Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/904117
52 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI T he addition of 6-7 post player Chris Doherty to the 2018 Notre Dame recruiting class finalized what could be Mike Brey's best recruiting haul in his 18 seasons as the head coach. The four who already had signed a week earlier were ranked among Rivals' top 106 nationally: 6-9 for- ward Nate Laszewski (No. 70) from Northfield, Mass.; 6-2 point guard Prentiss Hubb (No. 84) from Wash- ington, D.C.; 6-6 guard Robby Car- mody (No. 87) from Mars, Pa.; and 6-4 guard Dane Goodwin (No. 106) from Upper Arlington, Ohio. That is not including the addition of 6-11 Connecticut transfer Juwan Durham, who can start playing in 2018-19. Durham was listed as the No. 47 player in the class of 2016, despite having torn his ACL twice. Notre Dame realistically will not vie for top-25 caliber prospects who have an eye toward the NBA after one or two seasons. Prospects ranked in the 80 to 150 range usually are more the standard fare for the Irish. Examples from the past three years include first-round selection Jerian Grant (No. 105 prep player nation- ally), second-round choice Pat Con- naughton (No. 128), Zach Auguste (No. 97), Steve Vasturia (No. 108), V.J. Beachem (No. 86) and current junior Rex Pflueger (No. 83). All-American and senior Bonzie Colson just did make that top 150 cut (No. 145). Every now and then a Demetrius Jackson (No. 38) comes along, and he also grew up near the campus. Here's our Elite Eight Irish classes over the past 50 years based on three factors: impact/production, balance, and depth that requires at least three major contributors. The current seniors with Colson, guard Matt Farrell and center Marti- nas Geben could be in this group at the end of this season. 1. Kelly Tripucka, Orlando Woolridge, Tracy Jackson, Stan Wilcox and Gil Salinas — 1977 Woolridge, Tripucka and Jackson were taken with the Nos. 6, 12 and 25 picks in the 1981 NBA Draft, re- spectively. Notre Dame will never again land one class with three play- ers taken among the top 25. Tripucka is overdue to be in Notre Dame's Ring of Honor, and Jackson was on the first McDonald's All- America team selected in 1977. Wool- ridge was the "sleeper" who became one of the most dynamic athletes ever to don the Irish jersey. As freshmen, they helped the Irish to their lone Final Four in 1978, fol- lowed by an Elite Eight appearance. In their four years they never fell lower than No. 14 in the Associated Press poll. Wilcox is the current director of athletics at Florida State. He and the 6-11 Salinas supplied quality depth. 2. Austin Carr, Collis Jones, Sid Catlett, Jackie Meehan and John Pleick — 1967 This quintet helped usher in the glory years from 1968-81, and a ma- jor selling point was the sparkling new Athletic & Convocation Center that was to open in 1968 — their first year of college eligibility. Carr posted the second highest ca- reer scoring average (34.6 points per game) in NCAA history (behind only Pete Maravich) while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor and becoming the No. 1 overall selection in the 1971 Draft. Jones, who averaged 20.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game his last two seasons, was the No. 17 selection in the draft, while the third Washing- ton, D.C., product — Catlett — was picked No. 55. All five started as seniors, high- lighted by the 89-82 upset of No. 1 UCLA, and they were regulars in the top 15 their last two seasons. 3. Adrian Dantley, Bill "Apple" Paterno, Toby Knight, Ray "Dice" Martin and Dave Kuzmicz — 1973 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Dantley trails only Carr as the great- est ever to suit up for the Irish in the modern era. He averaged 18.3 points per game as a freshman for the 1973- 74 unit that finished the regular sea- son 24-2 and ranked No. 2. ELITE EIGHT The top Irish men's basketball recruiting classes of the past 50 years Kelly Tripucka (44), Orlando Woolridge (32) and Tracy Jackson formed the freshman core of Notre Dame's lone Final Four team in 1978, and each was taken among the top 25 picks of the 1981 Draft. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS