Irish Sports Daily

Eric Katenda gave himself more than a week after taking three official visits before making his decision and he needed every bit of that time as he didn’t arrive at a final decision until Tuesday.

“I really didn’t know where I was going to go last night,” the 6-foot-9 senior forward from Wichita, Kan. (Sunrise Christian Academy) said.

By Tuesday afternoon, he his mind was made up and he signed with Notre Dame over Wake Forest.

“After I looked at all of the different situations, I just thought that Notre Dame would be a better fit for me and my future,” Katenda said. “I’ll just get more exposure. Coach (Mike) Brey is a great coach and he’s been winning pretty much his whole career. I’ll get to play in the Big East, which is one of the best leagues in the nation, and I’ll get to play in Madison Square Garden.”

Katenda said coming to a final decision was difficult. He took official visits to Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Iowa over the last few weeks and toyed with visiting a fourth ‘mystery school,’ but never did.

Iowa faded after the visits, leaving the Irish and the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest offered an opportunity for early playing time, but in the end Katenda felt more comfortable with Notre Dame.

“It was a relief, but I really felt strongly about Wake Forest too,” he said.

Katenda has been compared to current Irish forward Carleton Scott and will get a chance to learn from Scott - provided Scott doesn’t leave his name in the NBA Draft - along with other Irish veterans. Katenda said the Irish coaches were looking forward to adding him to the roster.

“They told me they were really excited and can’t wait to get me on campus,” he said.

The 6-foot-9, 212-pound France native began his high school career at Connecticut’s Cheshire Academy before transferring to Sunrise this season.

He averaged 21 points a game as a senior and joins Massachusetts guard Patrick Connaughton in the Irish’s 2011 recruiting class. Connaughton signed with the Irish during the early signing period back in November. On Monday, the Irish added 6-foot-10 center Garrick Sherman, who is transferring from Michigan State.