Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 15, 2022 49 BY PATRICK ENGEL The question always had a clear an- swer, but the tone of it grew uneasier as the semester started and the last of some early class of 2023 targets chose other schools. Notre Dame men's basketball will add to its 2023 class this fall, won't it? The Irish hit mid-September with just one commitment. They ended it with three after a deluge of activity. Bixby (Okla.) High three-star guard Parker Friedrichsen picked the Fight- ing Irish Sept. 27, marking the second pledge in a five-day span. "I chose Notre Dame because of the belief the coaching staff had in me and how guards like me fit in their system," Friedrichsen said. "I have a chance to go play in the ACC for a great program, and I get to play for a great staff." The 6-foot-4, 165-pound Friedrich- sen picked Notre Dame over finalists Davidson and Nebraska. He took official visits to each of them, with Notre Dame's coming Aug. 26-28. He had scheduled a visit to Northwestern for Sept. 16-18, but did not make the trip. He also did not make a visit to Rice scheduled for Labor Day weekend. He was originally com- mitted to Oklahoma State, but reopened his recruitment in the spring. "It felt right to me," Friedrichsen said during his announcement. "It's Notre Dame. You get the best of both worlds. You get the education and playing in a big-time conference. Ultimately, I'm go- ing to play for a staff that believes in me." The On3 Consensus ranks Friedrich- sen as the No. 30 shooting guard and No. 123 overall player in the 2023 class. He is a four-star recruit and the No. 104 overall player in the On3 Top 150. Friedrichsen's Notre Dame recruit- ment went from offer to commitment in less than two months. He was just another name on the Irish's poten- tial offer list heading into the July live evaluation periods and emerged as a le- gitimate target afterward. The coaching staff saw him play for his AAU team, KC Run GMC, on the Under Armour circuit in two separate events that month. Notre Dame offered him Aug. 8. As- sociate head coach Anthony Solomon has been his primary recruiter, with head coach Mike Brey also involved. Friedrichsen averaged 27.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.3 steals per game for Bixby during his junior season, per MaxPreps. He shot 46 percent from the field and 34 percent on 3-pointers. "I'm a scoring guard that can play both guard spots," Friedrichsen said. "I can play with or without the ball but I will make shots and make plays for my teammates." Friedrichsen is Notre Dame's third 2023 commitment, joining Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn guard Markus Burton and Studio City (Calif.) Harvard-Westlake three-star wing Brady Dunlap. Burton's July 29 pledge was the first in the class. Dunlap committed Sept. 22 — a few days after his own official visit to Notre Dame. Dunlap is the highest- rated of the trio in the On3 Top 150 at No. 78 overall. None of them were at the top of the board when the summer open recruiting periods began in June. Each impressed to the point of earning a Notre Dame offer in the weeks following the July live evaluation period ended and with other targets heading elsewhere. They'll arrive next summer already having formed a bond. "I know the guys who are commit- ted," Friedrichsen said. "They're super cool. What draws me there is the type of program they have. I want to play in the NCAA Tournament. They have a great track record for doing that. "Coach Brey is a guards' guy. He lets you go, but he's going to coach you." The Irish are still hoping to add to the class this fall. The primary target is South Kent (Conn.) School four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson, who has scheduled an official visit for the week- end of Oct. 29. A New Jersey native, the 6-4, 190-pound Jackson is the No. 25 overall player in the On3 Consensus. Notre Dame offered him in April, fol- lowed him closely during the AAU sea- son and visited his school in September. Friedrichsen, Dunlap and Burton plan to sign their letters of intent in Novem- ber. The first day of the fall signing pe- riod is Nov. 9. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE PARKER FRIEDRICHSEN Oklahoma Guard's Commitment To Irish Ends Busy Stretch Friedrichsen, the nation's No. 104 overall player per On3, averaged 27.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.3 steals per game for Bixby (Okla.) High as a junior. PHOTO COURTESY PARKER FRIEDRICHSEN FILM ANALYSIS "Parker Friedrichsen is a pure shooter and one of the better shooters in the class of 2023. Reads and cuts off the screen as well as any- one. Owns IQ to create time and space for his jumper." — ESPN recruiting analyst and former Division I head coach Paul Biancardi