The
WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! Now that the Wahoos have a lot of their work done in the class of 2016, it's time to focus on the one remaining scholarship available. We'll do just that in today's edition, as we break down where things stand with UVa's top two targets and we'll tell you why the class might be wrapped up sooner than later. We'll also get into the details on a key 2017 target who visited last week and tell you where things stand in his recruitment, one that is full of college basketball's biggest names. We'll explain why the Cavaliers are not only in the mix but doing a great job of laying out their case for Virginia being the best place for him to land.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
One spot left to use
Now that UVa has gotten the commitment it had long hoped for (and expected) from four-star Rivals250 power forward
Mamadi Diakite, the picture in 2016 is almost clear. All that remains, as we've discussed in great detail over the past few months, is bringing in a wing to round out the class.
In talking to sources this week, it sounds like the Cavaliers are not only extremely pleased with the four commits they have but they're also pushing to try to put the finishing touch on this thing soon. How soon? Well, that's part of the intrigue.
We're hoping to catch up with the Pennsylvania native soon to get his side of things but suffice to say,
Tony Bennett and his staff felt very good about the visit that four-star Rivals250 small forward
DeAndre Hunter took to UVa last week. Word we've heard is that the 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing made the trek down to Charlottesville with his mother, sister, and a former youth coach and the group stayed in town for roughly eight hours.
He got to see just about everything one would see on an official visit, according to one source we spoke with this week, and that may be an interesting detail to keep in mind because it sounds like UVa would like to close this thing out before his potential return to town next month.
If you'll recall, Hunter was always thinking he'd take a few unofficial visits, trim his list down to several schools, and then take some officials in the early fall. And he may still. But Virginia is hoping that he won't need them and that the case has been laid out nice and cleanly about how well he fits and why it's the place he should choose.
Now, that's not to say that the Wahoos aren't still hot on the trail of fellow Rivals250 four-star forward
Braxton Blackwell because they absolutely are. In fact, we've heard that Bennett has all but taken over that recruitment himself personally, which is usually a pretty good indication of UVa's interest. He's kept in touch with the Tennessee standout and we've heard the Cavaliers are making a push there as well. The goal continues to be to try and get him into town as soon as possible, be it for an unofficial or official.
In talking to sources, this is very much a two-option situation right now, in that UVa really likes both of these prospects and would take either one. First come, first serve would seem to fit. As we have said for some time now, the Cavaliers aren't going to take a guy just to take a guy but these two are what they want to fill this spot. If for some reason they can't make either of them work, then perhaps the Hoos go into the spring and see what's what.
Does that mean the door is closed on other guys, especially
Andrew Jones? Not necessarily. We just haven't heard much from the UVa side on the Texas native lately and it appears from his recent spree of unofficial visits like he's got a group of schools he's focusing on. That's also not to say Bennett doesn't have another prospect or two he has his eye on but is playing it close to the vest. The man never really stops recruiting, after all, and that has been very evident in recent years. Recruiting is always something that can come back around or change but for now, we'd say the two targets listed above are the most likely in 2016.
And before you ask, we'll tell you: It's just our opinion but because of the edge he has in terms of shooting it consistently from deep, we think Hunter is the 1A to Blackwell's 1B. The margin, we believe, is razor thin, but we think he has just a little bit of an edge. It's not great enough, however, that UVa would give up the chance to take Blackwell in order to wait and see on Hunter.
Sources felt pretty comfortable with where Virginia is positioned in both recruitments and it sounds like the Cavaliers believe they'll have the class wrapped up in the not too distant future. Confidence right now is pretty high.
Traction with Porter
Of course, Hunter wasn't the only visitor last week. Five-star forward
Michael Porter, currently the No. 2 overall player in the Rivals250 for 2017, was also on Grounds and we hear his visit went great, maybe even better than Hunter's (which is saying something).
That night, as you'll recall, he announced that he had decided to trim his list of schools down to 10 with Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Stanford, Syracuse, UCLA, UVa, and Washington making the cut.
Word we've heard is that Porter was in town among a group of about 10 family members and friends, which speaks to his interest in the Cavaliers. We've also heard that over the course of his recruitment, the staff has really won over not just Porter, who as has been well documented is great friends with four-star commit
Kyle Guy, but also his parents, particularly his mother. Again, this one is pretty much all Bennett at this point and that personal touch is really starting to pay off both with recruit and family. They love not just how Bennett develops his players but also too the kind of person he is and his personal story speaks to them.
In talking to sources this week, we feel pretty confident in saying that the numbers in terms of scholarships just aren't something UVa is worrying about right now. Fans will no doubt wonder about it and discuss it to the point of exhaustion but on the ground, that's not where the focus is right now for the staff. As has been evident the past few recruiting cycles, the numbers always have a way of working out. One thing we do think, though, is that the way Guy and
Ty Jerome played this past spring/summer has opened the door to perhaps not needing a guard to take over for
London Perrantes in 2017. That's not say UVa will change its pursuit of the guards on the board, just that it could work out differently than had originally been framed. Nothing will change right now in terms of who they're recruiting.
Now, whenever you're going up in a battle against the list of schools that still remain in the hunt for Porter, you're going to understand the likelihood that you may not end up being his choice. And that's okay. This one is a marathon, not a sprint (though he's already down to 10 well before many 2017 kids are really focusing on recruiting). And Virginia doesn't get into too many marathons, as Bennett is very much a get-it-done-now type of recruiter. That shows his level of interest and also speaks to the lack of worry about numbers.
Either way, the key here is going to be staying on Porter's radar and continuing to make the case to him that everything he could want in a school, great basketball paired with great people and culture, is there for him at UVa. And as we said above, it's a message that we hear is starting to resonate. There's a long way to go but Bennett and his staff are putting in the work and it's starting to pay off.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
