Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1116961
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2019 45 MEN'S BASKETBALL TERRANCE WILLIAMS 6-6 • 210 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga R I VA L S R A N K I N G S: Four-star talent, and the No. 25 small forward and No. 98 overall recruit in the land THE SKINNY: The former prep team- mate of Fighting Irish sophomore point guard Prentiss Hubb took an official visit to Notre Dame May 3, and has also been to Virginia and Stanford. Williams told Blue & Gold Illustrated that Brey compared his game to 2014-18 Irish star Bonzie Colson. His final two officials could be South Carolina and DePaul. "I want to make a decision before my high school season … maybe around June or July," he said. JAMAL MASHBURN JR. 6-0 • 180 Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy RIVALS RANKINGS: Four-star prospect, and the No. 24 shooting guard and No. 108 overall player nationally T H E S K I N N Y: Mashburn Jr. — the son of the 1990-93 Kentucky star by the same name who was the No. 4 overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft and played 12 years in the league — noted this winter that Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Harvard and Notre Dame were the "main five" schools recruiting him the most. JAKOBE COLES 6-7 • 225 Denton (Texas) Guyer RIVALS RANKINGS: Three-star recruit, and the No. 21 power forward and No. 121 overall prospect in the country THE SKINNY: Coles reportedly is plan- ning to take an official visit to Notre Dame and is discussing potential dates with the staff. Colorado, TCU, SMU, Tulsa and North Texas have also offered Coles. DONOVAN JOHNSON 6-7 • 175 Coraopolis (Pa.) Moon RIVALS RANKINGS: Three-star talent, and the No. 36 small forward and No. 124 overall player in the nation THE SKINNY: Brey made an offer re- cently, joining schools such as Ari- zona, Miami, Ohio State and Xavier, among others. He is the younger brother of Cameron Johnson, who averaged 16.9 points per game as a fifth-year senior at North Carolina while earning All-ACC honors. TREY GALLOWAY 6-3, 180 The Culver (Ind.) Academies RIVALS RANKINGS: Three-star prospect and the No. 35 shooting guard in the land T H E S K I N N Y: Starred for the state runner-up team that defeated Jaden Ivey's Mishawaka Marian outfit in an earlier round. Along with Ivey and Dickinson, he was among the first offers. In-state schools Butler, Indiana and Purdue, along with Iowa, are among the programs in pursuit. ✦ Mike Brey and the Irish will be looking to load up in the 2020 class after not signing a single 2019 recruit. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN JUSTIN PIERCE SELECTS NORTH CAROLINA Notre Dame's most coveted graduate trans- fer in the 2019-20 market, 6-7, 202-pound Jus- tin Pierce from William & Mary, chose North Carolina May 2 after having also officially vis- ited Notre Dame (April 12-14) and Michigan. The multi-dimensional Pierce averaged 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the Tribe last season, and was viewed as the ideal fit for the Irish lineup in place of D.J. Harvey, who has transferred to Vanderbilt. Also visiting the same weekend as Pierce was Oakland University freshman transfer Braden Norris, a 6-0, 180-pound point guard. He was one of six freshmen in the nation to be ranked among the NCAA's top 25 in assist-to- turnover ratio (plus-2.75), while averaging 8.4 points, 5.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He also shot an exceptional 48.6 percent (67 of 138) from three-point range. Norris reportedly was never offered by Notre Dame and eventually opted for Loyola Chicago, which had a Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018. ACC GOES TO 20-GAME CONFERENCE SCHEDULE The 2019-20 campaign will be the first in the 15-team ACC men's basketball that will feature a 20-game league season. Notre Dame will open its league slate at traditional super- power North Carolina on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The game will be one of four on the Nov. 5-6 telecasts on the new ACC Network. Notre Dame posted a 3-15 ledger in the conference that tied it for last place with Pitts- burgh. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels tied Virginia for the regular-season conference title with both finishing 16-2. The 20-game league slate this coming sea- son — with dates to be announced later — features 12 games with six opponents that are home and home, four games at home only, and four that will be played only on the road. Repeat Home and Home: In addition to Bos- ton College and Georgia Tech, which are Notre Dame's ACC "rivals," the Fighting Irish will also play Florida State, North Carolina, Syracuse and Wake Forest twice each. Home Only: Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. Away Only: Clemson, Duke, North Carolina State and Virginia. — Lou Somogyi