The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! The second of the spring's live periods takes place this weekend and we've got you covered on not only who the priority targets are but also too what the Cavaliers thought about their plan and execution coming out of last weekend. This morning we'll break down the three new offers since then, explain the plans for this weekend and how that plays into the bigger recruiting picture, and then go through a series of names before we touch base again on transfer news and what may or may not be out there right now.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
The new offers
Before we get to where the staff will be this weekend and what we hear the plan is, we wanted to begin with the three new offers that went out based on what the coaches saw last weekend during the first live period.
We'll start in the class of 2019, where Tony Bennett and Co. finally saw enough of four-star forward Drew Timme to offer the 6-foot-10 Texan. Word we've heard is that Timme, No. 48 nationally in the Rivals150, was someone the staff had been aware of but just hadn't seen enough of to make the move. They really love his overall game and seeing him in action again solidified for UVa how he would fit. He caught Bennett's eye and was one of the few guys the staff wasn't already significantly tracking that is now squarely in the mix. Word is that the Cavaliers had talked to him last year but hadn't been able to get too much traction. One source said Bennett "did his thing" to put UVa in a dramatically better spot.
The other two offers were in the class of 2020 with Ziaire Williams and Day'Ron Sharpe.
Williams, the 6-foot-7 four-star wing from California, was someone we hear the Wahoos have been excited about for some time. The staff believes he likes UVa a lot and that former assistant coach Ron Sanchez did a great deal of heavy lifting early to lay the groundwork. Now, Bennett has picked that one up. UNC could be a factor here but it's a little early to know how that'll impact things.
And then there's Sharpe, the 6-foot-9 power forward who impressed us (and assistant coach Jason Williford) in D.C. last weekend. The matchup that morning was the perfect setting for the Winterville (NC) native, who also added offers from UConn and NC State. As far as UVa's chances here, look for Orlando Vandross (who was in the D.C. suburbs on Sunday to watch Sharpe and others at the adidas event) to lead the charge.
The coaches plan to deepen their evals
With the new offers out of the way, we'll start the breakdown of this weekend's plan by recapping a bit of what we hear the staff feels really worked for them last weekend.
The coaches really liked their approach coming out of the first live period, which was to get as varied an eval as possible on the various targets. They didn't "camp out" for kids like they will in July, we're told. Instead, they wanted to have several sets of eyes on kids so that the coaching meetings would have plenty of well-formed opinions that could foster deeper discussion. They don't feel like they've seen enough of the guys on their board to be able to cut anybody from it at this point. They want to grow it, we're told, and evaluate it a significant amount more.
This weekend, they're going to try to see the guys they didn't get to see as much of or at all during the first period, especially in terms of where Bennett will be. Look for him to focus on the kids that were in Indy and D.C.
We expect Bennett to spend one day seeing "new" guys this spring. He'll start off following the Nike and UA circuits in Indy before flying out to other tournaments. During the latter part of the weekend, we hear he'll spend time with the adidas kids, including Sharpe and others we'll profile momentarily.
The plan is to have two coaches at UA and Nike and one at adidas. Bennett will spend most of his time at Nike, UA, and Terrific 24 (which is where Drake London will be) in the Indy area before bouncing to Atlanta for adidas. UVa will use the same approach to move the coaches through so as to get more eyes on kids.
Names to track this weekend
So, who will they be watching when they do that? In 2019, let's start again with Casey Morsell and Team Takeover. The four-star Wahoo commit had a nice first weekend after a somewhat bumpy start on Friday. He really responded well over the next two days and word we've heard is that Virginia is even more excited about what the 16-year old will become down the line. They full expect him to shoot up the rankings.
We mentioned on the board this week that London, the 6-foot-5 two-sport star, was someone Bennett and his staff watched plenty of last weekend. UVa will again be looking to check out some of his games but we hear the staff isn't entirely sure how serious a push they'll make. First there's the uncertainty that comes with the football aspect. There's also the fact that they don't necessarily "need" another guard. But Bennett liked what he saw, enough in fact to keep watching. Our read on this one is that for a coach very mindful of depth going forward, having a non-scholarship kid who is going enough for would be a nice boost to the squad once football season ends. How London ultimately decides to play the football angle will tell the tale here.
If there's one guy we're most curious to see what UVa does what with and how coming out of this period, it might be Jaiden Delaire, the four-star forward from the northeast. Down to No. 71 overall in the class of 2019, we hear the Cavaliers think highly of Delaire but the question remains how highly. Word we've heard is that the staff is hoping to see more from him, especially in terms of translating a finesse game into a tougher one. He's currently in that 3/4 bubble and is a very versatile, skilled kid who matches much of where the game is going. Bennett watched him a couple of times last weekend while splitting time between courts and will watch him again this weekend. How he develops will dictate whether UVa makes a push or not.
From there, the other key 2019 targets really come down to the names we've talked about. The more we've heard, the more we think it's safe to put Aidan Igiehon, running with Team Rio again, and Oscar Tshiebwe, running with ITPS Wildcats, in the longshot category. UVa is best positioned, sources say, with Igiehon and has a puncher's chance of sorts with Tshiebwe. But the former is likely looking for bluer blood and the latter seems more than likely to end up as the heir apparent to Sagaba Konate at WVU.
DJ Burns, the four-star post from South Carolina, seems like the big UVa feels perhaps the most comfortable with right now. Given the leg work going into the live periods, that's certainly understandable. We hear the Cavaliers will watch more of him this weekend, as they will also check out more of Will Baker, the five-star post from Basketball U.
In our view, four-star combo forward Jae'Lyn Withers could very well have moved himself to the absolute top of the board. He really impressed Williford and later Vandross, who caught the back portion of the games in D.C., last weekend. Don't be surprised if Bennett spends a significant amount of time watching Team Loaded NC's 17s. Given the way he played last weekend, it'll be really interesting to see what the blue bloods do with Isaiah Todd. Many of the reviews on his play were similar to ours and while we still doubt he won't be headed to a powerhouse program, he definitely didn't look the part in terms of his production. How schools react and how he reacts to them might be worth keeping an eye on over the next few months.
Lastly, elsewhere in the 2020 class there's no doubt that Bennett will also be watching Team Loaded VA's duo of Mark Williams and Henry Coleman. We dug a little deeper this week on the way UVa sees Coleman and word we heard was very positive. The Hoos see him as a grinder, someone who just goes to work and uses his motor and toughness to really get after it. We fully expect the staff to offer him soon, perhaps this weekend depending on how well he plays. The staff is also very aware not only of Coleman's desire for the Virginia offer but also of the package deal potential with Williams, whose parents went to grad school at UVa.
Transfer options too good to be true?
Okay, that subhead is a tad cruel. But right now, given what we have to go on, the sky is the limit so lastly this week, we're going to dive into the transfer situation as far as it pertain to Virginia.
After Keyshawn Woods decided to pick Ohio State this week (we've heard it's a decision UVa fully understood but not one that devastated them in any way), the question was fairly easy to see coming: What other options might seriously be out there for the Wahoos?
Well, we pressed sources this week and they wouldn't budge on a name....or even a position. "Too sensitive" we were told. "Can't do it" one said when asked to at least narrow down where on the court this transfer option would play. "Hopefully it works out because people are going to love it," we heard. No matter how many runs we made at it, nothing cracked.
So, what the heck does that mean? Well, for starters, it means that they want to keep it under wraps. That's not terribly unexpected (UVa wasn't super thrilled to have the Woods news out there so wide) but it's more stringent than usual. And that is certainly noteworthy.
As we like to point out from time to time, we're not in the "hype for hype's sake" business. We genuinely hate "mystery" situations like this but when all you've been given are question marks, it's impossible to pretend otherwise.
As far as who, we'll leave the speculation up to you. But as far as needs and what sort of player fits, the answer is and will remain depth.
We've heard consistently that Bennett wants a backup guard and we have no reason to think the plan has changed there. From the jump we heard 1) grad transfer guard and 2) potential sit one, play two or three big. We expect UVa to stick to that. Woods would've been a nice fit for the former role but ultimately, what UVa wants is to avoid situations where one injury changes everything for them. In many ways, Bennett is always impacted in the offseason by whatever just happened to his team. So in this case, it means getting some variety so an injury doesn't derail everything.
Anyway, for now it's safe to say that the Cavaliers have at least one serious transfer target with whom they feel they have a great shot. No sense in keeping it off the radar otherwise.
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!
The new offers
Before we get to where the staff will be this weekend and what we hear the plan is, we wanted to begin with the three new offers that went out based on what the coaches saw last weekend during the first live period.
We'll start in the class of 2019, where Tony Bennett and Co. finally saw enough of four-star forward Drew Timme to offer the 6-foot-10 Texan. Word we've heard is that Timme, No. 48 nationally in the Rivals150, was someone the staff had been aware of but just hadn't seen enough of to make the move. They really love his overall game and seeing him in action again solidified for UVa how he would fit. He caught Bennett's eye and was one of the few guys the staff wasn't already significantly tracking that is now squarely in the mix. Word is that the Cavaliers had talked to him last year but hadn't been able to get too much traction. One source said Bennett "did his thing" to put UVa in a dramatically better spot.
The other two offers were in the class of 2020 with Ziaire Williams and Day'Ron Sharpe.
Williams, the 6-foot-7 four-star wing from California, was someone we hear the Wahoos have been excited about for some time. The staff believes he likes UVa a lot and that former assistant coach Ron Sanchez did a great deal of heavy lifting early to lay the groundwork. Now, Bennett has picked that one up. UNC could be a factor here but it's a little early to know how that'll impact things.
And then there's Sharpe, the 6-foot-9 power forward who impressed us (and assistant coach Jason Williford) in D.C. last weekend. The matchup that morning was the perfect setting for the Winterville (NC) native, who also added offers from UConn and NC State. As far as UVa's chances here, look for Orlando Vandross (who was in the D.C. suburbs on Sunday to watch Sharpe and others at the adidas event) to lead the charge.
The coaches plan to deepen their evals
With the new offers out of the way, we'll start the breakdown of this weekend's plan by recapping a bit of what we hear the staff feels really worked for them last weekend.
The coaches really liked their approach coming out of the first live period, which was to get as varied an eval as possible on the various targets. They didn't "camp out" for kids like they will in July, we're told. Instead, they wanted to have several sets of eyes on kids so that the coaching meetings would have plenty of well-formed opinions that could foster deeper discussion. They don't feel like they've seen enough of the guys on their board to be able to cut anybody from it at this point. They want to grow it, we're told, and evaluate it a significant amount more.
This weekend, they're going to try to see the guys they didn't get to see as much of or at all during the first period, especially in terms of where Bennett will be. Look for him to focus on the kids that were in Indy and D.C.
We expect Bennett to spend one day seeing "new" guys this spring. He'll start off following the Nike and UA circuits in Indy before flying out to other tournaments. During the latter part of the weekend, we hear he'll spend time with the adidas kids, including Sharpe and others we'll profile momentarily.
The plan is to have two coaches at UA and Nike and one at adidas. Bennett will spend most of his time at Nike, UA, and Terrific 24 (which is where Drake London will be) in the Indy area before bouncing to Atlanta for adidas. UVa will use the same approach to move the coaches through so as to get more eyes on kids.
Names to track this weekend
So, who will they be watching when they do that? In 2019, let's start again with Casey Morsell and Team Takeover. The four-star Wahoo commit had a nice first weekend after a somewhat bumpy start on Friday. He really responded well over the next two days and word we've heard is that Virginia is even more excited about what the 16-year old will become down the line. They full expect him to shoot up the rankings.
We mentioned on the board this week that London, the 6-foot-5 two-sport star, was someone Bennett and his staff watched plenty of last weekend. UVa will again be looking to check out some of his games but we hear the staff isn't entirely sure how serious a push they'll make. First there's the uncertainty that comes with the football aspect. There's also the fact that they don't necessarily "need" another guard. But Bennett liked what he saw, enough in fact to keep watching. Our read on this one is that for a coach very mindful of depth going forward, having a non-scholarship kid who is going enough for would be a nice boost to the squad once football season ends. How London ultimately decides to play the football angle will tell the tale here.
If there's one guy we're most curious to see what UVa does what with and how coming out of this period, it might be Jaiden Delaire, the four-star forward from the northeast. Down to No. 71 overall in the class of 2019, we hear the Cavaliers think highly of Delaire but the question remains how highly. Word we've heard is that the staff is hoping to see more from him, especially in terms of translating a finesse game into a tougher one. He's currently in that 3/4 bubble and is a very versatile, skilled kid who matches much of where the game is going. Bennett watched him a couple of times last weekend while splitting time between courts and will watch him again this weekend. How he develops will dictate whether UVa makes a push or not.
From there, the other key 2019 targets really come down to the names we've talked about. The more we've heard, the more we think it's safe to put Aidan Igiehon, running with Team Rio again, and Oscar Tshiebwe, running with ITPS Wildcats, in the longshot category. UVa is best positioned, sources say, with Igiehon and has a puncher's chance of sorts with Tshiebwe. But the former is likely looking for bluer blood and the latter seems more than likely to end up as the heir apparent to Sagaba Konate at WVU.
DJ Burns, the four-star post from South Carolina, seems like the big UVa feels perhaps the most comfortable with right now. Given the leg work going into the live periods, that's certainly understandable. We hear the Cavaliers will watch more of him this weekend, as they will also check out more of Will Baker, the five-star post from Basketball U.
In our view, four-star combo forward Jae'Lyn Withers could very well have moved himself to the absolute top of the board. He really impressed Williford and later Vandross, who caught the back portion of the games in D.C., last weekend. Don't be surprised if Bennett spends a significant amount of time watching Team Loaded NC's 17s. Given the way he played last weekend, it'll be really interesting to see what the blue bloods do with Isaiah Todd. Many of the reviews on his play were similar to ours and while we still doubt he won't be headed to a powerhouse program, he definitely didn't look the part in terms of his production. How schools react and how he reacts to them might be worth keeping an eye on over the next few months.
Lastly, elsewhere in the 2020 class there's no doubt that Bennett will also be watching Team Loaded VA's duo of Mark Williams and Henry Coleman. We dug a little deeper this week on the way UVa sees Coleman and word we heard was very positive. The Hoos see him as a grinder, someone who just goes to work and uses his motor and toughness to really get after it. We fully expect the staff to offer him soon, perhaps this weekend depending on how well he plays. The staff is also very aware not only of Coleman's desire for the Virginia offer but also of the package deal potential with Williams, whose parents went to grad school at UVa.
Transfer options too good to be true?
Okay, that subhead is a tad cruel. But right now, given what we have to go on, the sky is the limit so lastly this week, we're going to dive into the transfer situation as far as it pertain to Virginia.
After Keyshawn Woods decided to pick Ohio State this week (we've heard it's a decision UVa fully understood but not one that devastated them in any way), the question was fairly easy to see coming: What other options might seriously be out there for the Wahoos?
Well, we pressed sources this week and they wouldn't budge on a name....or even a position. "Too sensitive" we were told. "Can't do it" one said when asked to at least narrow down where on the court this transfer option would play. "Hopefully it works out because people are going to love it," we heard. No matter how many runs we made at it, nothing cracked.
So, what the heck does that mean? Well, for starters, it means that they want to keep it under wraps. That's not terribly unexpected (UVa wasn't super thrilled to have the Woods news out there so wide) but it's more stringent than usual. And that is certainly noteworthy.
As we like to point out from time to time, we're not in the "hype for hype's sake" business. We genuinely hate "mystery" situations like this but when all you've been given are question marks, it's impossible to pretend otherwise.
As far as who, we'll leave the speculation up to you. But as far as needs and what sort of player fits, the answer is and will remain depth.
We've heard consistently that Bennett wants a backup guard and we have no reason to think the plan has changed there. From the jump we heard 1) grad transfer guard and 2) potential sit one, play two or three big. We expect UVa to stick to that. Woods would've been a nice fit for the former role but ultimately, what UVa wants is to avoid situations where one injury changes everything for them. In many ways, Bennett is always impacted in the offseason by whatever just happened to his team. So in this case, it means getting some variety so an injury doesn't derail everything.
Anyway, for now it's safe to say that the Cavaliers have at least one serious transfer target with whom they feel they have a great shot. No sense in keeping it off the radar otherwise.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
