Hoops: How Important Have In-State Prospects Been To Notre Dame's Success?
With Notre Dame leading Indiana 60-59 and less than 20 seconds remaining, Hoosier freshman guard Armaan Franklin hit a corner three over Dane Goodwin, who was slightly late closing out.
A ruckus crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, dominated by crimson, went wild as the Fighting Irish would go on to lose 62-60 in its biennial matchup with the Hoosiers in the Crossroads Classic.
In 14 minutes of play, Franklin led all scorers with 17 points, a career-high. It's the only time he's put up double figures all season.
After the game, the freshman guard, who played high school ball at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, said he wasn't motivated to beat Notre Dame, but it had to feel good. He spent a portion of his childhood in South Bend but never received a Fighting Irish offer (at least not according to my research and his Rivals recruiting profile).
"My aunt (former Notre Dame Women's Basketball player Coquese Washington) used to coach there," he said. "My mom worked there. I knew a couple of the coaches on the staff there, but there's not really much to it."
In all seriousness that may be true, and Notre Dame probably has a justifiable reason for not heavily pursuing an in-state product from a Catholic high school (which also goes by the "Fighting Irish"), but it does highlight a stark juxtaposition between the two rosters playing in an event meant to showoff collegiate basketball in Indiana.
Franklin is one of eight players on the Hoosier roster from the state of Indiana. Six of those players appeared in the game and three accounted for 40 of the 62 points their team scored.
Meanwhile, no one on Notre Dame's roster considered Indiana home prior to arriving on campus.
Notre Dame In-State Basketball Recruiting
Dating back to the beginning of the Rivals Basketball recruiting database in 2002, six out of Notre Dame's 54 signees (not including transfers) have hailed from Indiana. That span of time encompasses all but one of head coach Mike Brey's full recruiting classes.
In the class of 2001, Notre Dame signed McDonald's All-American point guard Chris Thomas out of Pike High School in Indianapolis, as well as forward Jordan Cornette out of Ohio. It does not appear that any scholarship players form Indiana on the 2001 Notre Dame roster.
That means, over the course of Brey's 20-year Notre Dame career, he's signed seven recruits out of the Hoosier state:
• Chris Thomas (Point Guard) — Class of 2001 from Pike H.S. in Indianapolis — Rivals Ranking: N/A, McDonald's All-American
• Luke Zeller (Center) — Class of 2005 from Washington H.S. in Washington, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: four stars and No. 79 overall, McDonald's All-American
• Luke Harangody (Power Forward) — Class of 2006 from Andrean H.S. in Schererville, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: three stars and No. 104 overall
• Austin Burgett (Power Forward) — Class of 2012 from Avon H.S. in Avon, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: three stars
• Austin Torres (Power Forward) — Class of 2013 from Penn H.S. in Mishawaka, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: two stars
• Demetrius Jackson (Point Guard) — Class of 2013 from Marian H.S. in Mishawaka, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: four stars and No. 38 overall, McDonald's All-American
• V.J. Beachem (Small Forward) — Class of 2013 from New Haven H.S. in New Haven, Ind. — Rivals Ranking: four stars and No. 86 overall
Brey has signed a total of four McDonald's All-Americans while at Notre Dame, three of which are mentioned above (the other is former five-star recruit Torin Francis from Marion, Mass.).
Four of them (technically five, as Thomas certainly would have been highly ranked by Rivals) were considered top-104 recruits in their respective class.
It's also worth noting that (unlike football) Indiana is considered fertile ground for basketball recruiting, but Notre Dame has not signed an in-state player since 2013, missing out on nine five-star recruits and 19 four-star recruits produced by Indiana high schools (including prep school La Lumiere in LaPorte, Ind.) from 2014 through 2020.
Could that be part of the program's recent dip in success?
The Impact of Indiana Prospects on the Program
In Brey's 19 completed seasons at Notre Dame, he's met or exceeded the 24-win mark eight times, four of which resulted in NCAA Tournament runs to the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight.
On all eight of those teams, the Fighting featured a player from Indiana in a prominent role:
• 2002-03 —
In Brey's third season, Notre Dame finished with 24-10 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen, losing to No. 1 seed Arizona 88-71. The Fighting Irish finished No. 22 in the final AP Poll.
Prominent Indiana Player: Sophomore point guard Chris Thomas was the team's second-leading scorer (18.7 per game) and led the team in assists (6.9 per game)
• 2006-07 —
After not making the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons, Notre Dame bounced back in a big way, going 24-8 and finishing No. 17 in the final AP Poll. The Fighting Irish lost in the first round of the tournament, but it's hard to see the season as anything but a success.
Prominent Indiana Player: Freshman power forward Luke Harangody broke out, starting 16 of 32 games that season and averaged 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
• 2007-08 —
The Fighting Irish improved on the previous season's win total by one game, going 25-8 and this time losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished No. 15 in the final AP Poll.
Prominent Indiana Player: Now a sophomore, Harangody built on his previous success. He started all 33 games and led the team in scoring (20.6 per game) and rebounding (10.7 per game). This earned him Big East Player of the Year honors and was named an AP Second-Team All-American.
• 2010-11 —
In one of Brey's best seasons, Notre Dame went 27-7 and finished second in load Big East. They also earned a two seed in the NCAA Tournament — the highest seed since 1978-79 when Notre Dame made the Final Four — and finished No. 5 in the final AP Poll before losing in the Sweet Sixteen.
Prominent Indiana Player: After transferring from Purdue, Valparaiso, Ind. native Scott Martin (No. 76 overall player in the class of 2007) started all 33 games he played in that season averaging 9.7, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. In his first season, he was also voted the team's most improved player.
• 2012-13 —
Notre Dame had a solid season, going 25-10, finishing fifth in the Big East and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They were No. 23 in the final AP Poll.
Prominent Indiana Player: This is the one season where it might be a stretch to say Notre Dame featured a player from Indiana in a prominent role because, due to Injury, Martin only played in 18 games. He was, however, an integral part of the team's first 14 wins of the season, starting in each one of those contests. Martin was also the Notre Dame Monogram Club Team MVP the season before.
• 2014-15 —
In arguably Brey's best season, Notre Dame went 36-6, finished third in the ACC, won the conference tournament and made its first trip to the Elite Eight in decades. The Fighting Irish were No. 8 in the final AP Poll.
Prominent Indiana Player: Sophomore point guard and local hero Demetrius Jackson started all 38 games for the Irish that season, averaging 12.4 points and 3.1 assists per game.
• 2015-16 —
Notre Dame stumbled a little bit in the regular season, going 24-12 and earning a six seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the Irish surprised almost everyone by making it to a second-straight Elite Eight.
Prominent Indiana Player: Two players deserve recognition here. Now a junior, Jackson led the team in both scoring (15.7 points per game) and assists (4.7 per game). He was an All-ACC Second-Team selection. Meanwhile, junior small forward V.J. Beachem started all 36 games and was third on the team in scoring (12 points per game).
• 2016-17 —
The Fighting Irish continued much of there recent success and went a respectable 26-10 and earning a five seed in the NCAA Tournament. They would end up losing in the second round and finished No. 14 in the final AP Poll.
Prominent Indiana Player: As a senior, Beachem started all 36 games and was second on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) and in rebounding (4.1 per game).
Where Does Notre Dame Go From Here?
With no recruits from Indiana on the current roster, there is light at the end of the tunnel. South Bend, Ind. product JR Konieczny is the No. 132 player in the class of 2021 and has already committed to the Fighting Irish.
There's a possibility that fellow South Bender and four-star guard Blake Wesley could join him at Notre Dame, but at this point, it's not worth counting on.
Still, this should be considered good news for Fighting Irish fans, who could be on the brink of witnessing their team miss the NCAA tournament for the third season in a row
To be fair, adding a player from Indiana doesn't guarantee success.
The state of Indiana does, however, have a rich basketball tradition, and it would serve any team well, including Notre Dame, to recruit its prospects.
Brey has ties to other regions of the country, especially out east, but there's plenty of program-changing talent in his backyard and maybe it's starting to become more of a priority as it has been in certain points in the past.
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