I don't think Brey is doing a good job on the trail but if you are talking about the 19', 20', and 21' classes that's a little misleading as the 21' class isn't done.. Technically, the 20' class isn't either. And, JR (lone 21' commit) is a 4 star on 247 composite. It also seems somewhat convenient to exclude the 18' class from this conversation as it's part of the reason why they didn't push for more 'bodies' in the 19'. The 18' class was 5 guys. Which 4 of them were 4 stars.
The 2018 class is an outlier and the more I look at it, the harder it is for me to believe that Brey could put that class together. Now if only they could play to their ranking....
The 2020 class is a bunch of plan z guys so its hard to get excited about them. Brey has a track record of guys to overachieve, maybe he can do that with Zona and Taylor.
The 2021 class might make me vomit if something doesn't change. I never hear about Brey or the staff recruiting during the season unless it is local. Meanwhile, when ACC opponents are in South Bend they are out seeing Blake Wesley when he's playing. Do we hear about Brey doing that when they have a game on the east coast? I don't think so.
Brey saying "he's focusing on local talent" is a terrible excuse for not going out and casting a wider net. He landed JR, that's awesome. Blake Wesley is on the verge of blowing up and I'd be surprised if he stays in South Bend. And Caleb Furst just committed to Purdue. Brey has offered 3 kids in 2021; they are all in-state and two are in South Bend. That number needs to be WAY higher. Virginia, a similar school, has already offered 6 guys.
To go back to Brey's hilarious "focusing on local talent" comment. Let's see how well he's doing with landing local talent:
Trey Galloway from Culver? IU
Jaden Ivey, who's mom was a long time coach for Muffet? Purdue. That was an embarrassingly bad recruiting loss.
Isaiah Stewart from La Lumiere? Washington
JR Konieczny from South Bend? Notre Dame
Blake Wesley from South Bend? Undecided
So Mike Brey is a sizzling 1 for 5 with all that local talent. This is all with La Lumiere (a national basketball power) being 45 minutes away and a constant flow of local talent in the NIC almost every year. It should almost be like Texas in football, Brey shouldn't have to look outside the state for players.
