The WAR ROOM is back and this quick-hitting edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! As many weekends are in the fall, recruiting is a focus of the next few day on both sides of Massie Road. On the basketball side, we'll focus on the expected visitors and tell you what the storylines of both recruitments look like before we share some whispers from practice ahead of tomorrow's Blue-White Scrimmage at JPJ.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
A five-star has arrived
It's a big recruiting recruiting for both of the revenue sports and we'll get to the football visitors tomorrow. On the hoops side, we'll start with the biggest visitor Tony Bennett and Co. have gotten on Grounds in a while and that's five-star 2020 wing Johnny Juzang. The 6-foot-7 small forward is coming off a standout performance at USA Basketball mini camp and he's someone that the Wahoos are very eager to have in town for a couple of days. Led by Brad Soderberg, UVa has done a lot of early heavy lifting here and it's paying off.
The new rule allowing juniors to take earlier OVs is something Virginia is using more and more with Juzang, a California native, being a prime example as to why. As he told Rivals.com's Krysten Peek the other day, schools from coast to coast are looking at him and being able to take these visits now is crucial. With Kentucky looming as a potential suitor, Juzang, No. 20 overall in the Rivals150 for 2020, is likely to see his recruitment pick up even though most sources think UCLA or USC especially are likely to have the inside track. The Trojans would have to be seen as the team to beat but the margin is pretty slim right now.
So, how will UVa pitch itself? Much the way we discussed several weeks back (before weather delays forced him to cancel his trip to Virginia) how the staff was planning to position the program to point guard Reese Beekman. They will make the case that UVa has a lot of important pieces in place for the future and that he is one of those that's missing. Given his long-term goals, it certainly helps Bennett that he's put several wings into the league lately and given Juzang's personality and what matters to him, sources really think he's going to hit it off with the coaches and the school. That he'll be in town for the Blue-White Scrimmage as well as the big game against Miami tomorrow night doesn't hurt either.
Lastly on Juzang, and though it probably goes without saying but we'll say it anyway, this is a marathon recruitment. This visit, while it would be epic to close him out now, is about positioning UVa for the long haul. There is very little expectation that, even if the Hoos blew him away, anything changes with his process.
The prodigal son returns
Okay, that might be a little too hyperbolic even for us but it's fun nonetheless: The other expected visitor (as of Wednesday, sources said it was still possible that other recruits could visit this weekend but termed it "sort of unlikely) tomorrow is four-star in-state forward Henry Coleman. At this point, the Richmond native has been just about everywhere else and it seems fitting that his unofficial trip to UVa—which sources said would include both the scrimmage and the football game—comes at the tail end of his visit spree.
The question everybody wants to know, which has been the case since UVa offered and certainly was alive and well when fellow four-star 2020 forward Terrance Williams took an OV to Virginia last month, is if and when Coleman pulls the trigger.
Here's what we can tell you: All indications have been and remain that UVa is the team to beat. Sources in the past 72 hours have expressed plenty of optimism that UVa can get this done this weekend but they've also shared some insight into some of the thinking by Coleman and those close to him. The visits he's taken have been good but we got the sense from sources that no one has blown him away yet. Now, he knows so much about Virginia already and he's visited so often that the extra time with Bennett spent watching cut ups and seeing how he'll fit in, that's the piece that closes this down if it gets done. All expectations are that UVa will do all it can but there's a very real chance that, since we hear the family might not necessarily be in a rush to make a decision, that it might not be this weekend. We still think there's a much better chance than not that he'll be a part of UVa's 2020 class and we also still think there's a better chance than not that a decision comes either this weekend or in the days after. But for now, we all have to sit back and watch it all unfold (which is not, for the record, the same as LTPPO).
Is there any update on Braxton Key's waiver?
Nope.
And what about some practice whispers
Lastly, we'll close out this week with a couple of things we're hearing about practice. Since many of you will get to see the team for yourselves in less than 24 hours (and make all sorts of snap judgements about who will be good, who's not, and who needs more minutes, etc.) there's going to be a lot to take in. UVa is going to be a different team defensively in 2018-2019 than it was last season, there are some key pieces that have taken some nice steps forward physically, and there are some key reserves that are going to be looked at to fill much bigger roles this season than in the past.
We continue to hear good things about what we'll just call the "starting" five experienced guys. Mamadi Diakite, for example, has made some really nice gains off the floor and it's showing in his game. It's critical, sources have continued to say all offseason, that he is being more "continuous," as Bennett likes to frame it. On both ends of the floor, Diakite is giving UVa what the Cavaliers need. Can he do it consistently is the question.
The reports on Kihei Clark are not quite "rave" level but they've been very good. Sources say the staff believe he's exactly what they expected him to be but even tougher. The same can be said for Kody Stattmann in terms of exceeding expectations. Though his defense remains a work in progress, his scoring ability has made up for some of his physicality issues.
If Key is able to play, UVa will have a very different bench than if he's not but as one source reminded us this week the staff never thought Key was going to be available this year anyway. It'll fall on the younger kids and especially Marco Anthony and Jay Huff to be ready no matter what. Reports have been mum on those two thus far but that's not always a negative; sources usually are quick to cut up the games of those who aren't playing well. Sometimes no news is just no news.
All told, it sounds like there's a lot of (dare we say) optimism about this team that, while it will do things a bit differently without Devon Hall and Isaiah Wilkins, the response this offseason among the known commodities has been very, very good and early on the team is really coming together. We'll see what sources have to say once the squad faces Villanova and Richmond in the closed scrimmages later this month.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
A five-star has arrived
It's a big recruiting recruiting for both of the revenue sports and we'll get to the football visitors tomorrow. On the hoops side, we'll start with the biggest visitor Tony Bennett and Co. have gotten on Grounds in a while and that's five-star 2020 wing Johnny Juzang. The 6-foot-7 small forward is coming off a standout performance at USA Basketball mini camp and he's someone that the Wahoos are very eager to have in town for a couple of days. Led by Brad Soderberg, UVa has done a lot of early heavy lifting here and it's paying off.
The new rule allowing juniors to take earlier OVs is something Virginia is using more and more with Juzang, a California native, being a prime example as to why. As he told Rivals.com's Krysten Peek the other day, schools from coast to coast are looking at him and being able to take these visits now is crucial. With Kentucky looming as a potential suitor, Juzang, No. 20 overall in the Rivals150 for 2020, is likely to see his recruitment pick up even though most sources think UCLA or USC especially are likely to have the inside track. The Trojans would have to be seen as the team to beat but the margin is pretty slim right now.
So, how will UVa pitch itself? Much the way we discussed several weeks back (before weather delays forced him to cancel his trip to Virginia) how the staff was planning to position the program to point guard Reese Beekman. They will make the case that UVa has a lot of important pieces in place for the future and that he is one of those that's missing. Given his long-term goals, it certainly helps Bennett that he's put several wings into the league lately and given Juzang's personality and what matters to him, sources really think he's going to hit it off with the coaches and the school. That he'll be in town for the Blue-White Scrimmage as well as the big game against Miami tomorrow night doesn't hurt either.
Lastly on Juzang, and though it probably goes without saying but we'll say it anyway, this is a marathon recruitment. This visit, while it would be epic to close him out now, is about positioning UVa for the long haul. There is very little expectation that, even if the Hoos blew him away, anything changes with his process.
The prodigal son returns
Okay, that might be a little too hyperbolic even for us but it's fun nonetheless: The other expected visitor (as of Wednesday, sources said it was still possible that other recruits could visit this weekend but termed it "sort of unlikely) tomorrow is four-star in-state forward Henry Coleman. At this point, the Richmond native has been just about everywhere else and it seems fitting that his unofficial trip to UVa—which sources said would include both the scrimmage and the football game—comes at the tail end of his visit spree.
The question everybody wants to know, which has been the case since UVa offered and certainly was alive and well when fellow four-star 2020 forward Terrance Williams took an OV to Virginia last month, is if and when Coleman pulls the trigger.
Here's what we can tell you: All indications have been and remain that UVa is the team to beat. Sources in the past 72 hours have expressed plenty of optimism that UVa can get this done this weekend but they've also shared some insight into some of the thinking by Coleman and those close to him. The visits he's taken have been good but we got the sense from sources that no one has blown him away yet. Now, he knows so much about Virginia already and he's visited so often that the extra time with Bennett spent watching cut ups and seeing how he'll fit in, that's the piece that closes this down if it gets done. All expectations are that UVa will do all it can but there's a very real chance that, since we hear the family might not necessarily be in a rush to make a decision, that it might not be this weekend. We still think there's a much better chance than not that he'll be a part of UVa's 2020 class and we also still think there's a better chance than not that a decision comes either this weekend or in the days after. But for now, we all have to sit back and watch it all unfold (which is not, for the record, the same as LTPPO).
Is there any update on Braxton Key's waiver?
Nope.
And what about some practice whispers
Lastly, we'll close out this week with a couple of things we're hearing about practice. Since many of you will get to see the team for yourselves in less than 24 hours (and make all sorts of snap judgements about who will be good, who's not, and who needs more minutes, etc.) there's going to be a lot to take in. UVa is going to be a different team defensively in 2018-2019 than it was last season, there are some key pieces that have taken some nice steps forward physically, and there are some key reserves that are going to be looked at to fill much bigger roles this season than in the past.
We continue to hear good things about what we'll just call the "starting" five experienced guys. Mamadi Diakite, for example, has made some really nice gains off the floor and it's showing in his game. It's critical, sources have continued to say all offseason, that he is being more "continuous," as Bennett likes to frame it. On both ends of the floor, Diakite is giving UVa what the Cavaliers need. Can he do it consistently is the question.
The reports on Kihei Clark are not quite "rave" level but they've been very good. Sources say the staff believe he's exactly what they expected him to be but even tougher. The same can be said for Kody Stattmann in terms of exceeding expectations. Though his defense remains a work in progress, his scoring ability has made up for some of his physicality issues.
If Key is able to play, UVa will have a very different bench than if he's not but as one source reminded us this week the staff never thought Key was going to be available this year anyway. It'll fall on the younger kids and especially Marco Anthony and Jay Huff to be ready no matter what. Reports have been mum on those two thus far but that's not always a negative; sources usually are quick to cut up the games of those who aren't playing well. Sometimes no news is just no news.
All told, it sounds like there's a lot of (dare we say) optimism about this team that, while it will do things a bit differently without Devon Hall and Isaiah Wilkins, the response this offseason among the known commodities has been very, very good and early on the team is really coming together. We'll see what sources have to say once the squad faces Villanova and Richmond in the closed scrimmages later this month.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
