A few days ago the Notre Dame staff made news by offering two 4 stars in the class of 2021, Then out of nowhere yesterday they sent out four more offers to forwards Isaac Traudt , Kyle Filipowski, Ben Middlebrooks, and 5 star guard Jaden Bradley. This puts Notre Dame up to 7 offers in the class of 2022 after offers went out to four stars Donovan Clingan and Prince Aligbe along with 5 star Jarace Walker when the recruiting period opened. The staff seems to be trying to get the class of 22 at the same level as the class of 18 which included 4 Rivals top 100 recruits in Prentiss Hubb, Robby Carmody, Dane Goodwin, and Nate Laszewski. Here is a quick updated breakdown of each player they offered today. You can also find a full breakdown of every class of 22 player they have been in contact with here https://youtu.be/Jo0jpa8r4uM .
Isaac Traudt
Isaac Traudt is a guy who I have been extremely high on over the past month or two and I was really happy to hear he was offered yesterday morning. Here's the link to an article I did exclusively on Traudt a few weeks ago : https://joeydwyer42.wixsite.com/mysite/post/meet-isaac-traudt-notre-dame-s-most-underrated-class-of-22-target . However, since then a lot has changed in terms of Traudt's recruitment. Since then Traudt has been offered by schools such as Wisconsin and Stanford along with being added to the 247 top 100 recruits list where he was ranked as the 88th best player in his class. The Nebraska native is very intriguing because of his size and length, Traudt is listed at 6'8 which is two inches taller than current Notre Dame small forward Dane Goodwin, so there would be a big increase in size. In the 2019-2020 season the class of 2022 recruit averaged 17 points per game 6 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from three, he said in an interview that he thinks he will have a way bigger role this season so those numbers could get even better. In the past I have compared Traudt to Notre Dame commit JR Konieczny because of his shooting ability, underrated athleticism and length, if you watch them play side by side it is hard to find a big difference in my opinion. Traudt is definitely a guy to keep tabs on over the next few years.
Kyle Filipowski
Kyle Filipowski is another very interesting guy to keep an eye on. Over the last few weeks the 2022 recruit has been able to pickup multiple high major offers from schools such as Georgetown, Purdue, Louisville, Creighton, and UCLA so his stock is definitely on the rise. The Wilbraham, MA native has one of the highest ceilings out of anybody Notre Dame has been in contact with, he considers himself a mix of Kevin Love and Kevin Durant and if he can become that he could be an all conference player. Another thing that is so appealing about Filipowski is his versatility, i could see him playing the three, four and potentially even the five at the next level. In 2019-2020 he averaged 20 Points per game 10.5 Rebounds per game while shooting 55% from the field, all of this is extremely impressive for a sophomore. Earlier this week he was ranked 81st in the class by rivals which is one of the highest out of anybody the staff has communicated with. If Filipowski can reach his ceiling he could be a huge addition to Notre Dame's roster.
Ben Middlebrooks
In my opinion the most surprising offer from today went out to four star recruit Ben Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks is listed at 6'8, 190 pounds but in my opinion he is a lot bigger than that in a good way. The four star recruit was recently ranked as the 82nd best player in the class by 247 sports. In the few games that I've seen of Middlebrooks I have really liked what I've seen, in my opinion he is the best rebounder that the staff have been in contact with in the class of 22. The florida native also has a nice touch in the paint and behind the three point line as well as the ability to finish through contact. Middlebrooks has a really good sized frame and moves really well for his size which allows him to be effective at all three levels offensively. After taking an in depth look at Middlebrooks I think he could end up being a really effective big man who could end up taking over for Matt Zona or Elijah Taylor eventually. The Irish may struggle to beat out schools like Florida, Auburn, Maryland, LSU, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech who have also offered Middlebrooks, but if they are able to he could end up being the successor to the class of 2020 big men.
Jaden Bradley
The final offer the staff sent out yesterday was by far the most exciting in my opinion and that is 5 star recruit Jaden Bradley. Although Bradley has over 25 D1 offers (most notably UNC, Arizona state, Michigan, Louisville, Maryland among others) it seems like he has legitimate interest in Notre Dame. In addition to following a few Notre Dame related twitter accounts Bradley has placed an emphasis on performing in the classroom which Notre Dame can provide better than nearly any school on his offer list. It also helps that Bradley will spend his last two years of high school at IMG where Mike Brey's son Kyle is the football coach so there is a connection there. I did find it interesting that Notre Dame didn't offer 4 star point guard JJ Starling who Ryan Ayers called the best shooter in the class, this could mean the staff likes where they stand with Bradley so thats why they held off on offering Starling. As for on the court Bradley is considered to be one of if not the best floor general in his entire class. Bradley would be the perfect point guard for Notre Dame because of his ability to attack the basket and create for his teammates. Over the next few months we will get a feel for his level of interest but right now it seems like he is their best chance at a 5 star recruit in a few years.
Now that Notre Dame has offered 7 players in the class of 22 it dosen't seem like they will be sending out too many more offers for the foreseeable future so its time to sit back and wait for these guys to make their decisions. I think any of these guys would be a nice fit under Brey and I can't wait to see what happens with them over the next few years.
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