Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Recruiting Update Notre Dame's three-man men's basketball recruit- ing class features 6-4, 175-pound shooting guard Rex Pflueger of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, 6-8, 220-pound power forward Elijah Burns of Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy and 6-7, 220-pound small forward Matt Ryan of New Rochelle (N.Y.) Iona Prep. Various members of the Rivals.com network have checked out all three in action over the last month and a half, and have extensive history in watching the trio of players, whether with their high school teams or traveling teams. Here is a breakdown of what they have recently observed. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi spent some time in Southern California and saw Pflueger — who is listed as a four-star recruit and the No. 98 overall player nationally in the class of 2015 — and Mater Dei. "I kind of suspected that getting a chance to play where he was kind of the man offensively would be a good thing for him, and it was," Bossi said. "He is shooting the ball a little bit better than he was last spring and summer. He was a guy that had the reputation as a shooter, but not the shooting percentages to back that up. "He is still very athletic and what I like is that he takes a lot of pride on the defensive end. I really think it is his defense, as long as it translates like any fresh- man, will help get him on the floor quicker. I think he is ready to defend on the ACC level, as much as a freshman can be." Amo Weld, who is a contributor on the Rivals.com network, got to watch Burns play during the holi- days. Blair Academy is also his alma mater. "Burns is severely underrated," Weld said of the three-star prospect who is unranked. "He is an explo- sive athlete with a high motor. He needs to fill out and continue to work on his skills, but he's now able to hit 15-foot jumpers with consistency. "He has great hands, quick for his size and is an above average rebounder. Based on what I've seen from the 2015 crop, I'd put him somewhere in the 75-85 range in the class." Maurice Wingate of NYCHoops.net, which is part of the Rivals.com network, has been watching Ryan — who is rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com — for years. "At the start of the high school season, Matt Ryan was one-dimensional and wasn't the greatest on- the-ball defender," Wingate said. "Even he admitted that he was still recovering from his injury [which required surgery on his hip]. In recent games, Ryan is showing signs of life — more nimble. The small forward is showing diversity in his game. "In early January, Ryan had one of his best games of the season versus a very tough St. Raymond from the Bronx, N.Y. The senior not only knocked down perimeter shots but he scored down low and from midrange. After the game, Ryan said he feels like he's at 90 percent." — Jacey Zembal Rivals.com rates Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy power forward Elijah Burns as a three-star prospect, but some recruiting analysts think he may be underrated. PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBAL