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.
Lalumiere has a better athletics department than Penn? i know i left the Midwest decades ago but that seems absurd.
LaLumiere definitely has a better basketball program than Penn. They’ve had some dudes come through there recently – Isaiah Stewart, Jaden Ivey (both now w/ Pistons), Jaren Jackson Jr. (w/ Grizzlies), Jordan Poole (Warriors)
Huh, unless the subject was lacrosse i never would’ve guessed that
He’s just way too small. This is a total Brey move; settling for a guy who in a best case scenario have ended up at Boston College. If he’s ever a starter for ND then we’re in major trouble; I don’t see any scenario where he can guard other ACC PG’s. But hey, that’s Brey. Try to score and ignore defense altogether. Hope I’m wrong here, but this sure seems like another classic Brey signing, where he knows he’s failed to properly fill out a roster so takes anybody he can get.
Brey likely has 6 roster spots to fill. He’s in on a couple of combo guards and will have issue landing at least one transfer guard with 2-3 years eligibility. Worst case Burton ends up a loyal bench/practice player. In terms of height Burton is similar to Tory Jackson and is a better shooter.
No issue landing
Being a better shooter than a guy who shot 40% isn’t doing a lot to impress me.
Tory Jackson was a starting point guard for 4 seasons and 3 of those teams made it to the NCAAT. IMO he was head and shoulders better than the mediocre Hubb. TJ made others on the team better. IMO he was also a more a valuable player than TJ Gibbs who shot under 40% for his 4 years. I realize Hubb is not the best comparison, but Jackson had nearly double the career steals as Hubb.
It was a total Brey move to settle for Matt Farrell too and he was a Bonzie ankle injury away from helping lead us an ACC title.
It’s one player, and one that brings a dynamic we don’t have nearly enough of, which is a quick first step and tenacity to get to the rim. Maybe he’s more of a bench guy. That’s fine. He’s still very useful and seems like a no brainer program guy to bring in. Not to mention his incredible rise over just the last few months (e.g., making the EYBL all-KC regional team in a tournament against literally the best teams and players in the country) makes him a good bet to keep developing into a really strong player.
Just seems really harsh and honestly kinda an outdated criticism of Brey given his last couple years of HS/transfer recruiting (which has been very, very strong).
I don’t think it’s outdated at all. ND is going to lose a bunch of players (possibly including Starling) after next season, but this guy who is extremely small and who has an underwhelming offer list is the first commitment.
This is just how it’s always been with Brey. He’s way too inconsistent and leaves these gaping holes on the roster over and over again. I’m sick of the same issues and wish we could find a HC who had even 30 or 40 percent of the energy for recruiting that Freeman does.
He’s the first commitment because he lives nearby and loves the school. I don’t understand being upset about that. Would it be ok if he was the third commit? They’re obviously recruiting more guys and most of them much harder and longer than they have been Burton. No one is counting on him to be some linchpin to this class or program savior. Just a good player to take a chance on and has the attitude they’re looking for.
And, honestly, a large percentage of programs every year have major roster turnover. It’s just part of the sport now, especially when you have potential NBA decisions to navigate (which I think is a good thing!). Brey is not an outlier here. If anything, he has maintained better continuity and consistency in his roster management year-to-year than most.
Brey’s roster management has only had low turnover because he failed to recruit a single player in 2019. If you have no concern that you’re going to get passed over for playing time for better players, you have no need to transfer. Most ACC programs wouldn’t have had to start a senior PG shooting 36%. But Brey didn’t recruit anybody to push for Hubb’s starting job.
Right now ND does not seem in a good spot for any other 2023 recruit. Estrella and Power are pushing 5 star status and at it’s debatable if ND is top 5 for either (maybe Power). The only hopes with either is Estrella is friends with Campbell and Brey promised Power he would be on the perimeter. Beyond those 2, there is SF Curtis Williams from Michigan and 2-3 combo guards (Rice, Jones & Jackson). IMO Brey is banking on the transfer portal for 1-2 starters and bench depth. I could easily see him taking on 3 (a grad transfer, have to wonder if Chris Ledlum from Harvard will want to play his 5th on a bigger stage- ND was recruiting him hard and he went to the same prep school as Lasz) and 2 others with 2-3 years of eligibility. I can easily see 2022 Illinois 4 stars Jaden Schutt & Braden Huff being recruited over at Duke/Gonzaga and some mid-major guys who are starters or key bench guys.