Colin Falls knew Notre Dame was the place for him when the student section chanted his name at a basketball game last season. Omari Isreal trusted the word of his coach, who just happened to be an Irish legend, by picking Notre Dame.

Both players verbally committed to Notre Dame several months ago, but after formally signing their letters-of-intent Wednesday, the Irish already have next season's freshman class in the fold days before the Irish play their first regular-season game of the 2002 season.

"It's evident with the cycle of recruiting now and how early kids are making commitments that this seemed like this happened a year ago," Irish coach Mike Brey said. "It's kind of a formality with these guys, and certainly we're very excited to have both of them join us."

Brey expects the two players, both ranked in the top 20 nationally in their positions by Rivals.com, will fill the holes left by the graduation of Matt Carroll, Dan Miller and Jere Macura in the spring.

He compared the 6-foot-4 guard Falls to Carroll, an outside shooter who can also create his own shots off the dribble. The 6-foot-7 forward Isreal resembles Irish sophomore Jordan Cornette with his rangy defensive skills and his ability to play on the perimeter.

Thanks to NCAA recruiting rules changes, the very nature of college basketball recruiting has changed so dramatically that Irish coaches have already shifted their focus to high school juniors, who will comprise the class of 2008. While Brey didn't rule out the possibility of adding a senior prospect or a college transfer — Notre Dame has only 11 scholarship players on the roster next season — he said the Irish were already looking ahead to next year.

"I never remember signing day anymore," Brey said, "because kids make commitments way before the signing day. But our clock moved up with juniors being able to take official visits.

With the signings, the Irish opened a pair of recruiting pipelines that have long lain dormant.

Falls, who lives just outside of Chicago, played on the same AAU team as current Irish freshman Rick Cornett and is the second straight Irish player to come from the Chicago area.

Meanwhile, Isreal is the most recent Irish recruit to come from the Washington, D.C., area, following in the footsteps of legendary Irish players Austin Carr and Adrian Dantley.

"I know in the past Notre Dame has gotten a lot of players from D.C.," Isreal said. "I'm happy that I can be one of the first players. Hopefully, I'll start a trend."

It seems fitting that Dantley coached Isreal since he was 11 years old and advised the forward during the recruitment process.

Isreal has many more connections to Notre Dame and Brey. The recruit and the coach both come from Rockville, Md., and during the recruitment process, Brey and Isreal were both very familiar with the popular spots in town.

And at Our Lady of Good Counsell High School, Isreal's verbal commitment brought waves of congratulations from classmates also hoping to attend Notre Dame.

Unlike Isreal, Falls grew up a big-time Duke fan. But as he started searching for colleges, he grew increasingly attracted to Notre Dame.

When Falls took an official visit to the campus last winter to watch the Irish play, he immediately felt a connection with the team. He also noticed he had a good chance of getting playing time right off the bat since Notre Dame's top shooting guards will have graduated.

But one of the coolest aspects of the trip was hearing the student section chant Fall's name.

"That student section, having 5,000 people chanting your name, that was pretty exciting," he said. "The enthusiasm that the student body shows is impressive."

Watching Chris Thomas' success last season and hearing about Torin Francis' potential contributions this year emboldened the pair into thinking that they too can have a chance to play early. Falls could potentially come in as a shooting guard to replace Carroll while Isreal said coaches have pegged him as a potential replacement to Dan Miller at small forward.

And both players are anxious to come in and make an impact.

"I'm going to come in and play hard, but I'm not one of those types of players who cares a lot about starting as a freshman," Isreal said. "I know I'll have to pay my dues."

"When I come in, Torrian is a wing, but other than that, there's no other wings," Falls said. "I have to come in thinking I can play. If I don't, we'll be in trouble. I hope I can come in and fit in and get playing."

• Irish sign pair to letters-of-intent
  
• Martin steers the Irish ship as captain
  
• Brey remains open to all possibilities