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Notre Dame is trying to break into the mix for one of the top players in the 2016 class.

Blue & Gold Illustrated can confirm the Irish have joined the recruitment of Ontario (Canada) Orangeville Prep five-star center Thon Maker. The 7-foot, 210-pound phenom had considered reclassifying into the class of 2015, but announced in June that he will graduate naturally in the 2016 class. There was also speculation he could go overseas and play professionally for a year before heading to the NBA, but the plan now seems to indeed be to enroll in college.

Maker holds offers from every powerhouse across the country, but is for now looking mainly at Arizona State and Indiana among a few others, including the Irish.

"Mike Brey is a DMV guy who cut his teeth at DeMatha [Catholic] and then at Duke before becoming a head coach," Ed Smith, Maker's guardian, told SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria (link). "I'm from the DMV and he actually was my camp coach when I was in high school. He is big on development and exploiting mismatches.

"He feels that Notre Dame's academics, style of play, offensive efficiency, and player development will assist Thon in achieving all of his goals. He has not had an opportunity to work with an elite level player like Thon, at Notre Dame, but he has developed players who were not considered elite level talent into NBA lottery picks at Notre Dame. Furthermore he has worked with elite level players, such as Thon, at both DeMatha and Duke who stretched the floor before the term stretch 4."

Smith added that they're looking into a possible visit to South Bend in the fall.

Playing summer ball this May and July on the Under Armour circuit, Maker averaged 15.4 points, 10 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for Canada Elite, helping his team to a 7-3 overall record. They advanced to the the Under Armour Circuit Finals from July 16-18, falling to Team Charlotte 56-46 in the championship game.

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