Detroit Catholic Central senior basketball star T. J. Nadeau, a versatile Catholic League vet and upside special with few equals in the D’s Class of ’24, committed to play his college hoops at the University of Detroit-Mercy this week, deciding to stay home to help new Titans coach Mark Montgomery, an esteemed CHSL backcourt alum himself, build the UDM back to respectability and prominence off 6 Mile Road.
The crafty and hard-working Nadeau (6-5) was a four-year starter at the hallowed Catholic Central cage program. He pumped in 22 points per night this past winter, leading CC to a district championship. When he was a sophomore, he helped take the Shamrocks on a run into the state quarterfinals.
Montgomery comes to Calihan Hall from an assistant position at his alma mater Michigan State. As a prepster, he crafted a legacy for himself as an all-time CHSL point-guard great playing for now-closed Southgate Aquinas in the 1980s. MSU wanted Nadeau as a preferred walk-on. So did USC and Arkansas. Bowling Green and Saginaw Valley State both offered him full rides. Buoyed by his previous head-coaching experience at Northern Illinois, Montgomery developed a strong relationship with Nadeau throughout the recruiting process and Nadeau jumped at the chance to join him in the UDM Titans resurrection effort at historic Calihan Hall in Northwest Detroit.