The
WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! As the Cavaliers continue to put in work on the trail, we'll touch on a key target coming off his official visit who is planning to see his other top school this weekend. Where do things stand with him? How well positioned is UVa? And where do things go from here following his trip this weekend? We'll get into all of that as well as two other intriguing recruitments in the 2016 class, one being perhaps the top guy on Virginia's board at the moment and the other being a potential shooter with length that would provide a lot of mismatches for the Wahoos. So where do things stand as far as UVa is concerned? We'll break it all down for you here.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
The latest on Hauser
We'll start this week with three-star Wisconsin prospect
Sam Hauser who, coming off of his visit to UVa last weekend, will be on an official visit to Marquette over the next couple of days. And in talking to the Stevens Point (WI) native, it's clear that those are his top two schools.
The wrinkle, though, is that in talking to him it's also clear he's not quite ready to shut down his recruitment.
First, let's handle the UVa visit. Sources said that Hauser and his family had a great time and he confirmed that with CavsCorner.
"It went really, really well," he said. "In my mind, it was pretty great. The campus is beautiful and there's a lot of rich history to it. And the arena where they play is phenomenal. It's pretty unbelievable, really. They've got everything in that one building with academics, the practice facility, main court, dining hall, you name it. It seems like the atmosphere on campus was pretty sweet, too. Everyone is very loyal to their school and I like that.
"I've heard such good things about Virginia," Hauser added, "and when I went there and saw it, it was better than what people told me. It was better than what I had heard."
When he started hearing from
Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers a couple of years ago via mail, he didn't have any idea things would develop as they have so far. But after Bennett saw him play a couple of times last summer, things really picked up.
"He just wasn't sure how things would play out in terms of the numbers," Hauser said. "So he came to a game this year, one of my high school games, and then he came and watched me again this spring in Minneapolis and again told me he liked what he saw but he said he knew right away that he wanted to offer me when he saw me play. That was pretty cool. I think any time you get offered, it's something of a surprise sort of but I could kind of feel it coming in a way because we had been talking before that tournament and he made it seem like they were really interested. He said he really liked what he'd seen out of me and I just had to go out and perform."
On his visit last weekend, the staff made the case about why UVa is the right fit and Hauser said he was able to see that on film.
"They see me as a sort of Justin Anderson in a way but we're different players," he said. "I would fill that role but I'd be more of a shooter. They showed me film of how I'd fit in. They had some clips of me and then clips how they play. Coach said I reminded him of Joe Harris and said I could be one of those types of players."
Hauser and his family visited UVa at a time when classes were wrapped up and because of their various exam schedules, all of the players except for
Anthony Gill had already left Charlottesville. But Hauser said he didn't come away thinking of that as a negative that hurt Virginia's chances.
"It really didn't bother me that there weren't more guys around," he explained. "Of course you always want to meet them but getting to meet Anthony Gill, I could tell right away that he was a really genuine guy, a really good guy. He's humble, he's funny, and I could tell that's the kind of guy Coach brings into his program and I fit in. It was good to meet him and get a feel for the program."
Considering how well the visit went, was there ever a moment where he thought seriously about ending his recruitment?
"I had a great time but I didn't really think too hard about committing while I was there," he said. "I wasn't really planning on doing it on the spot like that because I knew I wanted to take some other visits. I have the upcoming visit to Marquette this weekend and then I think I'm going to do a couple of visits in June. I just really wanted to see it at Virginia so I could compare it to other schools when I take those other visits."
Hauser, who said he's up to 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, doesn't have a timetable for a decision but said he hopes to take more visits even though he's got a clear top two.
"In my mind, I see Marquette and Virginia being pretty even right now," he said. "I just recently got some more calls. I got some calls from Stanford and I've heard Kansas might be interested in offering me, that's the rumor. I might take a couple of other visits just to see but right now, Marquette and Virginia are the top choices."
Asked what he's looking for in a potential home, he said, "I've got to make sure the coaches aren't feeding me a bunch of bull crap, I've got to make sure they're straight forward guys first off, and so far all of the coaches recruiting me are straight forward so that's a plus. Outside of that, I'm looking for a school with good academics, because basketball isn't going to last forever. Also, I want a school that's going to develop me and hopefully, I'll have a chance to play professionally after college so I want to go somewhere that will prepare me for that."
Given the top two schools in the mix, what kind of role does he think distance will play in his decision?
"That's the big question I still have to figure out," he said. "That's the one thing I've really got to think about because it's the one thing I wasn't really sure about. That's something I'll really have to think about when I want to make a decision. That's one thing I'll have to weigh in."
One positive for UVa? Not only did Hauser say his parents really enjoyed their time on Grounds but he also said they aren't worried about the distance aspect.
"They liked it a lot," he said. "They really liked it. They thought it was really cool and they told me either way, if you go far away or you're close to home, we're going to come to every one of your games. So, it didn't matter to them."
As you can see, there's reason for both optimism and some concern as far as UVa's chances go. The reality is that while the Cavaliers clearly made an impression, Hauser has a plan and no matter how much he enjoyed the trip he wasn't going to come off the board.
The rubber will really meet the road after this weekend. If he remains uncommitted for a week or so, that's probably good news for Virginia. But if he starts to set up too many more visits (Hauser said he had planned on visiting Creighton but didn't know if that trip would happen now and added that he didn't know if they'd stay on his list or not), then it starts to get a little tricky.
It's certainly not unheard of for a player to commit to a school he visits first (Kenny Williams obviously did that), but the further you get away from an official generally isn't a good thing.
For now, we wait and see how he enjoys Marquette and what he decides to do going forward.
A holding pattern for Diakite?
We know that people are still clamoring for details on four-star Rivals150 power forward
Mamadi Diakite and suffice to say not too much has changed since last week. In talking to sources this week, the Cavaliers are in a holding pattern like everyone else right now.
That's not to say there's a negative to that, though. While there's no doubt that Bennett and his staff would love to have this one locked up and done, the reality is that both USC and Washington are in the same boat. Digging deeper into things, there's a sense that UVa has had some ups and downs in this one but that all along, the Hoos have been the clear favorite. The big unknown right now, maybe more so than timing, is what exactly will matter when he and his mentor talk about the decision. Clearly Virginia is the place he feels most comfortable and has the coaches he knows the best. But what kind of weight will that carry weight? That's the question our sources had this week and it's something that won't be answered right away.
The expectation from at least one key source that this one gets done by the end of the month is still there but the confidence level in that happening seems to be waning a bit. Our best read at this point is that it will likely take a little longer before he makes his decision. We still think it's safe to see UVa as the front runner but until the decision making process really starts, we wouldn't advise going too far beyond that.
