Offseason Posting, Part V

I don't follow recruiting a lot on this blog, partly because I'm lazy and partly because I don't care too much for the business that has become high school and AAU hoops. However, there is now a Twitter account devoted to following ND's recruiting. Check it out here.

This is perhaps the only possible intelligent use of that site. For anything else, who cares about what so-and-so is doing every second of the day? Very odd and creepy fad.

Offseason Posting, Part III

Eric Atkins commits, our first for 2010. There are bigger fish in the sea, but its nice to know we at least have one point guard lined up.

EDIT: ESPN is much higher than on him that the other two major scouting sites. Their profile on him sounds very positive. Coach Brey really used his Baltimore connections well and grabbed a very solid player. Still waiting to hear back froms guys like McCallum, Irving, and Buie, but Atkins would not be a terrible starting point guard if he ends up being the de facto replacement for Tory Jackson.

Read this for more on what the guy's about. Very mature, a must for a guy who may be expected to start from day one. He'll make a good Domer. If he can gain a litle strength to go with the great quickness and solid defense, he could be a pretty solid player as well.

Irish Out of the Running for Vinson

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/02/bulls-in-final.html

Vinson is now considering Massachusetts, Maryland, Cincinnati and South Florida. Too bad, we could have used a talent like him next year.

Rumors

Vinson could be visiting Sunday. The Irish are listed alongside a host of other schools, most notably Louisville and Wake Forest. Rivals has Georgetown and Maryland in the mix without ND. We'll find out more when he actually takes his visits.

And now that hockey has its plan in place, we can start looking forward to a possible basketball practice facility. The standalone hockey rink means that the North Dome could be converted into basketball-only, but it currently hosts Domer Fest, Junior Parents Weekend, and a host of other festivities. There isn't a convocation center of that size elsewhere on campus (the Stepan Center is small and a bit run-down), meaning the team could be looking for its own standalone practice facility. Either plan would be a few years away, but it is good to know that the ideas are out there and will be in motion once financing is available.

Individual Recruiting and Development Grades

One final post about recruiting and development and I’ll shelve those topics for a little bit. A comment on one of the earlier posts mentioned a lack of defensive development overall. Defensive development is a little tougher to gauge, so the grades in general reflect offensive development.

Jackson- Recruiting- B, Development- B- A four star guy recruited all over in high school, Jackson was brought on to run the offense. Has always dished out a lot of assists, he cut down the turnovers a bit this year. Seemingly improved free throw shooter and starting the develop into a decent scorer with a midrange jumper and the development of his driving ability.

McAlarney- Recruiting- B+, Development- A- Undervalued as a prep, he only received offers from St. John’s, Rutgers, and a couple other middle-of-the pack schools. Came on as a point guard, but has become one of the deadliest shooters in college basketball.

Ayers- Recruiting- B-, Development- C- Maryland and Villanova wanted him even as only a three star recruit. A deadly three point shooter, but hasn’t established much more than that. Can also be inconsistent with his aggressiveness.

Hillesland- Recruiting- C, Development- C- A three star guy who never became dominant in any facet of the game. Adds a lot in a bunch of categories and is a good glue guy, but wouldn’t make the rotation for some other top 15 teams.

Harangody- Recruiting- A, Development- A+- Exhibit A for anyone wishing to make a case that Mike Brey is an excellent recruiter and developer of talent. Indiana, Ohio State, and Purdue wanted him, but he didn’t catch the eye of any other national programs. Big East Player of the Year in his sophomore season. Has outperformed even the wildest expectations.

Zeller- Recruiting- C+, Development- D- A good steal keeping this McDonald’s All-American in his home state, but it should have been known he was never going to be a collegiate post player. We were hoping he would be a 6’11” Luke Harangody but it never worked out. He has improved some in his senior year to contribute in the paint, but much more was expected.

Peoples- Recruiting- C, Development- D- Was brought on to be a backup point guard. Has never developed beyond that original expectation. Not a bad recruit, given what has been asked of him, but he should be able to give 10-15 consistent minutes. It’s hasn’t been happening lately.

Add your thoughts if you’d like. Tomorrow, I’ll move on to different topics.

Recruiting Overview

As mentioned briefly yesterday, a look at the four newest members of the Notre Dame men's basketball team.

Joey Brooks- 6'5" 215 lbs *** SG

Brooks was the first to commit last November. A very athletic Russell Carter-type who can play shooting guard or small forward with the skills to back up the point if needed. He has good size and should beef up just a little more to be able to finish in the paint. Averaged 23 points and 8 rebounds a game last year as a junior at Strake Jesuit (Houston).

Jack Cooley- 6'8" 210 lbs *** PF

Our second commit has been compared to Luke Harangody a lot lately. Smallish for a center, he shows no fear in the post and can score and rebound well. He was also recruited by Illinois and Wisconsin early in the process. Averaged 25 points a game last season for Glenview (northern Chicago).

Mike Broghammer- 6'9" 220 lbs *** PF

Broghammer was not as well recruited as the other three, receiving only one other high major offer (Iowa). Averaged eleven points last season, but the most impressive part of his game is the continuing development of his shot. Has shown a willingness to become a stronger offensive presence and should continue to work on that.

Tom Knight- 6'9" 260 lbs *** PF

The biggest of the frontcourt prospects, Knick picked the Irish over Big East foes Providence and Seton Hall. Brey sounds impressed with his future saying, "The one to watch is really Tom Knight because he may be the late bloomer of the bunch. He is the one we know the least about." At the very least, he is a guy with big body who should be a force down low.

I would rate Cooley and Brooks as the top two pickups in the class. Cooley could be in starter in a couple years upon the departure of Harangody, Abromaitis, and Nash. I would like to see Brooks in person before making a judgment, but it sounds like he brings a good slasher-style that has been lacking a bit since Carter's graduation.

Broghammer and Knight bring depth to the a frontcourt that is a little shallow right now. I don't think either will be able to contribute serious minutes right away, but if one or both can develop into a solid starter I will be very pleased.

Other Notes

Uh-oh. SI Cover Jinx.

Actually, it's nice to see the Irish get some love (6th might be a little high, but any press is good press). I'm also surprised that Harangody was not picked to be the cover boy. Close together bird of prey eyes are not in style this year, apparently.

Recruits are official

More on that tomorrow, but some good analysis of the new guys. Three big men and a wing (though Brooks has played the point before). It will be interesting to see how this class turns out. Taking three guys at similar positions might be overkill, but at least one or two should turn into very solid starters. There might even be a Harangody in the bunch, who knows. I would tab Cooley as the top talent, one of our first two commits who plays a lot like Luke.

Tom Knight Commits

Irish added another man to the recruiting class of 2009, with the commitment of Tom Knight. Knight is a three-star power forward. At 6'8", 245 pounds, he is bigger than classmates Mike Broghammer and Jack Cooley. Hopefully he will turn out to be a good mix of power and athletic ability. You'll notice I don't comment a lot on recruiting, which is mostly due to what a crap shoot this can turn out to be. Nonetheless, good to add another guy to the Notre Dame family.

Also, Brady Quinn gets his first NFL start and looks very impressive (knock on wood) through three quarters. Good luck Brady!