Blake Wesley had a moment to himself Friday morning, seated alone, head bowed, at the table inside Riley High School’s gym where he would soon make public his college choice.
Even though Wesley, a four-star, top-100 national recruit, had made up his mind the week before and sent in official documents a couple days earlier, the reality that he was Notre Dame bound manifested itself in a new light. The depth of the phrase “hometown hero” had begun to dawn on him in the hours leading up to his announcement.
The idea of local notoriety for his on-court contributions set in when he and longtime friend JR Konieczny first discussed it shortly after receiving offers from Notre Dame in July 2019. Konieczny, a three-star wing who plays at South Bend’s St. Joseph High School, committed to the Irish three weeks after he was offered. Wesley, a 6-5, 180-pound guard, joined him in the Irish’s 2021 class 15 months later.
“We did that,” Wesley said. “We completed that. It’s crazy.”
His recruitment ended Friday (technically, Wednesday night), but the impact of his decision is just beginning. Wesley fully understood as much in that moment to himself. Becoming the first player from a South Bend public school to sign with Notre Dame basketball since 1985 carries as much significance to his community as it does to the outlook inside Rolfs Hall the next few years.
“To welcome in another local basketball talent is exciting not only to our program, but the South Bend area,” Irish coach Mike Brey said in a statement.
A decision day eve call with former Notre Dame guard and fellow 574-area high school star Demetrius Jackson reminded Wesley of the platform he has now and his own experience on the other side of it. Back when Wesley was in elementary school, he went to a Notre Dame basketball camp, met Jackson afterward and snapped a picture with him that he still has to this day.
As Wesley blossomed into one of the area’s top basketball recruits since Jackson, that interaction and its impact never left him. He considers Jackson a role model. He hopes to be that same presence for those in the same spot he once was.
“It’s the opportunity for people to see Blake and say, ‘I can be that guy, I can be like him,’” said Wesley’s father, Derrick, who played basketball at Ball State from 1984-88. “That’s important for our community. It’s important to have role models like Demetrius Jackson was for him. He has a lot of responsibilities. He has to carry himself because people are watching him. But he’s grounded. He knows what to do.”
Early on, that meant making sure he could have the opportunity by handling himself in the classroom.
“You can’t just be a basketball player,” Wesley said. “You have to be a student-athlete. Freshman year, I didn’t do too well on my grades, so I went to summer school, got those up and now I have a 3.0.”
First, though, Wesley had to decide on Notre Dame and find comfort with the program itself.
Wesley had more than 20 offers, and that day Notre Dame extended its overture was the start of a busy year. Brey and staff watched him at the 2019 NCAA College Basketball Academy in Champaign, Ill. They weren’t alone in being impressed. Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Xavier offered within the same week. Ohio State, Maryland, Texas and Louisville offered during his junior year.
Then COVID-19 threw a wrench into the plans. The NCAA halted in-person recruiting – a rule now in place through April 15, 2021. Visits to the schools a bit further away were no longer an option. Notre Dame, with its pre-existing relationships, having already hosted him for about 10 games last season and seen him play in person, gained an upper hand. In October, Wesley released a final six of Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Creighton and Maryland.
The familiarity with Notre Dame won out and became important in his pandemic-altered recruitment. He had previously scrimmaged with Notre Dame players and built a bond with Irish point guard Prentiss Hubb, his future teammate. They text and talk regularly. Brey and assistant Ryan Humphrey were in contact more than any other coaching staff. It all added up to Wesley feeling the pull to a program he knew better than any other.
Wesley began leaning toward Notre Dame in “maybe August, September”, he said, and the allure of staying home became brighter too. The Wesleys and South Bend are intertwined. Derrick is a Riley graduate. His parents – Blake’s grandparents – still live in the area. Wesley’s mother, Leslie, is on the South Bend School Board.
Wesley has lofty initial goals. He’s angling for ACC Freshman of the Year and an NCAA tournament appearance right away. He’s an athletic guard with explosive ability and a fierce defender, all of which would complement Notre Dame’s crop of returning guards. He will enter a backcourt with senior starters Hubb, Cormac Ryan and Dane Goodwin, an eligible transfer in Trey Wertz and a hopefully heathy Robby Carmody.
Minutes will require work. That has been no problem for Wesley so far. And for someone who understands his status and the magnitude of it, there won’t be a shortage of motivators.
Do it for himself. For his team. And for The Bend.
“People look up to me,” Wesley said. “And that’s a blessing.”
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