Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 OCT. 15, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL Brady Dunlap needed less than a month to choose Notre Dame as his col- lege destination after receiving an offer. The Irish added Dunlap to their class of 2023 offer list Aug. 23. The three-star small forward from Studio City (Calif.) Harvard-Westlake committed Sept. 22, a few days after taking an official visit to campus. Dunlap didn't become a serious target until August. Once Notre Dame offered, though, neither side wasted much time making its interest clear. The official visit sealed his decision. "I chose Notre Dame mainly because of the whole atmosphere and the vibe of the entire campus and players," Dunlap said. "The players were my speed and my type of guys. I love the whole coaching staff." Dunlap is the No. 150 overall player in the 2023 On3 Consensus. On3, though, ranks him as a four-star recruit and the No. 78 overall player nationally. He chose the Irish over San Diego State and Colorado. He visited San Diego State in September and had a trip scheduled to Colorado, but did not take it. Dunlap became the second member of Notre Dame's 2023 class when he committed, joining Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn guard Markus Burton. The Irish have since added Bixby (Okla.) High three-star guard Parker Friedrichsen. N o t re D a m e o f f e re d t h e 6 -7, 180-pound Dunlap about a month af- ter the final July live evaluation period ended. He quickly reciprocated inter- est by including the Irish in his top six Sept. 8 and setting an official visit. His other finalists were Nebraska, Rice, Col- orado, San Diego State and Providence. Irish head coach Mike Brey and as- sistant Antoni Wyche were his primary recruiters. Those two were important figures in swaying him to Notre Dame on his visit. "Coach Brey connected with me on the official visit, along with Coach Wyche, [assistant] Coach [Hamlet] Tibbs, and [associate head] Coach [An- thony] Solomon," Dunlap said. "They were all great to me. The education part is big for me as well, as well as the net- working and connections I can have. "It's all extremely important and played a huge role in my decision." Dunlap averaged 16.0 points, 2.4 re- bounds, and 2.0 assists per game over five outings for Strive For Greatness (CA) on the Nike EYBL Circuit this summer. The team is sponsored by LeB- ron James, and Dunlap played alongside James' oldest son, Bronny. He played for Vegas Elite — also an EYBL team — during the spring AAU season and averaged 10.5 points, 2.9 re- bounds and 2.9 assists in eight games, shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 42.4 percent on 3-pointers. "I'm going to do whatever I can pos- sible to win," Dunlap said. "I'll be a shooter, a knock-down guy, and can get a bucket when we need it." A strong junior season at Harvard- Westlake preceded Dunlap's spring and summer breakout. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, earning first-team All-California Interscholastic Federation open divi- sion honors. Dunlap is the son of longtime Divi- sion I men's basketball assistant coach Jeff Dunlap. He moved to Southern Cali- fornia in 2018, when his father was hired as an assistant coach at Cal State North- ridge (he is no longer on staff there). Jeff Dunlap's coaching career also in- cluded a stint at North Carolina State from 2011-17. He had prior Division I stops at Western Michigan, Loyola Chi- cago, Georgia and Cal State Fullerton. "I grew up in the ACC with my dad coaching at NC State," Dunlap said. "Being able to play in that league is a dream come true." Before Dunlap, Notre Dame had not landed a player from a California high school since guard Rex Pflueger out of Santa Ana Mater Dei in the 2015 cycle. Pflueger stands as the only Californian to play for Brey at Notre Dame in 22 seasons. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE BRADY DUNLAP Notre Dame Moves Fast On California Forward Dunlap, a four-star talent and the nation's No. 78 overall player in the 2023 class per On3, is Notre Dame's first pledge from California since guard Rex Pflueger in 2015. PHOTO COURTESY BRADY DUNLAP FILM ANALYSIS "Brady Dunlap is a bucket. I continue to be impressed with his improvement and scoring ability. [His] scoring prowess is evident, but does not hunt shots. Ball mover and assist maker, too. Reads the floor well." — ESPN analyst and for - mer Division I head coach Paul Biancardi