Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 8, 2018 47 MEN'S BASKETBALL BY COREY BODDEN F ollowing a strong performance at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) event in Indianapolis this April, Woodstock (Conn.) Acad- emy 2019 power forward Tre Mitch- ell picked up an offer from Mike Brey and Notre Dame. Brey and his staff watched the Ri- vals100 prospect multiple times dur- ing the three-day stretch and liked enough of what they saw to add the emerging power forward to the tar- get board. "I was excited when I got it," Mitchell said of the offer this sum- mer. "They are a school that I am looking at. The program has a good history and I know coach Mike Brey has a pretty good history, too. It's a good college academically, so it would set me up. "I've seen [them play on TV] a little bit. I've kept an eye for sure … Coach Brey has been telling me about the opportunity that I could have coming to his school and that it would be a good fit for me." Mitchell — who is rated as a four- star talent, and the No. 17 power for- ward and No. 93 overall player na- tionally by Rivals — took an official visit to Notre Dame during the final weekend of September — the first time he has made it to South Bend. Notre Dame's use of frontcourt players within their offense is in- triguing to the 6-9, 250-pounder. "I love it," Mitchell stated. "They are always a college that takes versa- tile bigs that can do everything. It's definitely a program that I like." Heading into the last weekend in September, Mitchell's offer list in- cluded, among others, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas State, Minnesota, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Xavier. Frontcourt continues to be the pri- ority for the Irish staff in the 2019 class that has only two available scholarships. Mitchell appears to be Notre Dame's top target and will be treated as such moving forward. "Mitchell has made impressive strides both in his game and his body in recent months," Rivals national an- alyst Corey Evans said this summer. "He has lost more than 30 pounds and has tightened up his frame by putting on strength … Mitchell has moved up some, but I still worry that we have him too low. "He is not Jared Sullinger, but he does have similar dimensions to the former Ohio State great. Whether it is scoring in the low post with an ar- ray of post-up moves, extending the defense with the perimeter jumper or carving up the defense out of the high post with the accurate pass, Mitchell gets it done in an efficient manner." In 17 games on the Nike EYBL cir- cuit this spring and summer, Mitch- ell averaged 9.9 points and 7.9 re- bounds, per D1circuit.com. WHERE THINGS STAND WITH TOP 2019 PROSPECTS With only two scholarships at their disposal, Brey and the Irish are fo- cused on a set number of prospects. Along with Mitchell in the front- court, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Acad- emy five-star Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is a top target for Notre Dame. The 6-9, 235-pounder took an offi- cial to Notre Dame during the week- end of Sept. 8 and is following it up with others. Through Sept. 29, Robin- son-Earl will have knocked out trips to four of the five schools he is going to visit: Notre Dame, Villanova, North Carolina and Kansas. An Arizona of- ficial is scheduled in October. The Jayhawks and Tar Heels are viewed as the frontrunners for the coveted power forward, who is the No. 10 overall player nationally ac- cording to Rivals. On the wing, Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill five-star point guard Cole Anthony and Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon forward Chris Led- lum seem to be Notre Dame's top targets. Anthony took an official to South Bend during the weekend of Sept. 15 and continues to be quiet about the trip and his recruitment overall. The 6-2, 180-pounder — who is the No. 3 overall prospect nationally per Rivals — narrowed his recruitment down to 12 schools Aug. 27: Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Lou- isville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Wake Forest. Anthony, the son of former UNLV and NBA player Greg Anthony, was expected to officially visit North Car- olina this past weekend. A decision is not likely until the spring, giving the Irish plenty of time to continue push- ing for the five-star. Ledlum, a 6-5, 200-pound forward and Rivals' No. 94 overall prospect nationally, is expected to visit Notre Dame this fall. The Irish should re- main a contender for the 4.0 GPA student-athlete if they continue to push for his services. Boston College, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, St. John's Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and multiple Ivy League programs have offered. The Irish were initially in on Glens Falls (N.Y.) High 2019 product Joe Girard, but the guard doesn't seem to be part of the program's plans enter- ing the fall. ✦ Frontcourt Target Takes Official Visit To Notre Dame Woodstock (Conn.) Academy standout Tre Mitchell — who is listed as a four-star recruit, and the nation's No. 17 power forward and No. 93 overall player by Rivals — was in South Bend the final weekend of September. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN