Tag: Brady Dunlap

Penn State basketball in final 5 of 2023 four-star forward

Could Penn State basketball beat out these four schools for a four-star recruit?

As it stands right now, there are zero players coming to Penn State out of the class of 2023. Originally three players had committed to the program but asked for their NLI release after the head coaching change.

When [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] took over the job, the program was about as baron as one could get. Graduates, transfer portal entrants and decommitments left Penn State with two scholarship players for the upcoming season at one point in time.

While the transfer portal can take away from a program, it can also get great talent into a program quickly. Penn State is familiar with the benefits it can provide after last season.

As expected, Rhoades targeted bringing some of his VCU players with him to State College. [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] was the first to commit, followed by [autotag]Nicholas Kern[/autotag] who committed the other day.

However, it looks like Penn State is in the running to land a player from the class of 2023.

Four-star forward from California, [autotag]Brady Dunlap[/autotag], recently cut his list down to five schools. Originally committed to Notre Dame, Dunlap asked for his NLI release in January after Mike Brey announced he would be stepping down as head coach following the season.

The other schools on his list are North Carolina, Villanova, St. Johns and Nebraska.

On3’s industry rankings have him listed as the 154th-ranked player in the 2023 class, but ESPN has him 80th in their top 100 list.

Dunlap is a 6’7″ forward who can shoot from range. That is his biggest strength and something that could translate to the next level right away if on the floor.

When speaking with Joe Tipton of On3 about Penn State he said, “Coach Rhoades has been great. He has worked very hard and has made an impression on me and my family. The whole staff seems to be a family along with the a winning culture. The school itself is very enticing with the history of athletic success. I can’t wait to visit.”

Dunlap has upcoming visits scheduled with every school except for Penn State at the moment, but it looks like he won’t make his decision until he visits the program in person.

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Newly-offered 2023 wing discusses UNC & his top five schools

The UNC basketball program landed in the top five and is receiving a visit from a 2023 wing just shortly after it extended an offer.

While the transfer portal is as busy as ever, there are still a handful of uncommitted high school seniors in the class of 2023. And the UNC basketball program will be receiving a visit from one of the better shooters in the class.

Three-star wing [autotag]Brady Dunlap[/autotag] was offered from UNC just recently and has also scheduled a visit to Chapel Hill. Dunlap will be on campus at the end of the month on April 30.

On Thursday, Dunlap released his top five. The schools included are North Carolina, Penn State, St. John’s, Villanova and Nebraska.

Dunlap spoke with 247Sports and broke down his impression of the Tar Heels and head coach Hubert Davis.

“Hubert Davis told me they have a need for shooting in general. He read me off statistics about their team last year and how they need shooters. They feel I can fit into the equation and add that piece to the team. That was my biggest takeaway. He obviously evaluated my game and went into detail about it. He watched a lot of film on me and having his recognition on how I could fit in was the biggest takeaway from our conversation.”

Dunlap is ranked as the No. 128 player in the 247Sports class of 2023 rankings. He was originally a Notre Dame commit but re-opened his recruitment after head coach Mike Brey retired.

North Carolina is coming off of a horrendous shooting season, connecting on just 31.2 percent of its 3s.

Playing alongside Bronny James for Strive For Greatness on the Nike EYBL circuit last summer, Dunlap averaged 16.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 46 percent from the field and 34 percent from three.

The Tar Heels currently have a two-man high school class for 2023 with four-star prospects Simeon Wilcher and Zayden High.

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Wisconsin in contact with former Notre Dame commit

The Badgers have been in contact with Brady Dunlap, a three-star class of 2023 forward from California after he decommitted from Notre Dame.

The Badgers have been in contact with Brady Dunlap, a three-star class of 2023 forward from Studio City, California. The 6-foot-7 athlete decommitted from Notre Dame in January.

Wisconsin is one of many teams that have expressed interest in Dunlap, including UCLA, Villanova and Oregon. With the Greg Gard and Badgers in need of help at the wing position, he could be a strong addition to Wisconsin’s class of 2023 reinforcements.

The Badgers have commitments from four-star forward Gus Yalden (La Porte, Indiana), three-star forward Nolan Winter (Lakeville, Minnesota) and three-star guard John Blackwell (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) for this year’s class.

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Second 2023 Notre Dame recruiting class member asks for release

Another signee out the door as a result of Brey’s pending retirement.

SOUTH BEND – Once again, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s plea for Notre Dame’s signees to meet a new coach has gone unheeded. Less than a week after losing 2023 signee Brady Dunlap, the Irish now find themselves without the future services of shooting guard Parker Friedrichsen. Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily is reporting that Friedrichsen, who hails from Bixby, Oklahoma, has asked for and been granted his release from his National Letter of Intent. That leaves only [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] in the upcoming recruiting class:

Brey’s retirement announcement already has almost completely decimated the incoming group of freshmen. There’s no telling at this point who, if anyone, will commit to the Irish for next season or even beyond. All that’s certain is that the 2023-24 Irish are going to look almost completely different with players who mostly are lucky to see garbage-time minutes this season. Given that and players who aren’t used to game action with each other, lean times for the program aren’t far away.

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Notre Dame signee Brady Dunlap requests release from letter of intent

We already are seeing the effects of Mike Brey’s pending retirement.

Despite [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s call for the 2023 recruiting class to meet with Notre Dame’s new coach, Brady Dunlap has decided he wants out. Not willing to wait and see who leads the Irish next, Dunlap has requested to be released from his national letter of intent. He released the following statement to On3:

“Due to the announcement of coach Brey’s retirement, I have requested my release from Notre Dame and will open my recruitment.

“I want to wish coach Brey well and thank coach [autotag]Antoni Wyche[/autotag] for all of his efforts in recruiting me.

With the departure of Dunlap, a 6-foot-7 forward from Los Angeles, only guards [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Parker Friedrichsen[/autotag] remain in the Irish’s incoming recruiting class. What figures to be a long road back to prominence for the program starting next year just got longer.

Whoever takes over for Brey is not going to have a lot to start with, so solid recruiting immediately will be a must. That’s not going to be easy.

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Mike Brey gives insight to recruiting new players, retaining signees

The retiring coach knows what his departure means as far as trying to keep the players making up the program’s future.

[autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] recognizes that the college basketball world he’s leaving behind is not the one he entered. More than ever, players are entering the transfer portal if they think they can thrive better elsewhere, and signees and commits can change their minds at any time. Like in Brey’s case, the coach who recruited a player often leaves before the player can arrive on campus, and that can cause the player to second-guess their decision. Add the recent NIL emergence, and it gets even more complicated.

Brey was asked about his role in recruiting and retaining players for his remaining tenure after Notre Dame’s 84-72 loss to Boston College. He was asked because the program’s future just became a more pressing issue for those who will remain in the program as well as the entire fan base. While results aren’t guaranteed, it helps to know there is at least effort being put into a process that becomes more complicated with each passing year.

Here is what Brey said:

Notre Dame signs three future players on National Signing Day

Meet your future Irish.

Notre Dame’s 2022-23 season begins Thursday, but that’s not stopping [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] from looking toward the future. With National Signing Day upon the college sports world, the Irish took the opportunity to sign three future program members. All three address areas of need, and the Irish will have to face them after this season. Brey addressed this when asked to comment about the signings:

“This class really fits a need. We got three talented perimeter players to help replenish the load of guards we are losing after this season.”

Indeed, the Irish would have been extremely weak at guard in 2023-24 without these signings. Five of the six graduate students on this year’s team are guards, and many of them are among the most productive players. Brey might take a lot of pride in how “old” his squad is, but that doesn’t mean not nipping future problems in the bud.

Here’s what Brey had to say about the future Irish:

Notre Dame basketball picks up 4-star commitment

It’s a solid three-man class

Over the summer Oklahoma shooting guard [autotag]Parker Friedrichsen[/autotag] had a change of hear. After initially committing to Oklahoma State, the four-star guard re-opened his recruitment. The Cowboy’s loss has not turned in to Notre Dame’s gain, as Friedrichsen announced a commitment to the Irish after going over his options which included Creighton, Davidson, Iowa and Nebraska. He also held offers from Illinois, Memphis, Missouri, Purdue, Oklahoma and others.

This now gives head coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] three commits for his 2023 class, as Friedrichsen joins [autotag]Brady Dunlap[/autotag] and [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] in a class that now ranks just inside the top 15 among the country according to the 247Sports composite team rankings.

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