With the 2013 recruiting class now officially complete with the additions of Demetrius Jackson and Austin Torres, the Notre Dame men’s basketball program is turning its attention to underclassmen.
The Irish will be hosting 2014 Illinois power forward/center Sean O’Mara this weekend.
“I’ve been talking to them for about a year and a half now on and off, but I’ve never been up for a visit,” the 6-foot-9 post player from Benet Academy in Lisle, Ill., said.
“I was supposed to visit last year, but some scheduling didn’t work out. Now they want me back up for a game this year, so I’m looking forward to that.”
O’Mara is already well into double-digits in scholarship offers including offers from Illinois, Marquette, DePaul, Xavier, La Salle, Iowa State, Saint Louis, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Boston College among others.
“Before the summer I only had one offer and it all just kind of blew up over the summer,” O’Mara said. “It’s definitely exciting to see all of that pay off, but at the same time I’ve got to sort through it and see what places might be a good fit for me.”
College coaches like O’Mara’s post game and he continues to work on becoming a complete player.
“What I’ve heard is that my back to the basket game is pretty good,” he said. “I’m working on extending my range and being able to do more from even farther out than the high post.”
Notre Dame is still in the evaluation stage, but O’Mara has had plenty of contact with the Irish staff and he knows a lot about the program.
“I talk to all of them,” he said. “I’ve talked to Coach (Mike) Brey a lot.
“The program is great, especially with them moving to the ACC. The coaches speak for themselves, the way their record has been going and with the players they get. It’s definitely an exciting program that I’m looking forward to getting out to see.”
O’Mara is excited about getting the chance to watch Notre Dame’s football game against Stanford on Saturday.
He’s been on the road plenty and has an idea of what he’s looking for in a school.
“I’ve had a bunch of visits to schools that have offered me to see what I like and what I don’t like,” said O’Mara. “The academics are first. From there it will be the style of play and the relationship I’ve built with the coaches.”
But he doesn’t have any favorites at this point.
“I haven’t had a bad visit yet. I don’t really have a list or anything and I’m not looking to cut it down anytime soon. Everybody is on an even playing field.”
The recruiting calendar allows high school basketball players to sign National Letters of Intent twice during the year. Other dates to watch out for:
