Notre Dame Coaches Dish on 2024 Hoops Signees
Notre Dame associate head coach Kyle Getter, assistant coach Mike Farrelly and assistant Ryan Owens spoke about Cole Certra, Sir Mohammed and Garrett Sundra on Wednesday afternoon.
Kyle Getter on Garrett Sundra:
“Garrett is really a unique player. He’s 6-foot-11, but he has a skill set that is kind of a modern-day stretch forward. He comes from Paul VI High School and plays for coach Glenn Farello. Unbelievable high school, great tradition, knows how to win and played for Team Takeover. Keith Stevens and Jamill Jones do a great job running Team Takeover on the Nike circuit. They’ve won Peach Jam the last two years.
“He just knows how to win. I think playing at a high level of competition in both those environments has really benefitted him. He knows what it’s like to compete against the best and his upside is through the roof. His versatility is really what stands out. He runs the floor extremely well, moves laterally, very fluid mover at 6-foot-11. He can cut off the ball and he score off dump downs and in the post.
“He does a lot of things very, very well. He’s going to certainly take advantage of spending time with Greg Miskinis over the next few years and get stronger and get acclimated to the ACC level of physicality. He’s played against some of the best players in the country whether it’s been on the AAU circuit or in high school. I think he’ll come well-prepared to help us right away.
“His ability to spread the floor at 6-foot-11 the way we want to play with a five out. Coach loves shooting. He certainly adds that aspect to our program right away.”
Mike Farrelly on guard Sir Mohammed:
”A winning player coming off a state championship last year at Myers Park (N.C.). - all the preseason polls, ranked top 20 in the country and one of the top public high schools in the country for their basketball program. He brings a lot to the table.
“First and foremost, he comes from a great family. His parents, Mandy and Nazr Mohammed, have raised him to be a great kid. Just wonderful to recruit, to get to know, to be around and was just a natural fit for us. He built a great relationship with Coach Shrewsberry. I don’t think anybody in the country recruited him harder than Coach Shrwes. The bond they built was really key into getting him here.
“Successful at Myers Parker and Team Curry on the AAU circuit. He’s been all over the Steph Curry Camp and the Elite 24 and had great success on the grassroots side of things as well. Really excited to get him here.
“He’s as high IQ of a basketball player as there is in the country. I think he has the highest IQ. When we’ve seen him ball, you’ll see in a lot of his AAU highlights playing as the point guard for Team Curry. He just finds people. His reads off ball screens and what he’s able to do envisioning plays in the halfcourt and in transition is pretty much unmatched in the 2024 class.
“For how we play and what we do, he’s such a great fit in our system and in our read and react. He has great size for the point guard position - 6’5-6’6 - good athlete and gets to wherever he wants to and gets to his spots. He can finish at the rim. He can finish over the rim and do a little bit of everything. He really is a three-level scorer and a threat to do a little bit of everything on the court.
“Really excited to get with him every day and continue to unlock his game moving forward. You can see his head is always up seeing his teammates. He’s not concerned about scoring, but really wants to make his teammates better and help those guys improve. He can score out of the post and operate out of the post at his size as well. I think he’s going to be a guy we can create a lot of mismatches for in the ACC. He’ll be able to play the point guard position at that size and do some different stuff against smaller guards.
“He’s a very good shooter. I think that’s another thing he doesn’t get proper credit for, but he can really shoot the basketball. He can make midrange pullups and can shoot well from three. You see a bunch of off the dribble stuff. People will have some challenges guarding him off ball screens with his ability to shoot the basketball. You won’t be able to go under and you’ll have to play different types of coverages because he’s a threat at all those levels.
“He’s a really good competitive and active defender. Playing at that high level both in high school and AAU - just that competitive nature. When those games turn up a notch and he’s playing in the big moments, he wants to be the guy guarding the basketball and does a great job in those moments. We’re excited to add him to our culture of toughness and competitiveness that we’re trying to lay the groundwork with this year’s team.”
Ryan Owens on Cole Certa:
”Cole Certa is coming to us from IMG Academy and is originally from Illinois at Bloomington Central High School over there. He also played for the well-respected Illinois Wolves Under Armour program. High-level person first and foremost. He’s one of those kids when he walks into a room, the room goes bright. He smiles a lot. He has a great energy about himself. He’s going to fit perfectly into the Notre Dame community both on the court and off the court.
“He comes from a basketball family. His mother, Kim, and his father, Tony, hooped at Quincy University. He comes from a high basketball pedigree and he’s going to do a great job.
“We’re really excited about what he’s going to provide to us. He’s going to provide instant space on the basketball court. He has the ability to space the court, which allows everybody else to have more room to operate. He’s a world-class elite shooter. We feel like we got the best shooter in the country coming to Notre Dame next year.
“He can shoot it off the bounce. He can shoot it off the catch. He can shoot it on the move. He can cut with pace and shoot it. This year, he has the ball in his hands and he’s a rhythm shooter as well. He’s a gym rat. He’s a high IQ player and a very competitive young man with deep range and shoots with confidence.
“There’s always a place on a team for a world-class shooter. He’s at IMG. He’s training with some of the best down there. He’s practicing with the best and they have a great coaching staff down there. He’s getting that world-class nutrition on a daily basis and has access to the facilities at all times at IMG. He’s going to do fantastic things for us at Notre Dame.”
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