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Notre Dame Basketball: Brey’s recruiting efforts are paying dividends

By Mychal Hunter

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Mike Brey of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey is making in roads with some of the best recruits in the country, but when will he break through?

Coach Mike Brey and Notre Dame basketball will host the top backcourt prospect in the 2019 class (my opinion) in Cole Anthony on an unofficial visit this coming weekend. The Fighting Irish were recently named to Anthony’s final 12.

Coach Brey has been flirting with the talents that typically belong to the Duke’s and Kentucky’s all during the 2018-19 recruiting cycle. While his mantra of “get old stay old” is a staple of the Irish program, is Brey changing his philosophy?

In a word, no.

“Get old stay old” is a philosophy that works for Notre Dame Basketball. The one and done model only works for two programs and the Duke model has come under public scrutiny lately for pushing players through their program in favor of greener pastures.

Coach Brey’s success on the court is simply paying dividends on the recruiting trail. A solid staff and solid player development have led to solid recruiting.

While the recent shunning by Isaiah Stewart was heartbreaking, Notre Dame fans cannot deny that recruiting has seen an uptick lately. Recent visits by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Zeke Nnaji and now Anthony’s impending visit certaintly point to that.

But when will Brey actually break through?

JRE is almost assuredly headed to Kansas while Stewart and Cole will almost certainly land at blue bloods. Nnaji is picking up interest from the factories as well, earning a Kentucky offer just the other day.

The answer? Who knows and who cares.

Notre Dame doesn’t need to actually land these players to be a major college basketball program and continually being on these players final lists is great for the program and future recruiting. They need to land the right players — guys who will excel in the Brey system.

Robinson-Earl would be a tremendous get, but Tre Mitchell is also great and a perfect fit. Cole Anthony is a game-changing guard who could replace Temple Gibbs if he were to leave early, but so could Dane Goodwin as a sophmore.

Point being, while Coach Brey and Irish fans may covet these five-star guys, they covet wins even more. As long as Coach continues to bring in guys that fit his system perfectly, the wins will continue to pile up.

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When Brey does land one of these blue chip talents — and he will at some point — Notre Dame will immediately become an elite 8 team due to a continually solid roster/foundation.