The local pipeline continues for Mike Brey and his Irish hoops program, as Markus Burton committed to Notre Dame on Friday afternoon. Burton was offered earlier in the week on a visit to campus and wasted no time in declaring for the school he has “always wanted to play for“.

Not bad for a kid who hadn’t received a college offer of any kind until earlier this year (local D3 program Bethel College). Burton’s offer list may not look like much. But his recruitment was just barely getting started when he decided to shut it all down.

Burton is in the midst of a big summer with his Mac Irvin Fire AAU team, impressing on the Nike EYBL circuit with some of the biggest college coaches watching. This is on the heels of a sensational junior season at local Penn High School, as he averaged 27 points and nearly 6 assists per game. After almost literally no college recruitment to speak of, Burton had finally secured offers earlier this year from the likes of Drake, IPFW, Miami (OH), and UIC, and was starting to hear from high-major coaches in the Midwest, Notre Dame included of course.

But Burton clearly felt a calling to his hometown school, having already built a connection to former Irish guards Demetrius Jackson and Blake Wesley and current wing JR Konieczny. That said, some may see this as a bit of a gamble for Notre Dame, with Burton still off-the-radar on most of the main recruiting services. It will be interesting to see where his rankings go in the coming months after the major AAU circuit and with Burton apparently considering transferring to the much higher profile LaLumiere School. Either way, I am sure Brey will be more than happy to take Burton off the market and kickstart his class of 2023 recruiting class with a much-needed lead guard.

Rankings

247: 3 star – 151st overall – 21st ranked PG

ESPN: NR

Rivals: NR

247 Composite: NR

Highlights

Dynamic scorer: Clear first option is to get to the rim and score. Notre Dame needs more of that. Very clever with his body around the rim to score through size. Compact handle, under control, allows him to adjust on the fly. Changes direction really well. Quick, smooth shooting stroke off the dribble.

Small frame: Undersized around 5’10” and pretty thin. Seems to have decently long arms for his size. Even at this stage can’t just physically dominate opponents. Flip side is that this has forced him to develop his skill level and decision-making.

Chip on his shoulder: Clearly plays with an edge and attitude in a very, very good way. Fearless and confident without really going overboard. Tenacious getting to the rim. Strong enough to play through contact. In the Matt Farrell/Tory Jackson mold.

Impact

Notre Dame enters the 2022-2023 season with a LOT of experience on the roster. In other words, a LOT of players will be gone after this season, most notably the six grad schoolers. This doesn’t even factor in a potential JJ Starling NBA decision or the dreaded transfer portal. Brey clearly has some work to do to fill out the future roster, but welcome to modern college hoops. That’s every team, every year these days.

But even with that said, the future backcourt is (maybe) JJ and…that’s it. There will almost certainly be more from the 2023 class and some portal additions to start to fill things out. But having Burton, a local guard with some moxie to take charge in this backcourt to some degree is reassuring. I made the Matt Farrell comparison above, someone who I truly loved watching play. I have pretty high hopes that Burton can be a similar player, with a fiery attitude and ability to get downhill despite his size.

And I’m intrigued by a potential Starling-Burton backcourt pairing, if Starling stays another year. Both look like very well-rounded players who are sure-handed, can score at multiple levels, and play with a chip on their shoulder. With or without Sterling, while the size concerns are obviously going to be there, this is an exciting addition for the Irish. I think Burton has serious fan favorite potential if he can continue the trajectory that his junior year has put him on.