DETROIT (10/23/2024) -- Calihan Hall is a special place for many people. It is historic and iconic in the community, and legends have played there. 

For Detroit Mercy freshman TJ Nadeau, it was a place for championships. He marked it on his calendar every season in high school, and when the opportunity came to suit up for the Titans, he knew what could be done here.

"Coach Monty was recruiting me at Michigan State, so I was already familiar with him," said Nadeau. I also played Catholic League games here. This is where the Catholic championships are played, and I loved playing here. It was a full circle moment when coach Monty got the job and recruited me to stay. It was pretty unique to me."

Calihan Hall has served as a site for the Catholic League Championships and a part of the Michigan High School Athletic Association championship early rounds sites. People who came to Calihan Hall came to play for a title. 

"It was just a cool environment," said Nadeau. We worked so hard on how to get here and play for the championships, so we held this building to a high standard. Now, practicing and playing here every day is great because I know how hard we had to work to make it to this building."

For Nadeau, Coach Montgomery gave him the opportunity to come to UDM and help change the team's culture and direction. He wanted to be a part of something new, something he helped establish and build. 

"Why wouldn't you want to be part of a culture that you can make, shift, and change? For me, to help create history and change is unique and rather impactful than going to a place where everything is already there. I want to help be a part of a new foundation and culture," said Nadeau. 

Nadeau is known as a hard worker and someone who is out to prove people wrong. His hard work comes from his parents, who played college basketball. 

"My parents both played basketball but never put it on me to play," said Nadeau. "I just naturally went to basketball, and just seeing how successful they were in the basketball world, it always made me want to be as successful and push myself to improve."

In particular, his dad, who overcame a gruesome injury to play college basketball and have a successful career afterward. He had his right hand cut off working in a factory a year before college and had to endure several surgeries after that. 

"It is very motivating just to see what he has accomplished. How he can problem-solve to get things done and play college basketball is very inspirational. It gives you the perspective that you can always get something done if you want to do it and work hard enough," said Nadeau. 

If he didn't need more motivation, Nadeau also plays to show all those who stayed away from him what they missed out on. He knows what he can do and is ready to show all those who doubt him what kind of player he is. 

"I have always had a chip on my shoulder," said Nadeau. "I was heavily recruited coming out of my sophomore year, and then I had an injury, and that sort of pushed me downhill. I had to rebound from that, so the recruiting came to a pause, but coach Monty gave me a chance to come here. There are a lot of people who doubted me, but to come here, I know I can impact the team and put us in the right direction."

Now that he is here, Nadeau continues to grind. Through high school and AAU, he was able to prepare for what the college game is all about, but he also knows that he needs to work harder than he already has. 

"My high school coach played at Notre Dame, so he was huge into bringing those higher-level intense practices to us," said Nadeau. "But, the competition and intensity are so different. Everyone here is pushing each other to a new standard, improving everyone. I like the saying iron sharpens iron, and it is like that here. Everyone is so good and gifted, and everyone has that exceptional ability. We are all striving to improve ourselves, which will make this program better."

As for what the Titan fans expect to see out of Nadeau.

"I am the type of player who can knock down the big three, can just knock down shots in general. I am going to play hard, run, and sprint and be where I need to be. I play hard and hustle for my team and coaches," said Nadeau.