Doherty Scores Big on Recruiting Front
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
June 5, 2000
Notre Dame, Ind - What are the two major thing Notre Damereally lacked in their great season in 1999-2000? Speed and athleticism come to thetop of my mind right away. The Irish got beat by teams that ran the floor well andpushed the ball up the court. So what did Matt Doherty do this recruiting season? Got one of the nation's top point guards and a guard trapped in a 6'8" tocommit to Notre Dame.
First off, Chris Thomas is the type of point guard NotreDame has been lacking for some time now. He is quick and has good ball handlingskills and is a true scoring threat from the point position. He averaged over 24points a game as a junior while dishing out 4 assists and swiping 3.5 steals a game. He is a floor general who should give Notre Dame the star point guard they haven'thad in a long time. Thomas is also one of the leading candidates for the Mr.Basketball Award handed out to the top senior in Indiana.
Notre Dame only had two scholarships this recruitingseason which meant there would only be room for one more player in this class to go alongwith Thomas and all fingers pointed to fellow AAU team mate of Thomas, Sean Kline. Kline is a 6'7" power forward who should develop into a fine college playerand is Thomas' main competition for the Mr. Basketball award. Kline and Thomas aregood friends and after Thomas committed to ND it lead a lot of people to believe thatKline would follow. Kline narrowed his choices down to Notre Dame and Indiana. Despite his mother's wishes for him to attend Notre Dame, Kline picked Indiana thispast Friday. The controversy over Bob Knight concerned his mother, but did notaffect Kline in his decision.
Kline's pick of Indiana became somewhat obvious onThursday afternoon when it was announced that the Irish picked up a second commitment,their last, in the form of 6'8" Cincinnati power forward Jordan Cornette. Cornette adds a ton of versatility to the Irish roster as he was used at virtuallyevery position this year for his St. Xavier High School team. He averaged 15 points,10 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game for his team while knocking down 37% of his three pointshots. For a forward he has great range, similar to that of Troy Murphy.
Both Thomas and Cornette made two trips to Notre Dame andafter the second trip each realized Notre Dame was the place for them. Both werealso recruited by some top level schools including Stanford, Michigan State, Ohio State,Indiana, Arizona, UCLA, and Duke. Thomas had just about everyone after him whileCornette snuck up on people and got a lot of attention late from Michigan State and OhioState. For Thomas, he came down to Notre Dame and Indiana and picked the Irish inthe end giving Notre Dame a surprising victory over the state power house for one of thestate's finest prospects.
Thomas and Cornette do not know each other very well buthave played against each other and seen other play at some of the AAU tournaments thisseason. Both respect each others' skills and are looking forward to playing witheach other. While Thomas might have really wanted Kline to join him at Notre Dame,he will be more than pleased with Cornette whom Bob Gibbons says has more potential thanKline.
In the end, Matt Doherty gave the Irish an excellentclass that should see some press in the rankings with Thomas and Cornette. Thomas isa potential McDonald's All Star while Cornette could surprise a lot of people this year ashe will be looked upon to carry more of the scoring role for St. Xavier. This classis clearly better than Doherty's first class which consisted of Chris Markwood, TorrianJames, and Tom Timmermans. His first class was solid, but his second class has addedsome difference makers who should leave a huge mark on the Notre Dame program before theyleave. It will be fun to watch!