An Overview Of Notre Dame Basketball’s New 2021 Offers
Notre Dame's 2021 recruiting board expanded this week with new offers to a pair of top-50 players.
The Irish have one player committed in the class, South Bend St. Joseph three wing J.R. Konieczny. The top target left is another South Bend product, four-star guard Blake Wesley from Riley High School.
Notre Dame is planning to sign two or three players this fall, and with offers now dished out, the other possibilities are now clearer. Here's a look at both new offers, each of whom has some kind of tie to Notre Dame or the coaching staff.
Guard Jordan Hawkins
Notre Dame had been in touch with Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic guard Jordan Hawkins long before this week. Mike Brey and assistant Rod Balanis - both DeMatha grads - have frequently recruited the school through the years. One of last year's biggest targets, center Hunter Dickinson, is from DeMatha.
The 6-4, 170-pound Hawkins is Rivals' No. 49 player in the class. Notre Dame saw him play in person multiple times during his junior season.
“He can really shoot the ball," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said. "His athleticism is off the charts. There are plenty of athletes out there, but there are very few guys who are athletic as he is and as skilled as he is. He gave us a huge boost on the wing shooting the ball and finishing in transition.”
Hawkins holds offers from Clemson, UConn, Georgetown, Georgia Louisville, LSU, Marquette, Maryland, Pitt, Seton Hall, Texas, Wake Forest and Xavier, among others. Xavier has all three FutureCast predictions. Hawkins is trimming his list to 11 on Aug. 1. He has not visited anywhere outside of local schools, such as George Washington.
Hawkins spent his first two years at Gaithersburg (Md.) High School before transferring to DeMatha. He played AAU last spring and summer for Team Durant on the Nike EYBL circuit. Despite no spring season, Hawkins has added 12 offers since April 1.
“He’s getting lots of interest because of what he did with Team Durant last summer and what he did with us last winter," Jones said. "But after the first weekend of the spring, I think his name would have been all over the place.”
Forward DaRon Holmes
Notre Dame offered a top-30 player in DaRon Holmes Jr., who transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida for his senior year. He's a Phoenix area native who played his first three years at Goodyear (Ariz.) Millenium High School.
Holmes' father, DaRon, is a Notre Dame alum and Chicago native.
Notre Dame is looking to add a forward in the 2021 class, and Holmes (6-8, 195) would fill the need as a multi-positional player who offers defensive versatility too.
Holmes, the No. 30 overall player, has an offer list that includes Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas, LSU, Marquette, Minnesota, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC Vanderbilt and Virginia. He took official visits to Marquette and Virginia last fall and unofficials to Kansas and USC. He has been to Arizona as well.
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