Film Room: What Trey Wertz Brings To Notre Dame’s Growing Backcourt

As Trey Wertz recalls it, Mike Brey turned off the tape five minutes into watching it and identified Wertz as a “must get.” His mind was made up. Wertz’s game fit Brey’s preferred style of guard play, and the recruitment was off.

Not two weeks later, Wertz — a transfer guard from Santa Clara — announced his commitment to Brey and Notre Dame on April 11. And whether it be this year or in 2021-22, depending on a potential rule change on undergraduate transfers, Wertz will have his chance to show why Brey was captivated at first sight.

Dive into Wertz’s two years at Santa Clara, where he averaged 12.0 points in 64 games, and the signs are already there. What becomes clear in watching some of his games is that Notre Dame landed a sturdy, lengthy lead guard who is at his best as a scorer and playmaker out of ball screen situations, a logical fit for Brey’s offense, and a capable creator off the dribble.

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There is a reason Wertz played 32.5 minutes per game as a freshman and scored 750 points to go with 263 assists in two seasons: He is difficult to contain as a scorer and playmaker. He has six career games with at least 20 points and six others with at least nine assists.

“We did a buddy system on ball screen defense, and we were so concerned about not being able to hard hedge and contain and stay with him,” said one Division I coach who faced Wertz this year. “We knew if we didn’t stay with the dribble at least two slides on hedges that he would pick us apart.”