The
WAR ROOM is back and this special edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! The Wahoos have one scholarship in 2017 but that doesn't necessarily mean they're in a position to use it just yet. We'll give you the latest on the thought process in terms of UVa's need in that class and how that impacts things, which sets the table in terms of where recruiting goes as the calendar moves forward. We'll also touch base on a host of recruits that have been visited lately by the staff and give you a sense of where things stand in a few of those recruitments. We'll also focus on a few players that will likely be coming into town soon for the team's annual fall underclassmen event.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Continuing to focus forward
Before we get to some of the prospects that UVa has visited recently, we thought it would be a good idea to touch base one again on methodology. About a month ago, we said that in looking ahead, the staff was in a little bit of limbo (the good kind) as far as the direction with which to use its one scholarship in 2017. A lot of that came from the fact that it wasn't clear as exactly what the need in that class will be from a personnel standpoint.
In talking to sources this week, that remains the case.
Tony Bennett and his staff are looking at guards and bigs alike in that class, though we still get the vibe that the most likely scenario remains taking a point guard. We can't say, though, how long that vibe will last. One thing to keep in mind as things move forward is that because of the previous reading of the tea leaves, the staff has a good handle on the point guards in 2017. But when it comes to big men, the feeling is that they're probably in the exact opposite position.
So over the next few months, don't be surprised to see various staff members out on the road simply touching base with bigs in that class and watching them strictly from the scouting standpoint. It could be a while before they ID a target and make any sort of push.
Recent visits
Over the past week and a half or so, the staff has been out on the road visiting prospects over several classes. The guy we heard that Bennett went to see personally is
Michael Okauru, a 6-foot-3 guard from Raleigh (NC) Ravenscroft. Word we've heard is that Bennett really loved what he saw and there's some thought that he's a kid who could really blow up in the not too distant future. At this point UVa has not offered but there is some momentum in that direction. Either way, we hear Okauru really likes the Cavaliers and what he's been hearing from the staff.
Of course, the most likely recruit for UVa to get with that 2017 scholarship is probably still four-star Rivals150 point guard
Matt Coleman, though Texas has made a nice push here. Virginia's staff made the trip out to Oak Hill this week to check in on the Virginia legacy and word continues to be that he's very receptive to the Cavaliers. Again, though, he's in absolutely no rush to make a decision. As we outlined above, Virginia is in no real rush to use its one scholarship in 2017 so Coleman's pace might fit the Hoos well here. It's growing harder to say with any certainty just what will happen in his recruitment, especially given the fact that he clearly wants to go somewhere where he's needed and UVa is a little on the fence about needing a PG. We don't expect the Cavaliers to fade from his list or anything like that but it's something to keep an eye on moving forward, as is the interest level from Duke and North Carolina. His recruitment, simply put, will be a marathon.
Virginia also made stops to see 2018 guys like 6-foot-6 forward
Jarius Hamilton of Charlotte and 6-foot-4 guard
Nate Hinton from Gastonia (NC), and 2019 elite forward
Wendell Moore. On Moore, he's going to be one of the most highly recruited guys in his class and word is, after being visited by UVa and Duke, he'll be in Lexington this weekend to see Kentucky after taking a visit to Tennessee. UVa also checked in on four-star 2017 point guard
Lavar Batts, which is one name to keep in mind going forward, and 2019 Columbia (SC) forward
Christian Brown.
We've heard the staff will likely be out early next week in the Baltimore/DC area checking in on a variety of prospects.
Upcoming underclassmen event
In the past, UVa has tried to line up one event in the fall for underclassmen to come on Grounds for a visit that usually included roughly 15-20 prospects. Often times, that event included guys that the staff may have seen a couple of months earlier at Elite Camp. The thinking with this event was to have those guys that the staff liked return to Charlottesville but this time getting to experience a football game as well as a team practice.
While it still sounds like that event is a go, the specifics of it could be changing. Word we've heard is that Bennett and his staff are looking at possibly tweaking it, so that instead of having so many prospects in town at once they instead get four or five guys. This way, they're able to do much of the same work but on a more personal scale. A change like this says a lot about the maturation of the recruiting process for UVa but also too about the pending demand from recruits. Simply put: Virginia is becoming a place that kids want to go and see, so the staff might have to start making choices so as to maximize time with guys they're genuinely interested in.
At this point, we've heard a few names for this fall event which, given that the final Saturday of the month is Halloween (and closed scrimmages coming up against VCU and Vanderbilt), it lining up to be next weekend for the Syracuse game. (We also believe the Cavaliers will bring some prospects in when the football team is on the road but the hoops team is holding its open Blue-White scrimmage the following weekend).
Okauru is a guy we've heard will likely get an invite, along with Hamilton, four-star 2018 guard
Rechon Black from Concord (NC), and a couple of players we've talked about in the past: 2018 shooting guard
Myles Dread from Washington (DC) Gonzaga and 2018 four-star point guard
Darius Garland from Nashville.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
