Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BASKETBALL RECRUITING BY JORDAN WELLS N o college recruitment story is the same — and Notre Dame's 2015‑16 fall signing class is a testament to that. West Orange (N.J.) Seton Hall Prep point guard Temple Gibbs Jr. was strongly recruited by the staff for months, with heavy program resources ded‑ icated to following his games with the New Jersey Playaz on Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League circuit in April. On the other hand, Altamonte Springs (Fla.) Lake Brantley forward John Mooney and Mono (Ontario) Orangeville Prep wing Nikola Djogo both wrapped up their re‑ cruitments with the Irish in a matter of a few weeks. "I tell people we try to make recruiting this exact science, but it's so far from it," head coach Mike Brey said. "T.J. was a guy we worked long and hard on, and it paid off in the spring. "John Mooney, we didn't know who he was until August when Billy Dono‑ van called me, and said his dad was re‑ ally reaching out to us. We recruited him for three weeks and we got him. "Nik was another great story. It's a great example of you can recruit a guy for two years, get him, and he turns out not to be a good player. You can recruit a guy for two years, get him, and he's a really good player. And you can re‑ cruit a guy for three weeks, get him, and he becomes better than all the above. Again it gets back to it's an inex‑ act science, and you're living day to day in re‑ cruiting." The headliner of the class is Gibbs Jr., a four‑ star point guard that chose Notre Dame over offers from Oklahoma, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh, among many others. The 6‑3, 185‑pound senior is the younger brother of Ashton Gibbs — a first‑ team All Big‑East guard at Pittsburgh in 2010‑11 — and guard Sterling Gibbs, who picked up second‑team All‑Big East honors in 2014‑15 at Seton Hall be‑ fore transferring to UConn. Gibbs Jr., who is ranked as the No. 64 overall player nationally Rivals, aver‑ aged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while leading Seton Hall Prep to a 25‑2 record during his junior campaign. "He has good strength and a nose for the ball," Brey said. "I love his tough‑ ness. When you're the youngest of those Irish Announce Three Fall Signees West Orange (N.J.) Seton Hall Prep point guard Temple Gibbs Jr., the No. 64 overall player in the nation according to Rivals, picked Notre Dame over Oklahoma, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh, among others. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS