The
WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! With the coaches allowed back on the road this weekend for the second evaluation session of the month, the Cavaliers will no doubt have staff members spread out watching a host of top targets. We'll tell you which coaches will be where and break down a few of the newer names we've heard of guys UVa will be taking note of this weekend. But first, we'll give you the latest on everything we're hearing on a top 2015 target that the Wahoos are making a strong push to land. We'll tell you about his recent visits, his upcoming plans, and where things stand.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Breaking down Williams' recruitment
As the week has gone on, there's been one player on the minds of most UVa fans and that's four-star Rivals150 guard
Kenny Williams. And there's plenty to talk about as far as his recruitment is concerned.
Let's start here: According to various sources, his official visit to Carolina Sunday into Monday went well, perhaps even very well. But one thing to keep in mind with the Richmond native is that he and his family have earned a reputation for being very hard to read. In fact, sources close to each school involved feel the same way. There's no doubt in our mind that the Heels really did some heavy lifting in their pursuit of the standout shooter.
But UVa also made a very big impression during the five hours or so he spent on Grounds the following day. He and his father got a chance to see and learn a lot in the time he was in Charlottesville, as
Tony Bennett and the Wahoos broke down how he would be used, how he would fit with the current players, how he compared to former shooters that Bennett has coached, and their case was clear: You can do something we absolutely need.
Sources say the staff felt really good about the visit but because of the reality of his poker face, they wouldn't be shocked if UVa is the choice but also wouldn't be surprised if they were third or fourth on his pecking order. In talking to sources throughout the week, the expectation was that Williams and his family would spend some time this weekend deciding on his final official visits. He has three he can take and sources seem somewhat confident that Florida and Michigan are locks to get those visits if he wants to take them.
And then it gets a little tricky because: 1) where does he go for the third official visit? and 2) does he even need to take any more trips?
As one source pointed out late Thursday night, the plan when he committed to VCU the first time was to evaluate what visits would come next, so there's precedence here for a decision without more officials. We think that it's unlikely but it wouldn't surprise us.
So, if he does take visits, where else might he go? Word we've heard is that both Georgetown and UVa are in serious consideration for that trip. Which seems a little curious, right? Why take the official to a school you just took an unofficial to? The answer might be as simple as this: He wasn't able to spend a lot of time with the players during his time in town on Tuesday. And the only real way to do that is to come in for an official. We'll see how much weight that carries moving forward.
Now, outside of all of that, sources in Richmond and throughout the Commonwealth seem somewhat on the same page here. The Wolverines appear to be a fading dark horse, with UNC and UVa in the top spot, though we'd give the slight edge to the Tar Heels at this point if we had to bet on it. Thankfully, we don't.
In a recruitment like this where not many of the primary folks involved are talking or giving many vibes, the noise can be hard to cut through because you're not sure if the same wrong source is telling everybody the wrong info. Maybe "wrong" isn't totally correct; there's just a lot of guessing going on. But suffice to say we've heard some good things about UVa's position.
At this point, we're not willing to give you any sort of prediction other than to say we think he'll take more visits. How big of a factor distance plays, though, will obviously determine how this all works out. If somehow UVa does get that official visit, we really like its chances.
For now, we'll have to wait (again) and see how it play out.
Second evaluation weekend
Going along with everything surrounding Williams' recruitment is the fact that this is the second of the two weekends college coaches can be out on the road this month. And everything appears to be centered on Lexington, Louisville, and Indianapolis.
UVa will obviously have coaches out in each location with Bennett bouncing from site to site as he usually does.
Jason Williford will be stationed in Lexington for the second session of Nike's EYBL,
Ron Sanchez will be in Louisville for the Under Armour event, and new assistant coach
Brad Soderberg will be watching the Adidas Gauntlet series in Indy.
As it was the first time around, the main goal for UVa during this period is to watch the targets the staff has already identified. But there are a few "new" names that we hear the Cavaliers will be focusing on.
For starters, there's 2017 forward
Michael Porter. UVa commit
Kyle Guy has done an impressive job of working his good friend and the Cavaliers might be in a position to carve out some room for the five-star prospect who plays for Mokan Elite on the EYBL.
The Cavaliers will also be playing close attention to several others on that circuit, including a new name for the board:
Dylan Painter with Team Final. Though he doesn't have an offer yet, he's a guy in 2016 in the post that the Cavaliers want to see more of. Another guy they will be following closely is a 2017 guard,
Aaron Thompson of Paul VI. The 2017 standout, who runs with Team Takeover, will be easy to keep track of given the other UVa targets on that squad.
The one "new" name we've heard that the Wahoos might be most excited about is
Jonathan Isaac, a 6-foot-9 guy who can play the 3. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, the Florida native grew like six inches in a summer, meaning he went from being a guard to being a big but was able to retain all of his ball skills. Problem of course is that everyone is one the four-star standout. Look for UVa to try to be among them.
And lastly, one other target we expect the Cavaliers to watch is New Hampton big man
Eddie Ekiyor. He's a guy the staff has continued to follow but he's expected to get another long look this weekend.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
