Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME CHARTING THE IRISH IRISH FINDING EARLY SUCCESS IN 2020 With the speeding up of the recruiting process, Notre Dame and other programs are taking advantage by securing commitments from prospects earlier and earlier. During head coach Brian Kelly's first six full cycles (2011-16), the Irish landed eight prospects in that span before February of their junior year. Over the past four class (2017-20), the Irish have already surpassed that number with 13 such commitments, including four in 2020. Kelly and company landed pledges from quarterback Drew Pyne and tight ends Kevin Bauman and Michael Mayer before they even began their respec- tive junior football seasons. The group grew by one Jan. 31 when defensive end Alexander Ehrensberger of Germany joined the class. Ehrensberger 's an- nouncement continued the recent success of Notre Dame landing early commitments and made the group tied for second in that regard under Kelly. Only the 2018 class (five) had more pledges from prospects by February of their junior year. Year Commitments 2018 5 2020 4 2014 4 2017 3 2015 2 Year Commitments 2019 1 2016 1 2013 1 2012 0 2011 0 MOVING? Call us at 1-800-421-7751 Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Alex Lebedev — Tennis The senior from Island Park, N.Y., was named the ACC Player of the Week Feb. 5, following a week that included Irish wins over two top-15 teams. In a victory over No. 12 Vir- ginia Feb. 1, Lebedev took the first set at No. 1 singles, dropped the second, then came back in the third to get the point for Notre Dame. On Feb. 3, Lebedev defeated 89th-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar of No. 14 Texas A&M in straight sets and helped move the Irish to 5-0. The honor is Leb- edev's first of the season and third of his career. Cale Morris — Hockey The junior from Larkspur, Colo., was one of three Irish players to be se- lected to phase one of the Hobey Baker Award's fan ballot. Awarded annually to college hockey's top player, the Hobey Baker Award includes candi- dates exhibiting the exceptional character traits of the award's namesake, Hobey Baker, with consideration given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship. In 2018, Morris won the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goaltender and was named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Jessica Shepard — Basketball The senior from Fremont, Neb., was one of two Irish players to make the Wooden Award late season top 20. After 25 games, Shepard was close to averaging a double- double with 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Shepard's 60.2-percent shooting from the field also has placed among the top 10 this year and she achieved the rare 2,000 career points/1,000 career rebounds milestone. Summer Thorpe — Track and Field The sophomore from Pittsburgh picked up a win at the Meyo Invitational Feb. 2 when she finished the 60-meter hurdle race in first place with a time of 8.38 seconds. Thorpe's personal best in the event is 8.30 seconds, which she set during last season's ACC Championships. Thorpe also competes in the 100-meter hurdles for Notre Dame, where she holds a personal best of 13.69 seconds. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE During Notre Dame's victory at Boston Col- lege Feb. 2, junior guard T.J. Gibbs became the 63rd Irish player to reach the milestone of 1,000 career points. Furthermore, he was the 24th under head coach Mike Brey, whose tenure at the school began with the 2000-01 campaign. The 63 Notre Dame players to reach 1,000 career points broke a tie with Syracuse for the fifth most in men's college basketball annals, behind fellow ACC members North Carolina (76), Louisville (68) and Duke (67), plus Villanova (64), which used to be in the Big East with the Irish. In the 19 seasons under Brey since 2000, the 24 to join the 1,000-point club are the third most in the nation. Notre Dame had been tied with Florida, North Carolina and Villanova with 23 entering the season. A main reason for this is Brey's program is built on four- or even five-year players, which provides a better opportunity to accumulate the point total. Duke has several current freshmen that could easily tally 1,000 points in their careers, but are more likely to be in the NBA next year. As of Feb. 10, here were the top five schools with 1,000-point scorers since 2000-01: 1t. Villanova — 25 1t. North Carolina — 25 3. Notre Dame — 24 4. Florida — 23 5. Duke — 22 Gonzaga, Kansas, Syracuse, Pitt and Michi- gan State all were at 21 as of Feb. 10. Getting To Know … FRESHMAN GUARD PRENTISS HUBB Hometown: "Upper Marlboro, Md." High School: "Gonzaga." Major: "Undeclared." Favorite Food: "Fried chicken." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "JJ's Fish and Chicken." Favorite Movie: "'The Hangover.'" Favorite TV Show: "'The Office' and 'Go- tham.'" Favorite Professional Sports Team: "The Houston Rockets." Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "It's a family. I step on the court every day with my teammates and I feel the love. They trust me and I'm loved by them. The culture around here is re- ally good. Our older guys look after the younger guys, and they also listen to the younger guys if we've got something to say. They're open to criticism, so that's pretty good." Toughest Player You've Played Against: "I guess you could say [Duke freshman] Zion Williamson. I didn't really have to guard him, but he's pretty good." IRISH COMMITS BEFORE FEBRUARY OF JUNIOR YEAR Note: The 2010 class is not included due to Kelly not officially being hired until less than two months before National Sign- ing Day that cycle