Notre Dame coach Mike Brey to honor legendary basketball scout Monday

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey will honor high school basketball scout Tom Konchalski at Monday night’s game against No. 9 Duke, he announced on Twitter. Konchalski died in February of 2021 after a two-year battle with metastatic cancer. He was 74.

Mike Brey will use a marker board bearing the basketball scout’s name name to draw up plays for the game, which is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET.

Honoring the great Tom Konchalski tonight by pulling out the marker board with his name on it.

Amazing to think of all the players that got noticed and earned an opportunity to play the game because of Tom’s hard work pic.twitter.com/ZtYV07GYfY

— Mike Brey (@NDMikeBrey) January 31, 2022

Konchalski has spent the past 43 years evaluating college basketball prospects for the High School Basketball Insider Report. He wrote the report and mailed it out 16 times a year to more than 200 college coaches who subscribed to it. It served as both a scouting report and a ranking of players.

Carrying a yellow notepad, Konchalski earned the nickname “The Glider” because of his ability to slip into gyms unnoticed. He also reportedly never owned a cell phone. His evaluations of prospects include future stars such as Jamal Mashburn, Penny Hardaway and Kenny Anderson.

“Tom just tried to help everybody,” Iona College coach Rick Pitino told the New York Post. “He was just a very humble, kind, special man. … If you asked him about a player, he would give you the mother, father, nephew, nieces, he would know every single person in the family, and he would know the connections, what you would have to do to get the kid.”

The Monday night meeting between Notre Dame and Duke is a big game for both teams. The Blue Devils and Fighting Irish are currently tied for second place in the ACC, each a half-game behind Miami. The winner of the contest will move into a tie for first place with the Hurricanes.

Notre Dame is on a bit of a hot streak, having won 10 of its past 11 games and four straight. The Fighting Irish are led in scoring by guards Dane Goodwin and Blake Wesley, who combine for more than 30 points per game.