As this year's Notre Dame squad will continue its quest for a national title this weekend, coach Mike Brey and his staff received some help Thursday in reloading for the future in the form of a verbal commitment.
Tom Knight, a 6-foot-9 forward from Dixfield, Maine, gave Brey his commitment late Wednesday night, according to Scout.com.
Knight is the fourth verbal commitment for Notre Dame in the class of 2009. He joins guard Joey Brooks and forwards Jack Cooley and Mike Broghammer. All four will sign their letters-of-intent on Nov. 12.
Knight, Cooley and Broghammer will join the like of forward Luke Harangody, sophomores Tyrone Nash, Carleton Scott and transfer Scott Martin in the front court next year.
Brooks will provide depth in Notre Dame's backcourt, along with transfer Ben Hansbrough, following the graduation of guard Kyle McAlarney this year and Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples in 2010.
But before the recruits can sign, this year's team will play its second exhibition of the season against Stonehill College Sunday at the Joyce Center. Stonehill is located near Boston and is a member of the Northeast-10 conference.
In Notre Dame's first exhibition, the Irish defeated Briar Cliff 103-64 last Friday, but despite the large margin of victory, McAlarney said the Irish could've played better.
"We have to flush that out of our heads," McAlarney said after the game. "We need to go out and play - that's our strength. We didn't do that but it was the first game. We definitely weren't at our best but it's a process and we'll look better."
But one thing the Irish did do right against Briar Cliff was shoot free throws. The Irish shot 18-for-21 from the charity stripe.
Ryan Ayers led the way with 21 points and five rebounds, while Tory Jackson had 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals. McAlarney added 11, while Harangody netted 16 and grabbed 11 rebounds and Luke Zeller had 12 points and six rebounds.
Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
