finalists Creighton, Kansas State, Maryland, Purdue, and Xavier. Wesley joins fellow local star J.R. Konieczny in the 2021 Irish class.

Wesley’s recruitment has been an interesting one. For a long time, it appeared to be a neck-and-neck Purdue-Notre Dame battle. Earlier this year, however, his stock jumped in a big way. Programs like Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, and Texas entered the fray. This would perhaps be a much bigger challenge for Brey than the local connection may have initially made it seem.

But over the summer, the momentum stalled, with less basketball to evaluate and some questions emerging regarding Wesley. As one example, Wesley gave an interview in which he openly criticized Indiana’s offense under Archie Miller. It was odd (and pretty funny). But shortly after, it became clear that underlying this were some serious questions about his fit at the next level.

In the end, reports suggest that many of these schools had all but dropped their recruitment of Wesley. There is almost certainly some “you can’t fire me, I quit” going on here, as the tea leaves suggested he was a Notre Dame lean for awhile. But it’s a concern for sure, especially some reporting that Notre Dame may have had some cold feet at one point.

In the end, Notre Dame wins out, earning a talented if mercurial prospect and potential building block for the future. And let’s not discount the South Bend angle here, a two-man class from the area to really jolt local excitement around the program into the future.

Rankings

247: 4 star – 113th overall – 26th ranked SG

Rivals: 4 star – 96th overall – 22nd ranked SG

247 Composite: 4 star – 113th overall – 28th ranked SG

Highlights

His size and length just jump out at you. Effortless athleticism as well, certainly will be one of the best athletes on the roster from day one. Easy to envision him being able to defend pretty much any position at the college level.

Really excels getting downhill to the rim. Great handles, impressive burst, and uses his body and athleticism well to finish around the rim. Pretty mesmerizing in the fastbreak, too. Just overall fearless while remaining under control. Sees the floor really well and sets up teammates with some great looks.

Biggest concern by far is his shooting stroke. Even in these highlight packages, his release is really inconsistent and often shoots across his body. Honestly looks worse in catch-and-shoot situations than off-the-dribble. Has a rep for being a streaky shooter and easy to see why. Absolutely needs to smooth out these issues if he is going to reach his potential in South Bend.

Also, the shorts. Throwback to say the least.

Impact

There is some sentiment out there that Blake Wesley is, or at least could be, the top player out of Indiana in this class, despite two clearly higher-ranked top 50 players that are Purdue-bound. The length and athleticism combined with such great playmaking ability; there’s not a program in the country that couldn’t use more of what Wesley brings to the table. But questions abound, certainly about his consistency as a scorer, but seemingly more about his attitude and expectations to walk in as “the guy” at the next level.

It was these types of questions (and, well, a pandemic that limited the amount of basketball being played) that stalled the considerable momentum of Wesley’s recruiting rise earlier this year. He’s a classic high ceiling, low floor prospect, one that Brey needed to remain committed to even though reports suggested some uncertainty as to whether he would.

Let’s be clear. It’s very easy to envision an upperclassman Blake Wesley as not only Notre Dame’s best player but also one of the best guards in the ACC. There is nothing physically holding him back. And he will have the opportunity to really shine in Mike Brey’s free-flowing, guard-driven offense. If Wesley can remain patient in his development, and refine that shooting stroke, Notre Dame fans should be truly excited for what he can become in a couple of years. He’s just that talented.

But it will be interesting to see how this unfolds early on, as Wesley will walk into a very full backcourt situation. Prentiss Hubb, Dane Goodwin, Cormac Ryan, and Trey Wertz will likely be ahead of him on the depth chart in 2021, with Ryan and Wertz the likely starting backcourt into 2022. Will the typically gradual development of Mike Brey guards sit well with Wesley? Can he remain patient playing only sparingly as a freshman with a possible-but-not-guaranteed starting spot available in his sophomore year?

Even with these questions, it is important to note that nobody in college basketball knows Wesley better than Mike Brey. He has been recruiting Wesley and his family for years now. Brey is very particular about program fit, so if this wasn’t going to work, he’d have a better sense than anyone. Today, I’m sure he’s just excited to have landed a very talented player from his own backyard to pair with another very talented, already-signed player from his own backyard (Konieczny). This is a good day for the future of Notre Dame hoops, no doubt about it.