It's finally official.

The Class of 2005 Notre Dame men's basketball recruiting class is in the bag, and head coach Mike Brey is free at last to mention the three future Domers' names. Forwards Jemere Hendrix and Jordan Cornette and point guard Chris Thomas all signed national letters of intent Wednesday to attend Notre Dame beginning next fall.

"We're thrilled that all three of the players will be attending Notre Dame next fall," Brey said. "These three players give us athletic ability and speed, something that we need for the future."

Under NCAA regulations, Brey was not permitted to name the players until they signed their letters of intent Wednesday, although all three had previously given verbal commitments.

"It helps now that they're official, to develop the relationship even further," Brey said.

Thomas, an Indianapolis native, is considered the top high school senior basketball player in Indiana this year, and is a strong candidate to win Mr. Basketball for the state. He selected Notre Dame over Indiana. The 6-foot-1, 165-pounder's decision to sign with the Irish is a recruiting coup for Notre Dame, which usually loses out to in-state foes Indiana and Duke for top recruits.

Thomas's Pike High School team has tallied a 65-12 record in his three seasons. As a junior, Thomas averaged 24.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.5 steals. He also captured second-team all-state honors.

"With the graduation of Martin Ingelsby at point guard after this season," Brey said, "there is going to be every opportunity for Chris to come in and contribute immediately. He's an exceptional and gifted player with tremendous skills."

Notre Dame's second recruit, the 6-foot-9, 200-pound Cornette, helped St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati take home its first-ever Ohio state crown in 2000. He averaged 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots as a junior.

"He has tremendous defensive instincts and a great feel for the game," Brey said. "He's a good perimeter player who handles the ball very well."

Cornette has risen drastically in the recruiting rankings, growing eight inches since his freshman year and bulking up his frame. His performance with his AAU team also won acclaim. Cornette picked Notre Dame over Michigan State, Ohio State, Xavier and Dayton.

Thomas and Cornette's AAU teams met this summer in the semifinals of the 120-team AAU national tournament in Orlando, Fla., this July. Cornette's squad knocked Thomas's team out of the tournament to advance to the championships, where it lost. Both players rank among the nation's top 50.

Both Thomas and Cornette committed to Notre Dame last spring when Matt Doherty was still the head coach for the Irish. In July, when Brey took over at the helm for the Irish, one of his first moves was to keep the two recruits in the fold. He was hampered by NCAA rules that prohibited him from calling the players more than once a week.

"You're only allowed one phone call a week, and the institution had made the call that Tuesday," Brey said, who was hired Friday, July 14th. "I'm sure they were waiting to hear from me Friday, but I couldn't call until Sunday."

Brey felt confident that the two would stick with their plans to play for the Irish.

"I would have been really shocked if they didn't stay with us," Brey said. "Fits for Notre Dame are going to be fits for Notre Dame, no matter who's coaching. The top high school kids with grades are the top high school kids with grades."

The third recruit, Hendrix, was a late development for Notre Dame.

Hendrix, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound power forward from Covington, Ga., made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame in October, surprising many. Even current Irish players did not even know Hendrix was considering Notre Dame at the time of his commitment.

In early September, Brey began to look at Hendrix to fill the spot that opened up after Mike Monserez transferred to Butler. Brey saw the senior play at the Charlie Weber Tournament in September, and was immediately struck by his potential.

"After watching him that weekend, we were all over that," Brey said. "It wasn't evaluation anymore. We wanted him, and a lot of people had the same attitude as us after that weekend."

Hendrix selected the Irish over schools such as Georgia, Memphis, Xavier, Georgia Tech and Clemson. He picked Notre Dame without ever having visited the campus.

As a junior, Hendrix put up 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game for East Side High School, which advanced to his first-ever playoff appearance. Hendrix also set a single-game mark last year for rebounds with 28.

"Jemere is a player who is only going to get better and improve with each season," Brey said. "He has a great frame and body for the game and is a skilled defensive player."

Now that Brey can sit back and relax about this year's batch of recruits, he will turn his attention to the current season and the Class of 2006.

"We've got to have a heck of a class," Brey said. "We need four good players when you look at what we're losing. You do have playing time to sell when you have four starters graduating. Certainly top high school players are looking for that right away."

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