Sean O’Mara had the chance to get a close look at the Notre Dame basketball program and the passion of the Irish fan base as the 2014 power forward/center prospect from Illinois visited South Bend this past weekend.
“It was good,” said the Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) standout, who is a legit 6-foot-9.
“We had a good time. I watched them practice and then got a little tour of the facilities and watched the game.”
O’Mara currently has offers from Illinois, Marquette, DePaul, Xavier, La Salle, Iowa State, Saint Louis, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Boston College among others. He liked what he saw from the Irish’s practice session.
“It was good,” he said. “They definitely love to use their bigs, which is definitely a really good thing for me. They use them throughout all different parts of the offense. They move them out, they move them back in. It’s a really good system.”
He also enjoyed his tour of the basketball facilities.
“It was all really good,” he said. “I’d seen them once or twice before when I’d been through there, but it was really nice to get in the locker room and see all of that and see what they’re doing with the parts they’re building and adding.”
O’Mara was shown around by Irish assistant Martin Ingelsby and spent time with head coach Mike Brey.
“I got to talk with both of them quite a bit,” he said. “(Brey) was really interested and he’s excited to come out and watch me play during the basketball season. He said it would probably be at the Proviso West Tournament, so hopefully I’ll see him there.
“(Ingelsby) was cool. He basically took me throughout the entire thing. He was with us at the tailgate and sat right next to me during the game, so it was a good time.”
O’Mara had a great time watching the Irish football team earn an overtime victory over the Cardinal.
“That was crazy,” he said. “That’s the way to get a goal line stand. I don’t think you could have got much closer than Stanford did.”
The atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium was one of the highlights for sure.
“It was great through the whole game,” said O’Mara. “I was right next to the student section and they were going crazy. It was unbelievable.”
O’Mara would love to have the opportunity to see what the atmosphere is like inside the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center for an Irish hoops game.
“Absolutely,” he said. “They invited me back later. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to go because of my season, but they definitely want me back, so that’s a good thing.”
The Irish are still evaluating O’Mara, but it certainly sounds like they will be under major consideration if they decide to offer.
“I think I’d be a great fit, but I’ve got to keep working and make sure they think it would be a good fit both ways.”
The recruiting calendar allows high school basketball players to sign National Letters of Intent twice during the year. Other dates to watch out for:
