Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 MAY 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MEN'S BASKETBALL BY COREY BODDEN H ead coach Mike Brey will welcome a talented five-man group to his roster this sum- mer when the 2018 class ar- rives in South Bend. Four prospects ranked in the top 107 nationally by Rivals — Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon forward Nate Laszewski, and guards Robby Car- mody of Mars (Pa.) High, Prentiss Hubb of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga and Dane Goodwin of Upper Arling- ton (Ohio) High — along with three- star Marlborough (Mass.) High for- ward Chris Doherty will join the fold. Their addition will leave the Irish with just one available scholarship to use this spring if they so desire — or they can hold on to it and have two for the 2019 class with guard Rex Pflueger the lone player running out of eligibil- ity. Adding size is the priority. "That we don't have but one or two scholarships, there's not quite the sense of urgency I had in 2018," Brey explained following the team's awards banquet April 9. "We're pretty good on the perimeter. We've got young guards. T.J. Gibbs is still with us and so is D.J. Harvey. "I don't know if we can take a guard, but adding frontline depth would be something we'd look at." Brey isn't sure whether the Irish will use both scholarships or if the one or two they use will go to a high school player. "Maybe a transfer would take our only scholarship this spring," Brey stated. "Would you not rather have a high school kid, then you redshirt someone in the 2018 class? That's something we've thought about. Right now, kind of looking to see if there are any frontline transfer guys. "We don't need any guard trans- fers. … I've really got to invest in D.J. Harvey, Hubb, Carmody and Good- win. We're going to take our lumps … I've got to develop those guys." Only one transfer target has emerged so far: 6-10, 221-pound for- ward Sacha Killeya-Jones, who spent the past two seasons at Kentucky. The sophomore announced April 9 his intentions to finish his college career elsewhere. His former AAU team — Team Felton — announced April 13 that the former Rivals five- star recruit was considering Notre Dame, among many other schools. Killeya-Jones averaged 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 48 games played with the Wildcats. He would sit one year and have two years of playing eligibility left. La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere power forward Isaiah Stewart (6-8, 230) is the top target in the 2019 class, and the five-star prospect would be a monumental get. Rivals rates him the nation's No. 10 overall player. On April 24, Notre Dame offered 6-7, 210-pound forward Malik Hall from Wichita (Kan.) Sunrise Chris- tian Academy. Rivals rates Hall as the No. 49 overall prospect in the country. Glens Falls (N.Y.) High 2019 four- OPTIONS OPEN Mike Brey is looking at all possibilities to fill out his roster in 2018-19 La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere power forward Isaiah Stewart — a five-star talent and the No. 10 overall player nationally according to Rivals — is Notre Dame's top target in the 2019 class. PHOTO COURTESY USA BASKETBALL Seven-foot center Juwan Durham will be eligible in 2018-19 for the Fighting Irish after transfer- ring from Connecticut and sitting out this past season. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN