Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said Wednesday on Chicago sports radio that he expects freshman Blake Wesley to test the NBA waters but keep the option open of returning to Notre Dame for a sophomore season in 2022-23.
Brey also told hosts Mike Mulligan and David Haugh on the Mully & Haugh Show (670, The Score) that he expects senior Nate Laszewski, who has a fifth-year option to return, to do the same as Wesley.
“I had a great meeting with (Wesley’s) family last night, went over to the house in South Bend,” Brey said. “He will test the waters but keep his eligibility and keep the option to come back. So basically, you’re on a two-month evaluation process, because June 1 is the date he would have to return if he comes back.”
Wesley told ESPN that he plans to stay in the NBA Draft, which will be held June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“They are going into this very level-headed,” Brey said of the Wesley family. “He is a great story, how he’s emerged from kind of no one knew him to a potential first-round top 20 pick. And, as I told the family last night, if he does what I think he can do in these workouts and he’s a first-round lottery pick and he chooses to go, I will lead the parade out of town.
“The only thing I said was, ‘I better have a seat in the green room at the table.’ That’s my role, as much as I want to coach him again.”
Wesley led the Irish (24-11) in scoring (14.4 ppg) and steals (44) this past season. He shot .404 from the field and .303 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard averaged 3.7 rebounds.
The 6-10, 235-pound Laszewski averaged 9.3 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting .514 from the field and .456 from the arc.
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