Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 19, 2022 49 MEN'S BASKETBALL BY PATRICK ENGEL T he two-word phrase Mike Brey used to describe the process of assembling Notre Dame men's basketball's 2023 class sounds, on its surface, like a jab. It's an admis- sion that the ideal outcomes and grand visions when first stacking the 2023 re- cruiting board did not materialize. "We've had a lot of 'recovery recruit- ing' at times where you chase a horse and you maybe don't get him, but you come back around," Brey said. Indeed, the three-man class Notre Dame signed Nov. 9 did not contain anybody who had been a top priority for more than a year or was among the Irish's first 2023 offers. Neither Bixby (Okla.) High guard Parker Friedrichsen, Studio City (Calif.) Harvard Westlake wing Brady Dunlap or Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn guard Markus Burton had a Notre Dame offer before late July. But that does not mean the yield was fruitless or a failure. In the end, Brey signed a class that has three players ranked among the top 155 of the 2023 On3 Consensus ratings, which is an equally weighted average of the four ma- jor recruiting services, including On3. Not bad for coming back around. The early misses are part of this class' story, but the ability to rebound ensured the Irish never snowballed into disaster or a November signing day with one or zero players. A No. 45 ranking (seventh best in the ACC) isn't where the Irish thought they'd be, but it's a range where they have previously thrived. "This was a really good example, even though all those kids can really play for us and were on our radar," Brey said. Friedrichsen is the highest ranked of the three in the On3 Consensus, check- ing in at No. 116 overall. Dunlap is 148th and Burton 155th. In On3's own rankings, Dunlap is the No. 77 overall prospect, with Friedrichsen behind him at No. 111. Burton is the No. 25 point guard. This trio wasn't top of mind when Brey and his staff took some big swings earlier in the cycle that came up empty in the summer. Forwards Xavier Booker and TJ Power — each a top-25 overall prospect — were Notre Dame's first two official visitors in the 2023 class when they came to campus in June. By mid-July, though, those two started trending in another direction. Booker, a five-star prospect, selected Michigan State. Power did not include Notre Dame in his final group and picked Duke. The Irish couldn't gain enough traction with some spring offers to get them on of- ficial visits in that June time frame. This was the class to think big and aim high. It would be the group that helps replace a quintet of fifth-year players. Notre Dame moved on Burton, Fried- richsen and Dunlap within a few weeks of the July live evaluation periods end- ing. The assistants watched all three with a closer eye then. Before, they were names on a list. By the final live period July 20-24, they were priorities. Burton reported his offer on social media July 26. He committed three days later, choosing the Irish over several mid-major options. "You give a lot of credit to your staff on that," Brey said. "Where I may not be as plugged into those other guys, [my assistants] are. Then you make a quick turn, and they turn me loose on it. You're able to move." Burton's offer list is light for an ACC signee, but Brey wasn't interested pass- ing on a recruit who plays 8 miles from campus and risking him turning into a star elsewhere. He was compelled when he saw Burton score 35 points against reigning Class 4A state champion In- dianapolis Cathedral (Booker's team) in a June live period game. July viewings gave him the final push to offer. Friedrichsen, a former Oklahoma State commit, chose Notre Dame over David- son and Nebraska. Dunlap picked the Irish over Nebraska, Colorado and San Diego State. Neither is anywhere near the usual East Coast footprint where Brey has focused most of his recruiting efforts. The Irish have lived in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with some dips into Flor- ida and dabbling in the home state. But those three were among the recruits the assistants had identified and brought to him when Notre Dame needed to flip to recovery mode. Brey trusted their eyes, saw for himself and gave the all-clear on offers. His first two stops in the Septem- ber recruiting period were Friedrichsen's and Dunlap's schools. Both were commit- ted by the end of September. The recovery was fast. The bulk of it is done, but not all of it. Notre Dame still does not have a for- ward in the class and will lose gradu- ate student Nate Laszewski after the season. Booker would have filled that void. Instead, the Irish will see what the spring recruiting period brings. A plunge into the transfer portal remains the most likely route to solving the frontcourt need. "I almost feel like with how young we could end up being, with the three coming and what we're losing, do we go find an old guy in the por- tal to keep us a little older, or two?" Brey said. "We have the scholarships." ✦ Notre Dame Signs Three Top-155 Players Mike Brey and Notre Dame signed the seventh- best class in the ACC. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS CLASS OF 2023 NOTRE DAME SIGNEES Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Markus Burton G 5-10 170 Mishawaka, Ind. (Penn) 3 Stars, No. 25 point guard nationally per On3 Brady Dunlap F 6-7 180 Studio City, Calif. (Harvard Westlake) 4 Stars, No. 16 small forward and No. 77 overall player nationally per On3 Parker Friedrichsen G 6-4 165 Bixby, Okla. (Bixby) 4 Stars, No. 28 shooting guard and No. 111 overall player nationally per On3