Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/954261
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2018 51 MEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITING Hubb's ranking would likely be higher had he been able to compete and showcase his progression. Hubb is expected to be ready for next season and likely this summer when Notre Dame travels to the Ba- hamas for its foreign tour. Farrell's departure leaves an open- ing for Hubb to potentially serve as the primary ball handler off the bench. The expectation is that current sopho- more T.J. Gibbs will take over the start- ing job at point guard next season. "The blessing is he's not this freak athlete who relied on that athleticism to defeat his opponents," Evans said in regards to Hubb's injury. "Instead, he was a very high-IQ guard, who can make shots, be a playmaker, fa- cilitate and defend. With the right patience and strength and condition- ing program, I don't see him coming in behind the eight ball. "It will take some hard work to get there, but he's a guy who can do a lot in the backcourt." DANE GOODWIN Shooting Guard • Upper Arlington (Ohio) High Stats: 23.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game (through March 11). Though Goodwin's stats dropped a little from his junior year totals of 25.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, he was still named Ohio's Ga- torade Player of the Year after nearly averaging a double-double for the second straight year. He also was named the Ohio Car- dinal Conference Central Division Player of the Year, helping his team to an Ohio Division I district cham- pionship appearance. Goodwin, like Carmody, will add toughness to that group along with a high basketball IQ (he's the son of a college coach). The Ohioan is consid- ered a better three-point shooter than Carmody, which could be valuable for an Irish bench that wasn't always productive during the 2017-18 season. "I've heard he's become better as a ball handler," Evans stated. "People think he's just a knock-down shooter. He's a good shooter, but I think he's a better athlete and playmaker, which kind of goes under the radar. "He's starting to fill out a little more. I see a guy who can really do a lot of the small things, but also an underrated playmaker, athlete, who can make shots." CHRIS DOHERTY Power Forward • Marlborough (Mass.) High Senior Stats: 19.5 points per game (through March 11). The last member of the 2018 class, Doherty upped his junior season av- erage of 16.0 points to nearly 20.0 through early March while leading his team to a Central Mass Division II championship appearance. Doherty has been described as a blue-collar player by Brey and is ex- pected to add frontcourt rebounding presence to the class while playing with the edge and toughness the Irish head coach likes with his post players. Rebounding, physicality and energy will be major parts of Doherty's game once he hits the court in South Bend. Doherty would allow Notre Dame to create an all-freshman starting five with the group that sticks to the "four around one" system the Irish implement at times. "I suspect he's someone who will come in and bust his tail and be a four-year glue guy," Evans said. "Kind of in the mold of an Austin Torres. I think he's going to be a blue- collar workhorse where he could play two minutes one game and then 12 or 15 minutes the next. "It's all about that blue-collar mantra." CLASS OUTLOOK The Irish landed Laszewski over two blue bloods and Hubb over Maryland, while nabbing two top-100 guards in Carmody and Goodwin, and a hard-nosed forward in Doherty. Brey and his staff needed quality and quantity with this group, and they accomplished their goal, replen- ishing the talent and depth for next season's roster. Looking ahead, the perimeter may be a little crowded next year with Gibbs, junior guard Rex Pflueger, freshman wing D.J. Harvey and soph- omore guard Nik Djogo all in the mix. Hubb will get a look because of his point guard skills and mental- ity. Carmody and Goodwin will get their minutes based off their ability to provide scoring offensively and toughness defensively. Laszewski's size and shooting abil- ity will put him in a position to find early playing time. He can be the scoring threat off the bench the Irish missed at times this season with Har- vey's injury. Doherty could be in line for the five-year plan much like Djogo to al- low his body to continue to develop. But his energy and toughness on the glass and defensively could lead to a few minutes of court action per game in the same mold as Torres. Six contributors return for next sea- son, and will be joined by Connecticut 6-11 transfer Juwan Durham, leaving an opportunity for the incoming fresh- man class to see the court early. Brey noted he believes the 2018 class could be the best of his time in South Bend, and the group will get a chance to prove him right in his as- sessment in 2018-19. "I still remain very high on Notre Dame's class," Evans said. "We haven't seen a Mike Brey rely this heavily on underclassmen in a while. The first few weeks of next year may be a little difficult, but in the long run I still think it can be one of the most winning classes in school his- tory from top to bottom. "You have four guys in Robby, Prentiss, Dane and Nate that will likely produce from day one. It can be one that fits Coach Brey does, but also has the talent, versatility and two-way abilities that should make each of them integral cogs within the system they have there." ✦ Mars (Pa.) High shooting guard Robby Carmody was named Pennsylvania's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN