It’s been a crazy week for the college hoops world, but hidden in all that came some great news for Notre Dame hoops, as Nate Laszewski committed to the Irish on Wednesday afternoon. The 6’10” forward from Massachusetts committed to the Irish over conference foes Wake Forest and North Carolina. Laszewski completes a dynamite recruiting class for Irish head coach Mike Brey, a five-man class that could be a future starting lineup.

The Notre Dame coaching staff only recently offered Laszewski in July, when he earned offers from over a dozen high major programs due to his excellent AAU performance. Laszewski led his NE Playaz team to the finals of the adidas Uprising tournament, a major showcase that brought most of the college basketball world to Vegas. Those July offers included the likes of North Carolina, Arizona, Texas , Virginia, and plenty of others. Despite the fairly recent offer, the Irish staff had been recruiting Laszewski longer than most others, and he had been to campus twice before that offer already, so the relationship was already very solid.

Laszewski visited Notre Dame for a third time for the Georgia football weekend along with all three of his fellow 2018 commits and many of Notre Dame’s high-profile recent graduates. That atmosphere must have struck a chord that stuck with him, as he committed to the Irish fresh off a visit to defending national champion North Carolina this past weekend. He cites having the “best relationship” with the Notre Dame coaches of any staff recruiting him and was impressed by how much they talked to and visited him. It legitimately seems like Brey and company simply outworked the competition on this one.

Notre Dame now has 247’s 2nd-ranked class for 2018. Somebody call the feds.

In all seriousness, in a normal year, this class would likely finish in the 10-15 range. But given yesterday’s revelations, this year’s recruiting is likely to be anything but normal, so who knows. Further, none of these rankings include transfer Juwan Durham, so factor that in as well. Whether you include Durham or not, this is simply the best recruiting class that Mike Brey has ever pulled together.

Rankings

247: 96th nationally, 4 star, 26th ranked PF

ESPN: 51st nationally, 4 star, 14th ranked PF

Rivals: 69th nationally, 4 star, 35th ranked F

Scout: 92nd nationally, 4 star, 23rd ranked PF

247 composite: 93rd nationally, 4 star, 23rd ranked PF

Highlights

Some quick comments from this and some other highlight videos: Quick, natural stroke with easy three-point range. Capably skilled, can create off the drive or the step-back, but probably won’t be a feature of his game. Sufficient athleticism and clearly comfortable around the rim. Shows ability to pick-and-roll/pop/fade; ideal skill-set for his likely role in Brey’s offense. Thin frame, not particularly physical as a result. Extends his arms too much to fight off defenders. Great length and 6’10”, will frequently be the tallent/longest player on the floor even in ACC play. Runs the floor and crashes the boards even when floating around the arc.

Outlook

It’s impossible not to be giddy about the recruiting class as a whole, but let’s focus on Laszewski here. I rate him as second-best prospect in the class behind Hubb. What a weapon for Mike Brey’s offense. Brey can hide him in the corner as a pure shooter or feature him as a do-it-all screener, which makes him really tough to guard. Put a wing on him and now you’re sending a smaller guy into a ton of screen-and-roll action. Put a big on him and you’re pulling him away from the paint and running him around the perimeter. He gives Brey positional flexibility to go big or small without being helpless on defense in the post. It’s just impossible not to see him as a very productive player for Notre Dame, which I’m sure he recognizes as well and why he wants to play there.

The depth chart is interesting. He’s a little redundant to John Mooney. But if I’m being honest, he looks a lot more fluid and skilled than Mooney. Still, Mooney has a strength advantage that might make Brey a little more comfortable defensively, and he’ll be a junior once Laszewski arrives. You have to figure Juwan Durham is going to be a staple in the lineup as well, which presents some redundancy as well. Brey is going to have to figure out how to use multiple guys whose best qualities are as screeners in this offense. But other than one year of overlap with Elijah Burns, that’s it for the front court depth chart. 2018 is going to be fascinating from that perspective.

But goodness, the talent Brey has to work with should be tremendously exciting for Irish fans. Gibbs, Hubb, Harvey, Laszewski, and Durham feels like a lineup with 2020 Final Four potential under Mike Brey’s tutelage. Fun times ahead in South Bend.