Notre Dame Basketball Nuggets: June 2019

Introducing Notre Dame Basketball Nuggets to our fans

Here at Slap the Sign, we are starting to dive deeper into the Notre Dame basketball recruiting scene. Moving forward, we want to make a presence in the recruiting and transfer portal world — especially considering the transfer portal is the new hot talking point in men’s college hoops.

The 2019-2020 season is inching closer and closer, but Notre Dame Men’s basketball has sort of been on the back burner coming off two disappointing seasons. However, there is plenty going on and a lot to discuss.

Durham and Goodwin Go Abroad

Red-shirt junior Juwan Durham and rising sophomore Dane Goodwin had the opportunity earlier this month to travel to Greece and represent USA Basketball. Both players are poised to play significant roles for Notre Dame this upcoming season and the experience overseas will certainly help.

In three games, the USA squad went a perfect 3-0 with Durham and Goodwin playing solid minutes and key roles in victories. In Game 1, both scored seven points against Greek Amyntas (a professional team in Greece). In Game 2, Durham didn’t do much on offense but was a present on defense with 2 blocks. Goodwin would pick up the slack offensively with 11 points.

In the last game of the tour, the USA squad faced off against the Greek U-19 National Team, and it proved to be the stiffest competition while there. This was the Juwan Durham game, as he went off for 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 blocks — including a game winning block.

Stanford Transfer Set to Visit

Many Irish fans will remember former Milton Academy Shooting Guard, Cormac Ryan. He was a top target for Mike Brey and the staff in 2018 but opted to sign with Stanford over offers from Florida, Michigan, Villanova and of course Notre Dame.

Ryan will make his way to South Bend for an official visit this Monday and Tuesday according to Rivals, which seemingly puts Notre Dame in his top five schools. As a freshman guard in Palo Alto, averaged 8.7 points and started 17 games for the Cardinal. However, those numbers dipped as the season went on, and that might have triggered a want/need for a change of scenery. Known as one of the best shooters in the 2018 class, he would fit in nicely in Mike Brey’s system. Ryan is also considering Butler, Davidson, Gonzaga, Marquette, Northwestern, Penn, Texas, Villanova, Virginia and Yale according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. 

After missing out on a few grad and regular transfers earlier this off-season, Ryan would be an awesome get as a former top 75 recruit.

Notre Dame Offers First 2021 Prospect

On June 15th, Division 1 coaches could start contacting 2021 recruits. Reports have surfaced on which kids Notre Dame has reached out to thus far. Several names have popped up, but so far only one offer has been publicly announced.

6’3″ guard Devin Askew from Mater Dei (California) is a top 20 player in the nation according to 247sports.com and already has many of the top programs nationally all over him. The last time Notre Dame pulled a kid from California was Rex Pflueger — also out of Mater Dei — so there is some familiarity with the program.

Other prospects Notre Dame has reportedly reached out to include: 6’8″ PF Caleb Furst, Blackhawk Christian School (Indiana), 6’1″ PG Kennedy Chandler, Briarcrest Christian (Tennessee) and 6’7″ SF John Camden, Archbishop John Carroll (Pennsylvania).

All are currently ranked in the top 100 for the 2021 class.

Updated 2020 Targets List

These are the names we are hearing the most about for 2020, which looks to hopefully be a fairly large class after not taking anyone in 2019. Look for more offers to be extended and more names to emerge soon.

7’2″ C Hunter Dickinson, DeMatha Catholic (Maryland)

6’7″ SF Donovan Johnson, Moon Area (Pennsylvania)

6’3″ CG D.J. Steward, Whitney Young (Illinois)

6’6″ SF/PF Terrance Williams, Gonzaga Prep (Washington D.C.)

6’0″ CG Jamal Mashburn Jr., Brewster Academy (New Hampshire)

6’5″ SG Trey Galloway, The Culver Academies (Indiana)

We’ll keep you up to date on all the offseason happenings around Notre Dame basketball throughout the year.