Irish Sports Daily

Notre Dame didn’t waste much time after watching Devin Robinson play AAU ball last weekend, offering the 2014 Virginia swingman a scholarship offer last Monday.

“(Notre Dame assistant Anthony) Solomon came by Monday morning,” Christchurch School head coach Ben Thompson said. “The coaches saw him last weekend at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest.

“They came in and said they were extending a scholarship to him and want him to be part of the program. Devin’s excited and everybody’s excited.”

No college coach saw Austin Torres play more than Mike Brey as the Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach, in an attempt to land Torres’ summer teammate Demetrius Jackson, hitched his recruiting schedule to that of Torres and Jackson’s AAU program.

“I saw Austin play 18 times because I saw Demetrius play 18 times this summer,” said Brey.

So other coaches around the country found themselves calling Brey to inquire about the 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward from Mishawaka’s Penn High School.

Point guard Demetrius Jackson may be the headline recruit of Notre Dame's 2013 recruiting class, but it was V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, who got the group off to a great start when they offered commitments within weeks in the fall of 2011.

Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey had no problem comparing the pair to former players during his signing day teleconference on Wednesday.

Brey sees the 6-foot-6 Beachem, from Fort Wayne, Ind., as a more athletic version of a former Notre Dame starter.

“He’s a Ryan Ayers who can put it on the floor,” said Brey. “He’s got that body type, but he plays above the rim too. I love the poise and pace that he plays with. He plays with such a calm pace.

Mike Brey has never spent more time recruiting a player than the Notre Dame men’s basketball coach spent recruiting Demetrius Jackson, that’s how important the local point guard was to the Irish’s 2013 recruiting haul.

“He was on the radar a long time,” Brey said of the 6-foot-2 guard from nearby Mishawaka, Ind.

“That was a key one for us. A lot of work went into that one. We’re thrilled to have him, thrilled that he decided to stay home. I always felt we were in pretty darn good position with him. We maintained a great patience with him through the process. I think he’s going to give us a great shot in the arm, certainly in this community with what he brings.”