2016 Irish Hoops Recruiting Board - April Edition

Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lose a historically great two-man class in Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton. That said, the future of the program has seldom looked brighter, as the Irish return an excellent core that played an integral role in their ACC Championship run and berth in the Elite Eight and add an exciting trio of prospects from their incoming recruiting class.

Class of 2015 update

The trio has had an accomplished senior season, starting with the sharpshooting Matt Ryan. Ryan won the state of New York's Mr. Basketball despite, according to him, not yet recovering to 100% following hip surgery last year. He averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds a game and led his team to the state's semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to the eventual state champs.

Ryan was also selected to the Jordan Brand regional game, an event featuring many of the best prospects from the northeast, where he scored 15 points. He fared even better in the Kentucky Derby Basketball Classic in Louisville, where he scored 12 points in the actual game on 4 of 6 shooting on top of winning the event's three-point contest and 2-on-2 tournament with Auburn signee Danjel Purifoy. He was selected to play in the upcoming Capital Classic game featuring many of the country's top players, including future Irish teammate Rex Pflueger.

Pflueger had himself a great senior year as well. Out from under former teammate and Arizona Wildcat Stanley Johnson's shadow, scouts wanted to see what Pflueger was capable of in a leading role, particularly offensively. He answered the call and then some, leading Mater Dei to a heartbreaking (and controversial) state championship game overtime loss to 5 star California commit Ivan Rabb's Bishop O'Dowd squad. He has been featured in plenty of local and national dunk contests and was one of 19 players named by Marc Spears as Class of 2015 players that NBA scouts are watching.

Like Ryan, Elijah Burns was selected to the Jordan Brand regional game but had to sit out recovering from an ankle injury. Burns helped lead his Blair Academy prep school (which has produced the likes of Luol Deng in the past) to their state finals. Burns is certainly the prospect in his class that is most under-the-radar, but Notre Dame assistant Anthony Solomon likens him to former Irish forward Carleton Scott, who held a similarly low profile before coming to South Bend.

Looking ahead to the Class of 2016

After next season, forwards Zach Auguste and Austin Burgett graduate, leaving some holes in the frontcourt depth for the Irish. Mike Brey has to fill those gaps while also finding reinforcements for his backcourt, particularly with Demetrius Jackson being projected by many to be a lottery pick in next year's NBA draft. Brey is also likely searching the transfer market for a potential fit and will have 2-4 scholarships to hand out for this class.

In April, fresh off the end of the NCAA Tournament, the recruiting season really ramps up for college coaches. The entire Irish staff has already been active at various AAU events and will continue to be through August. In the next couple of months, the recruiting board will really begin to take shape for the Irish, likely focusing in on only a few of these names and perhaps a couple new ones. With that, here is an early look at some of the players most likely to take center stage for Notre Dame over the summer.

I still think it is too early to have a realistic sense of how this class will end up, both in numbers and the specific players likely to make it up. That said, Mike Brey has personally done some major work with Gibbs in just the last couple of months, and he is likely the top player on Notre Dame's board for this class. Many national and local guys think the Irish have the lead here, but he will be a showcase player in the coming months and could very well attract offers from the bluebloods. Can the Irish fend off those potential new offers over the summer as well as current competition like Oklahoma and Connecticut? That will, in my mind, be the biggest storyline of this class.

Notre Dame should also be in great shape for Brodeur, as they easily rate as the forward's best offer. Northwestern is likely to be a top competitor here, as one of their signees from last class is Brodeur's former teammate and they have shown interest. Will the Wildcats or any other high-major outside of BC offer, and can the Irish snag him anyway? At any rate, I think these two are, as things stand now, the most likely future commits.

My way too early prediction for the 2016 class: AJ Brodeur, T.J. Gibbs