I know this won't excite anyone, but these are guys who are fits and are attainable. I'm not including guys who would be terrific additions, but are clearly too pricey to sign or will only be interested in better programs.
- Cade Bennerman (Northwestern): Redshirted this season as a freshman. 6'11"/7'0" at a little over 200 lbs. with a 7'5" wingspan and 34" vertical leap. Was a three-star recruit who's choice came down to NU and Michigan. Runs up and down the floor extremely well and jumps well. Offense is mostly alley-oops and putbacks. Looks to be a good shot-blocker. The fact that he would essentially be a freshman should be attractive to admissions.
Bennerman video
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- Daquan Davis (Providence): 6'1" point guard who played his freshman year at Florida St. and then transferred to Providence. Had a good freshman season at FSU with about 9 ppg. and 3 apg. Hardly played at Providence this season in what was a dumpster fire at the program, with the coach fired. Excellent speed. Excellent body control. Gets to the lane easily and absorbs contact and can finish. Athletically, he would be a big step up from what ND normally has. Shrews recruited him out of high school and I believe he took an official visit.
- Azavier Robinson (Butler): 6'1" point guard who played one season at Butler. Recruited by ND and visited ND. Indiana high school player. Averaged 6 pts. and 3 apg. this past year. Top 100 player coming out of Lawrence North. His freshman year at Butler was cut short by injury in January.
- Riley Allenspach (George Mason): Listed at 6'11 and 250 lbs. this past season. He would probably be my first call. ND desperately needs a big man with some experience. He has it and he's strong. He would be a competent post player at the ACC level. Averaged 14 ppg. and 6 rpg. in only 25 mpg this year. His dad, Adam, was a 7-footer whose college choices came down to ND and Clemson in 1997, and he picked ND, but the family would obviously be familiar with ND. Sidenote: Three years ago in Tom Noie's chat, I mentioned that the staff should look at Allenspach. Tom used a laughing emoji. One of us can spot talent. One cannot.
- Blake Barkley (East Tennessee St.): Spent one year at Northwestern before transferring to ETSU. Listed at 6'8" and 220 lbs. High motor and physical player. Scored 11 pts. against North Carolina and 21 pts. against Dayton this season.
- Max Frazier (Central Connecticut St.): Listed at 6'9" and 217 lbs. Averaged 12 ppg. 7 rpg. and 2 bpg. this season. Excellent athlete who would add a new dimension protecting the rim and finishing on offense. I believe he received conference defensive player of the year.
Hughlights
- Rihard Vavers (Washington St.): Latvian native listed at 6'7" and 215 lbs. Biggest asset is his shooting: 41% from three and 89% at the line. Averaged 12 ppg. and 4 rpg. Came on strong the second half of the season.
- Marcus Kell (Western Carolina): Listed at 6'8" and 213 lbs. Honestly, one of the most intriguing guys for me. High motor, like Blakely. Plays with great enthusiasm, to say the least. I suspect he is a real asset as a teammate. Was an academic all-conference guy in the past, in addition to being an all-conference player. Religious kid. Appears to have an inside-out game, with the ability to put it on the floor. Low D-1 player, but then I look at his stats against P4 teams and it reads like this: 11 and 7 against Duke; 21 against Va Tech; 12 and 9 against Cincy; 13 nd 5 against Georgia; 27 against High Point.
Christian Gurdak (Virginia Tech): 6'10" and 260 post guy whose college choice came down to, as I recall, ND and Va Tech last year. Averaged 6 ppg. and 4 rpg. as a freshman. Cement mixer type who can play at the ACC level.
Jason Rivera-Torres (Monmouth): 6'7" and 225 lbs. Started out at Vandy as a freshman and had a decent season. Left when Stackhouse was fired. I hoped ND would recruit him when he was a HS senior. He's a guard with excellent size who averaged 16 ppg. 8 rpg. 3 apg 2 spg and 1 bpg. this season. A man among boys at that level. Good student and is already a professional actor who eventually wants to pursue it further as a career.
Tre Singleton (Northwestern): 6'8" and 215 lbs. who just entered the portal today. Recruited by ND last year. Had a good freshman season, at 8 ppg. and 5 rpg. I have absolutely no insider info, but I suspected that Singleton may have committed to ND, but Ahnemann committed first.
Nehemiah Turner (Minnesota): Listed at 6'10" and 270 lbs. Shrews recruited him as a transfer from Central Arkansas one year ago. Played very little at Minnesota and was also injured. Seems like a low-value transfer, but he wasn't a year ago, and for good reason. He's huge, but he actually has excellent footwork in the post and is nimble and coordinated. His one season at Central Arkansas, he averaged like 17 ppg. the last month of the season. This would be taking a flyer, but a good flyer.