Irish Get BBall Commit
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
June 1, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - The Irish got their second verbal of the young basketball recruiting season today in the form of power forward Jordan Cornette (6-8, 225, PF).  Unlike the Irish's first commit, Chris Thomas, Cornette comes in with less fan fare - now anyway.  Thomas has gotten national recognition and is considered to be one of the best point guards in the country.  Cornette however hasn't gotten much attention, but that could all change very soon.

As a junior he averaged 15 points and 10 boards a game for his St. Xavier High School team from Cincinnati, Ohio.  He also had very good performances in AAU games which got him some attention.  He has sound overall skills and can post up inside or pop out and nail a mid range jumper.  He may not have the kind of range Notre Dame power forward Troy Murphy has for a big man, but he is solid from outside.

He also gives Notre Dame a rebounding presence inside.   He is aggressive and can own the glass at times.  He averaged 10 boards a game as a junior and you can count on that number going up.  Also look for his scoring to go up as well as his jumper continues to improve.

Rivals has given him a three star rating after his junior year, but that could go up by the time his senior season is over.  He has improved his game a lot from year to year and should have a break out season next year.  Bib Gibbons has said he might have more potential than Sean Kline who was also looking closely at Notre Dame.

All in all this is a great commit for Notre Dame because it gives them a power forward, which they need, who has room to grow and who can be polished by Matt Doherty.  Cornette is not exactly a project commit, but he is also not a totally refined player who may not improve much in college.  Cornette continues to improve his game and still has a lot of room for improvement and growth.

Cornette picked the Irish over Michigan State, Ohio State, Xavier, UMass, Vanderbilt, Dayton, and Virginia.  He has visited Notre Dame twice already and recently visited Michigan State.  The formal announcement has not come yet, but it has been confirmed by Bob Gibbons of All Star Report that Cornette has picked the Irish.