Not many people want to be connected to Washington, D.C. these days, but Irish head coach Mike Brey is making that connection work in a big way. After pulling 2017 guard D.J. Harvey out of DeMatha, Brey picked up his first 2018 recruit on Wednesday night in Prentiss Hubb.
Let’s make it official!🍀🏀#GoIrish @NDmbb pic.twitter.com/FTw9Ta3tlF
— Prentiss Hubb (@PHubb_3) May 18, 2017
Hubb plays high school ball at Harvey’s rival Gonzaga and for the DC Premier AAU program. Maryland and Villanova have long been presumed leaders, but the Irish were always firmly in play. Virginia, Kansas, and Syracuse rounded out Hubb’s top 6, so this was a big-time recruitment. Hubb’s visit to South Bend just a couple weeks ago was a big one. Brey and company must have hit all the right notes to land the mild recruiting upset.
There’s a lot to like here with Hubb, who has experience playing at the point and off the ball for Gonzaga. He’s got good size at 6’3″ and is pretty rangy with well above average athleticism. He earns rave reviews for the intangibles: leadership, effort on defense, willingness to crash the boards. His awkward left-handed shooting stroke could use some work, but he’s going to the right place to become a great shooter.
Rankings:
247: 32nd overall, 4 star, #5 SG, 97 rating
ESPN: 60th overall, 4 star, #10 SG, 97 rating
Rivals: 45th overall, 4 star, #17 G
Scout: 27th overall, 4 star, #8 PG
247 composite: 38th overall, 4 star, #5 SG, .984 rating
Highlights:
Outlook:
It’s another impact guard for Mike Brey. Hubb will join the fold with senior Rex Pflueger, junior TJ Gibbs, and sophomore DJ Harvey. This is just a spectacular addition to an already stellar group that should excel defensively and has the size and athleticism to play a 3-guard lineup at virtually all times. Hubb will probably be 4th of this group right away. However, that could easily make him the first man off the bench depending on how Brey constructs his lineup.
Hubb is probably the most natural point guard of anyone currently on the roster, other than soon-to-be-graduated Matt Farrell. Because of this, it’s hard to imagine Hubb not starting alongside TJ Gibbs by his sophomore year. He’s an impact player with his athleticism, vision, and willingness on both ends of the court. If he’s not starting by then, something will probably have gone wrong. Hubb is probably a fringe NBA draft prospect down the line, and that level of talent doesn’t show up to Notre Dame every day.
I do wish he had a better shooting stroke, as his low, deliberate motion probably doesn’t translate all that well to the next level. Still, Hubb has been a very good free throw shooter (over 80% this past high school season), which is a most important trait for a Mike Brey guard, and likely suggests he can improve his stroke from the floor as well. Hubb also has a thin frame that needs to fill out over the next couple of years. The college season can be a grind, and he will have some great athletes to compete against in the ACC that will require some more physical strength.
But what else is there to say about Mike Brey and his backcourt recruiting? He adds a top 50 guard to a succession plan that is probably the clearest and among the most prolific in college basketball. Matt Farrell will hand the reins to TJ Gibbs who will then coexist with and pass the baton to Prentiss Hubb. It’s a well-oiled machine at this point, and recruits are taking notice. Mike Brey just gets “his guy” at this point because those types of guys know the opportunity Brey’s system presents.
It’s just an outstanding start to the 2018 recruiting class. With Prentiss Hubb, Mike Brey’s offense of the future is in great hands.
Rex and TJ have both flashed some athleticism in big moments for the Irish, but Hubb might be even more athletic than either of them. Dude can really leap.
He’s not going to have to be a great shooter right away, because as you noted, he’ll probably spend more time at PG for the Irish than he has so far in high school (it’s nice that he’s going to spend this season as the primary PG for his team too). With Gibbs and Rex playing off ball, that’s two guys who should be above average to great outside shooters by then.
But even then, is it possible we see Brey mix up the offensive strategy a bit? He’s never coached guys to just stand around outside, but with Gibbs, Harvey, and Hubb, you have three guys who are really great at getting to the rim. I could see fewer plays designed to set picks to set up outside shots, and more straight drives to the hoop. So few teams will have 3 guys capable of defending that many guys who can attack the rim.
Interesting point with regards to the number of drivers we may be trotting out there. Hopefully having that many slashers can do wonders for the shooters’ 3 point percentages like it did when Jerian consistently collapsed defenses in 2015. I wouldn’t characterize Demetrius or Vasturia as knock down 3 point shooters, but they both shot over 40% that year if I recall correctly. Hopefully Hubb, Gibbs, and Harvey can create enough open looks for each other that they will experience similar boosts. It’ll be a fun group to watch unfold.
DJ catch and shoot in rhythm was money. I never loved him shooting off the bounce (Steve was pretty good at that until the end of junior year), and I think Rex could be similar. In a very low volume this year, he looked very good on the catch and shoot. If Gibbs learns to either finish or kick out to shooters, he’s going to be lethal. And I think Rex can be that shooter.
His shooting is a bit wonky, but one thing my untrained eye notices in his film is the ability to get off a clean shot by pulling up on a dime or getting off a clean jumper after a quick step back. Those might help create some scoring opportunities while moving with the ball and not always having to rely on having to find the open shooter on the perimeter. It’s a good skill for a PG to have to diversify scoring opportunities.
Big get for ND. Hopefully we can follow it up with a couple more commits before the season starts in October. Also, I’d like to pick your minds about a “Grayson Allen lookalike” recruiting target – Robby Carmody – he has a couple similarities with the duke star as seen in the following videos : https://mobile.twitter.com/HHSstudsect/status/840651011446431744. Just, interesting.