Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Mike Brey Looks To Polish Off 2013 Class BASKETBALL RECRUITING BY WES MORGAN T Dame men's basketball team, one that will follow an impressive 2012 trio in athletic forwards Zach Auguste (New Hampton, N.H.), Cameron Biedscheid (St. Louis) and Austin Burgett (Avon, Ind.). The threesome is expected to contribute right away for Fighting Irish men's basketball head coach Mike Brey. The 2013 class is shaping up to be just as solid. With co-captains Tim Abromaitis he 2013 recruiting class is shaping up to be a solid haul for the Notre For a prep junior, there is no higher honor in Indiana hoops. in October, but the 6-4 shooting guard out of Philadelphia expects some col- lege coaches to be equally committed to changing his mind. That's why the St. Joseph's High product and con- sensus three-star prospect is putting on his blinders entering the summer AAU season as his profile climbs. "Most schools have left me alone," VASTURIA EAGER TO CONTRIBUTE Vasturia committed to Notre Dame and Scott Martin still waiting for a judgment by the NCAA concerning their respective requests for a sixth year of eligibility, the number of avail- able scholarships in 2012 remains to be seen. Only Martin is expected to have a realistic shot at playing an- other season, but the program cleared space with the likely end of junior forward Mike Broghammer's career (knees) and the transfer of sophomore guard Alex Dragicevich. The staff will also continue to evalu- ate freshman forward Eric Katenda, who was permanently blinded in one eye last summer in a pickup game. With verbal commitments from V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, Notre Dame has one opening for sure in 2013, but probably more when every- thing shakes out. With the April open period having passed, here's a look at the prospects the Notre Dame staff tracked and will continue to follow into the summer AAU season. ball season that landed him on the All-Summit Athletics Conference first team, Beachem didn't know what to expect as a junior. Fort Wayne (Ind.) Harding High was closing its doors for good, and he — along with some other classmates — were absorbed by nearby New Haven (Ind.) High. Beachem, a 6-7, 180-pound for- Coming off a sophomore basket- V.J. BEACHEM ADAPTS TO NEW SURROUNDINGS Beachem landed a spot on the Indiana Under- classmen first team and was named to the Indiana Junior All-Stars after averaging 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.6 assists per game as a junior. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS tured player on a merged team, and the Notre Dame commit didn't know how others would react. "I thought we had a pretty good season," said Beachem, who led New Haven to the first round of sectionals and to a 17-4 record and was voted to the Indiana Underclassmen first team. "We fell quite a bit short of our potential in the playoffs. But we had a good season. "It was tough on our team and our pledge to Brey last October, moving from the run-and-gun Summit Athlet- ics Conference to the bump-and-bang style of the Northern Athletic Confer- ence was eye-opening. That didn't stop Beachem, a finesse coaches to jell really two completely different teams together. I'm really proud of our team for our successes." For Beachem, who gave his verbal said Vasturia, who averaged 21.8 points per game last season — which ranked tied for sixth in the state of Pennsylvania. "I anticipate play- ing my AAU season like I normally would, and if people do call me, I'll just tell them how committed I am to Notre Dame. There's no other school that's really important." Vasturia added 9.5 rebounds per game en route to Philadelphia Catho- lic League Most Valuable Player hon- ors. It was his second consecutive year on the All-PCL squad, and he was also voted onto the All-Philadelphia frst team. St. Joseph's finished 21-6, with an exit in the first round of the Class AAAA state tournament. "We were kind of overlooked be- cause we didn't have much size, but we snuck up on some people," he said. It mirrored Notre Dame's season. "A lot of people didn't expect them ward/guard hybrid and four-star prospect according to every major recruiting service, is ranked 70th na- tionally by Scout.com and 81st overall by Rivals.com. He would be the fea- 50 MAY 2012 player who added a lot of strength before embarking on his junior cam- paign. He went on to average 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.6 assists per game and was named to the 2012 Indiana Junior All-Stars on March 22. As one of six core players, the squad will team up with all-stars from the northern and southern part of the state to scrimmage the Indiana All-Stars — a team consisting of the top outgoing seniors — that will take on Kentucky's best in a two-game showdown in June. to do as well as they did," said Vas- turia, who was in the Wells Fargo Arena stands when ND rallied from a 20-point deficit on the road at Villanova for a 74-70 overtime victory Feb. 18. "Watching them game by game, beat- ing Syracuse — there was great coach- ing and the guys really came together. I can't wait to be a part of it. "I'll do anything I'm asked to do. As long as you're winning, that's all that matters." one thing clear, it's that local point guard Demetrius Jackson is its top target. The Mishawaka Marian star isn't making the process a slam dunk for the Irish. If the Notre Dame staff has made DEMETRIUS JACKSON DROOLING OVER BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED