2020 Five-Star Center Hunter Dickinson Talks Notre Dame, Visits & More

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The HoopHall Classic here at Springfield College wrapped up on Monday night and included a disappointing loss for #6 DeMatha Catholic as the Stags fell to top-ranked La Lumiere 70-53.

DeMatha’s five-star 2020 center Hunter Dickinson as he finished with just four points, but he did do an admirable job defending 2019 five-star Isaiah Stewart, who finished with 14 points.

“My shots weren’t falling tonight,” Dickinson acknowledged. “It was tough to see and tough to play through. I’m just proud of my guys, the way we fought back and never quit. We’re going to come back.

“I just tried to do everything else. My shots weren’t falling, so I just tried to play every other aspect of the game; defense, rebounding, trying to find my teammates and all of that.”

DeMatha head coach Mike Jones advised Dickinson to follow the gameplan that was laid out for him to defend Stewart

“I think I did that well,” he said. “I tried to do the best I could on him.”

Dickinson has been one of Notre Dame’s top recruiting targets in the Class of 2020 for years now and the junior standout took an official visit to South Bend during the fall.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “My parents came with me. It was really for them. I’d already been to the campus, so I already knew pretty much everything they were showing me. It was for my parents to see the buildings and meet the coaches. They liked it a lot. They really like the University, the academics part and the athletics.”

Irish head coach Mike Brey and associate head coach Rod Balanis are both DeMatha grads along with current Irish guard DJ Harvey, so there’s a huge connection there.

“Coach Brey is cool with me,” Dickinson said. “He’s not trying to overwhelm with recruiting pitches and stuff like that. He’s still in touch, but he’s not over in touch, so that’s good.

“I talk to DJ pretty regularly. I went to school with him for a year and built that relationship with him. I still talk to him on social media all of the time.”

In addition to those relationships, Dickinson likes the vibe of the Irish program.

“I really can see a family atmosphere there,” he said. “I like the players, I like the coaches, the academic side. Also, you’re not pressured to make it there. It’s a great place for your career after basketball, so that’s always a plus for me.”

Dickinson also took an official visit to Purdue and has some others in mind, including one coming up.

“I’m trying to get to Michigan after the season,” he said. “I’m scheduled for a visit with Kentucky next weekend.

“Other than that, probably Louisville, maybe Duke and some other schools, probably Oregon too.”

Many of the trips may have to wait until the end of the season given his classroom and basketball schedule.

“During the season, it’s pretty hard,” he said. “We play on pretty much every weekend and I don’t really want to miss school, so it’s pretty hard to get to games and stuff.”

But that’s fine with him as he’s not going to rush a commitment.

“Final decision will probably be around next fall, hopefully. That would probably be a good decision for me. I don’t really want to rush it. I just want to make sure I’m making the best decision possible.”