After a few months of silence on the recruiting trail, a source confirmed that Notre Dame will host four star guard JJ Starling and three star Forward Elijah Saunders on official visits this weekend. The Notre Dame staff will look to host more visitors this month and over the course of the football season. The staff knows it's a big weekend for them and as a result they seem to be pulling out all the stops. Here's what Mike Brey picked JJ Starling up this morning:
After two unofficial visits to Notre Dame and an impressive summer on the Nike circuit, Starling is on Notre Dame's campus for the third time this weekend, this time for an official visit. Starling has also already officially visited Maryland, Syracuse, Alabama, and Stanford and will is scheduled to visit Syracuse, Duke, and Northwestern in September. Starling is ranked 35th in the country by 247 sports, 36th by ESPN, and 40th by Rivals so it's clear why Brey is bringing out all the stops for him this weekend.
Starling is a high level scorer who can get to his spots because of his athleticism and quickness. Last summer, former Notre Dame assistant coach Ryan Ayers called Starling the best shooter in the country. But what makes the athletic combo guard so appealing is his ability to create off the bounce, Starling has tremendous ability in catch and shoot scenarios but is just as effective in isolation or when attacking the basket. Simply put, there's a reason that Duke is also bringing this guy in on an official visit.
The 6'4 guard transferred to Indiana based prep school La Lumiere, who is coached by Notre Dame alumni Pat Holmes. The Irish staff has had opportunities but has never landed a player at La Lumiere despite the connections they hold there. At La Lumiere Starling transitioned from a point guard to an all around combo guard that can play off the ball, run off of screens and can still use his playmaking ability with the ball in his hands. Moving to LALU also helped Starling engage more on the defensive end and has gotten him used to playing against high level competition which will do him good in regards to his prospects of playing as a freshman in college. Starling also played high level competition this summer at peach Jam where he averaged 15.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 SPG
If the Irish staff is able to land Starling he will be the second highest rated recruit in the 247 sports era, behind Demetrius Jackson. As of now Notre Dame isn't necessarily considered the frontrunner for Starling but Brey and his assistants will have another opportunity to make a strong impression on the four star recruit this weekend.
Notre Dame's other visitor is 6'8 forward Elijah Saunders. The Irish staff offered the Compton Magic forward on August 17th and made his top 5 schools list around a week later along with Miami, Virginia Tech, San Diego State, and South Carolina. The forward is ranked as a consensus three star recruit and 125th in his class by 247 sports.
Saunders is the same height and plays the same position as Notre Dame commit Dom Campbell, who is also in the 2022 class, but the two couldn't be much different in terms of their play style. Campbell is an insideout big man who thrives in the post but also has a jumpshot, the Notre Dame commit is best suited as a 4/5 who provides physicality and toughness down low. Saunders plays the four but is better suited as a 3/4 rather than a 4/5 like Campbell, Saunders is much more athletic than Campbell and thrives on the perimeter rather than in the paint.
Saunders recently picked up a futurecast prediction to South Carolina so the Irish staff will need to make a strong impression with the Arizona native this weekend in order to secure a commitment from him. Adding a player with Saunders' athleticism and ability on the perimeter could really help Notre Dame, even with all the forwards they are set to have on the roster.
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