Assuming Colson returns for his senior season, there is a lot of talent coming back for 2017-18. Colson and Farrell are two players Notre Dame can build around for next year.
Notre Dame will have Pflueger and Gibbs at the guard with experience. Ideally Brey finds a way for Gibbs and Farrell to be on the court together more in the off-season b/c the offense didn't work well when they were on the court together. Pflueger could be next year's Farrell in terms of taking a big leap in production.
At the forward spots, I really think Matt Ryan will take a big step next year and become a really good player. Torres has a 5th year left. Burns and Mooney are the unknowns here.
Then there's DJ Harvey. He could be ready to play day 1 and start on the wing. Notre Dame might not go so small next year and replace Bechem and Vasturia with Ryan and Harvey. So you'd have a starting 5 of:
F/C: Colson
F: Matt Ryan
F: DJ Harvey
G: Pflueger
G: Farrell
Geben and Torres with size off the bench. Gibbs would be the top guard off the bench. Then you have Burns, Mooney, and Djogo as unknowns. Guard depth looks suspect but there is a lot of talent there to work with.
I expect Gibbs to start more than Pflueger and don't necessarily think Ryan will be a starter.
1 - Farrell, Gibbs
2 - Gibbs, Pflueger
3 - Pflueger, Ryan, Djogo
4 - Colson, Burns, Ryan?
5 - Geben, Mooney, Torres
I am hoping we also occasionally see a lineup with Burns at the 4 and Colson at the 5.
Not sure if Ryan can play the 4 or not.
Not sure how Harvey fits into this lineup, if at all.
We have a spot open for a transfer as well.
There's a reason he's rated in that 50-100 range and not the 1-40 range. Looks to be an excellent prospect who fits the program extremely well, but he's not a superstar.
Expect Geben/Mooney/Burns to be in the starting lineup at the beginning of the year. I hope it's one of the latter two, but it will probably be Geben. Things started to click for Ryan at the end of the year and he looked better defensively, but I don't think Brey will count on him to guard "4s."
I prefer Pflueger in a sixth man role. He's an excellent defender and an "energy guy," but he has some big holes in his game: his ballhandling is shaky and, surprisingly given his recruiting descriptions, he's only an average finisher who usually throws up lay-ups instead of dunks. He also seems to lack the ability to take quality opponents off the dribble. Right now, he's more of a catch-and-shoot player on offense.
All the things I said about Gibbs before he put on an ND uniform still hold true: good defender, strong body, can hit the open three and looks to pass. I described him as a below-the-rim player in the lane and that's precisely what he is. The contested lay-ups he threw up in high school could get it done but most don't work at this level. He needs to figure out how to finish against this level of competition. This may involve developing the "Euro step," I don't know, but he will need to figure it out.
Djogo will be a good player for ND and may get more minutes next year than you expect.
Some questioned if he might be a one and done player at one point in the process and his offer list is one of the more impressive for any Notre Dame recruit in a while. It shouldn't shock anyone is he's starting sooner rather than later. The reason I think he can start out of the gate is because Notre Dame doesn't really have an established athletic wing to take Beachem's spot and Harvey could be that guy.
perhaps some ND newsletter type sites. Harvey, by his own admission, played poorly last spring and summer and some of that high-level interest declined, but Brey stuck with him, much like Brey stuck with Matt Ryan after his injury had the same effect on his recruiting. I'd rather have a really good four-year guy than a one-year superstar, anyways.
In this day and age its a smart strategy and one of the reasons that Notre Dame has been successful.
If Colson returns look out, could be a potential top 5 team, We're gonna miss Steve more than anyone knows, but I' confident in what Gibbs will bring next year. I really like Ryan, he is the real deal. hindsight is 20/20 but he should of grabbed Beachum s minutes the past month.
Big year coming, gonna be fun