The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! With the second live period of the summer currently under way, we're going to start this edition with a quick look back at some of the storylines that emerged from the first session. Then we'll dive into some of the things to keep an eye on as this period one plays out. The Cavaliers are looking far and wide in the 2018 class and also making even deeper evals into the 2019 and even 2020 classes, too. We'll give you the background on all of it.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Looking back at the first live period
As we said in this space a week ago, Tony Bennett and his staff went into the first live period looking to add some names to their 2018 board but also with the goal of being seen by their top targets. And they certainly were able to do that.
There were two new offers in 2018 which went out to four-star guards AJ Green and Will Richardson following the first period.
In Green, UVa sees a point guard that the staff believes would be a great fit (and in some ways an even better fit than some of the targets that were previously on the board). According to one source, Green was the best of the adidas kids outside of four-star Mass Rivals guard David Duke and even then the pick would be tough. The wrinkle with him, of course, is that his dad is on staff at Northern Iowa and many people (if not pretty much all) expect him to end up at UNI. Sources say UVa is very cognizant of that and they feel he's good enough that you have to recruit the kid and make him say that's what he's going to do. To this point, though, we hear he's been not only very receptive to Virginia's interest but has told them flat out he wants to be recruited by them. UVa essentially told him, per our sources, that if he wants to go to UNI they understand, just say the word and he said he wants to keep moving forward in his recruitment. So, we'll have to see how that one plays out. Meanwhile, on Richardson, he's someone they've been tracking and watching for a while but he's improved to the point that offering was the right move once Bennett saw more of him. He is probably a wing in UVa's system but his combo skills and ability to be a consistent scorer are what the Hoos like best. Simply put, that's what they want from the wing in this class.
The other takeaway (which shouldn't come as much of a surprise but was pretty interesting to us) was that Bennett wants five-star wing Keldon Johnson "in the worst way" according to one source. UVa is realistic about the big picture there but he may have supplanted five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly as UVa's top overall target.
Two other key offers out
Before we dive into the second period, we thought we'd give you some background on two offers that went out to younger guys this week. We'll start in 2019, where UVa became the latest to extend an offer to four-star Charleston (SC) Porter Gaud School guard Josiah James. The 6-foot-6, 190 pounder, No. 61 overall in his class right now, has early offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech. When we asked one of our sources about UVa's interest we were told the staff "absolutely loves him." That's pretty high praise for a kid that the coaches have been recruiting and evaluating beginning this past school year and really saw a lot from last weekend. We look for the Hoos to dig in and try to become an early difference maker there.
And in 2020, UVa finally moved on an offer to Hunter Dickinson, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound big man from DeMatha who also has offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, and Penn State. The Cavaliers could've offered earlier simply on rep and potential alone but ever the evaluator, Bennett wanted to see him and get there in his own time. Our sources say UVa believes it's in a great spot for Dickinson and that should translate to them being one of the early favorites.
Lastly, word we've heard is that the Cavaliers are likely to toss out a couple more offers to younger kids following this live period.
The background on this week's plan
Philadelphia. Washington, D.C. Milwaukee. Orlando. Atlanta. Charlotte. Los Angeles. Kansas City. Dallas. UVa is all over the map this week in what is easily the wilder of the three open periods from a logistics standpoint. Since the shoe-affiliated tournaments are done, AAU teams are free to go to whatever events they want (including hosting their own in some cases) before everyone gets back together for the Super Showcase next week in Las Vegas. For now, UVa's plan was for assistant coach Jason Williford to hit the Victor Oladipo Camp at DeMatha and then head to the Under Armour All-American camp in Philly. There's also a Team Takeover event in D.C. that he'll hit as well before heading south for a Team Loaded event, which as you know is full of targets. As far as associate head coach Ron Sanchez, his schedule included stops in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando for the Battle of the Best where Duke and Mass Rivals are this week before possibly meeting up elsewhere with other members of the staff. Lastly, as UVa's resident west-coast guy, Brad Soderberg was on his way to LA but stopped in Milwaukee first and then on to Kansas to see Green and then on to Texas. And Bennett? He has hit and will continue to bounce around among those sites during the course of this period.
As described above, it's clear that UVa's biggest goal during this period has been to track the targets that are currently on their board in 2018 while also continuing to do the early evals on a host of younger guys, like the two they offered coming out of last weekend. We won't rule out new 2018 offers but our sources didn't point to anyone they thought might be close.
Diving deeper on the PGs
With a new name to add to this section that UVa is clearly excited about, we thought we'd once again break down where things are at the point by going position by position. And given what we've heard, Green has moved into the mix near the top of the list for UVa, which really consists of Quinerly, Duke, and three-star guard Jaelin Llewellyn. Word we've heard about Duke is that the more Virginia sees him the more they really like him but also the more they think that he's more combo guard than true point guard. He's big enough to play the wing but is that what he wants? That will be an interesting wrinkle to watch over the next two periods and thereafter as he works deeper into his recruitment. Quinerly remains the top guy here and while that might seem like a headscratcher to those who doubt UVa's chances, it's important to note the Hoos aren't putting all their eggs in that basket. As we've posted elsewhere this week: As long as he continues to reciprocate their interest and hasn't committed elsewhere, they'll recruit him. The one guy who seems to have lost a little buzz is Llewellyn, who had a tough go of it in some spots during the first period. We still hear UVa likes him a lot but the degree to how much may have dipped some.
Four-star Florida guard Elijah Weaver and four-star Baltimore native Noah Locke remain very much on the board. While things have been quiet on Weaver (he's lined up OVs to Ohio State and Florida to start next month), Locke's recruitment has blown up of late, with offers coming in from Florida State, Kansas, NC State, and Oklahoma State. UVa doesn't feel like they're out of the running or anything but the vibe we got is that the hill will be tougher to climb and it's going to take a while for sure. Bennett was in D.C. to see Locke in action on Thursday afternoon.
UVa remains in the mix for four-star Mike Devoe (who Bennett also saw in D.C. yesterday afternoon) and three-star Rob Phinisee but we haven't gotten enough from our sources lately to say too much more beyond that. That usually means UVa is drifting away a bit in terms of interest or that the traction just isn't what it is. It'll be interesting to see where things are following this live period in both of those recruitments. We wouldn't be surprised to see UVa kick up some dust on Devoe following his performance yesterday.
Lastly (again), this one won't go away mainly because UVa won't let it. Four-star Charlotte guard Devon Dotson is someone Bennett refuses to give up on despite not having made his cut recently. No matter, though, since what we've heard is that UVa has been getting good traction with him and (as with all recruits) will continue to recruit him until such time as that changes or he commits to someone else. Dotson would be a great fit for what UVa is looking for in this class and given where things are, the Cavaliers lose nothing by putting effort into his recruitment. The risk is well worth the reward. In fact, the buzz from Philly is that Dotson was the best player at UAAA thus far.
The latest on the wing targets
So far, we've told you about the offer to Richardson and the intense interest in Johnson. We're often asked some form of "are those two related" questions and in this instance, we can tell you that the Cavaliers aren't looking at other wings because of where they think they stand with others. In fact, we'd always caution anyone about assuming too much about other recruitments based on new offers that go out. UVa isn't any less confident in Quinerly or Johnson because of the offers to Green and Richardson, sources say. When spots are open, they're open, and Bennett will keep working to fill them. But the Cavaliers really like Richardson and thought he was worthy of the offer.
Along with guys like Jeenathan Williams, and Noah Kirkwood, Richardson is going to be a guy the staff tries to see plenty of and a guy they continue to make a push for. There's really no true pecking order among those three but we believe they're all takes at this point (first come, first served of course).
We also believe it's safe to say that four-star wings Saddiq Bey, Kaden Archie, Dwayne Cohill, and Landers Nolley are all right there when it comes to an offer. Despite our sources downplaying the likelihood of a slew of new 2018 offers following this period, we'd be at least moderately surprised if at least one of those guys doesn't have one soon. Given the scattered nature of this period, though, our best read is that it likely happens after the Super Showcase when the competition is more centralized.
McCormack or bust in 2018?
Last week we touched on the fact that UVa wasn't pressing big man recruiting the way it was guard recruiting and part of that was related to the prospects in the class compared to what UVa is looking to find. And the more we hear, the more that seems to have solidified. Four-star big man David McCormack remains the top target and UVa is certainly not alone, as the competition is steadily growing more crowded. The Hoos feel good about where they stand, as Williford has a great relationship with McCormack and his family.
Word we heard is that UVa watched enough of Tyrese Samuel last week to be intrigued and they'll likely watch more of him next weekend since he's out of the country during this period. Of course, there's always a chance at this stage in the cycle that moving in that direction (which could be described as "new") could open up a different type of pursuit in terms of the types of bigs that are out there. Quality "traditional" types like McCormack are few and far between in 2018 but there are some Samuel types who might make sense (four-star Rivals150 forward Josh LeBlanc, for example, would be another). Right now, we don't foresee the Cavaliers opening the doors too wide regardless of what happens with Samuel and LeBlanc. But make no mistake: The intense focus in 2018 is on a point guard and everything else, even wing to some degree, is secondary.
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!
Looking back at the first live period
As we said in this space a week ago, Tony Bennett and his staff went into the first live period looking to add some names to their 2018 board but also with the goal of being seen by their top targets. And they certainly were able to do that.
There were two new offers in 2018 which went out to four-star guards AJ Green and Will Richardson following the first period.
In Green, UVa sees a point guard that the staff believes would be a great fit (and in some ways an even better fit than some of the targets that were previously on the board). According to one source, Green was the best of the adidas kids outside of four-star Mass Rivals guard David Duke and even then the pick would be tough. The wrinkle with him, of course, is that his dad is on staff at Northern Iowa and many people (if not pretty much all) expect him to end up at UNI. Sources say UVa is very cognizant of that and they feel he's good enough that you have to recruit the kid and make him say that's what he's going to do. To this point, though, we hear he's been not only very receptive to Virginia's interest but has told them flat out he wants to be recruited by them. UVa essentially told him, per our sources, that if he wants to go to UNI they understand, just say the word and he said he wants to keep moving forward in his recruitment. So, we'll have to see how that one plays out. Meanwhile, on Richardson, he's someone they've been tracking and watching for a while but he's improved to the point that offering was the right move once Bennett saw more of him. He is probably a wing in UVa's system but his combo skills and ability to be a consistent scorer are what the Hoos like best. Simply put, that's what they want from the wing in this class.
The other takeaway (which shouldn't come as much of a surprise but was pretty interesting to us) was that Bennett wants five-star wing Keldon Johnson "in the worst way" according to one source. UVa is realistic about the big picture there but he may have supplanted five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly as UVa's top overall target.
Two other key offers out
Before we dive into the second period, we thought we'd give you some background on two offers that went out to younger guys this week. We'll start in 2019, where UVa became the latest to extend an offer to four-star Charleston (SC) Porter Gaud School guard Josiah James. The 6-foot-6, 190 pounder, No. 61 overall in his class right now, has early offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech. When we asked one of our sources about UVa's interest we were told the staff "absolutely loves him." That's pretty high praise for a kid that the coaches have been recruiting and evaluating beginning this past school year and really saw a lot from last weekend. We look for the Hoos to dig in and try to become an early difference maker there.
And in 2020, UVa finally moved on an offer to Hunter Dickinson, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound big man from DeMatha who also has offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, and Penn State. The Cavaliers could've offered earlier simply on rep and potential alone but ever the evaluator, Bennett wanted to see him and get there in his own time. Our sources say UVa believes it's in a great spot for Dickinson and that should translate to them being one of the early favorites.
Lastly, word we've heard is that the Cavaliers are likely to toss out a couple more offers to younger kids following this live period.
The background on this week's plan
Philadelphia. Washington, D.C. Milwaukee. Orlando. Atlanta. Charlotte. Los Angeles. Kansas City. Dallas. UVa is all over the map this week in what is easily the wilder of the three open periods from a logistics standpoint. Since the shoe-affiliated tournaments are done, AAU teams are free to go to whatever events they want (including hosting their own in some cases) before everyone gets back together for the Super Showcase next week in Las Vegas. For now, UVa's plan was for assistant coach Jason Williford to hit the Victor Oladipo Camp at DeMatha and then head to the Under Armour All-American camp in Philly. There's also a Team Takeover event in D.C. that he'll hit as well before heading south for a Team Loaded event, which as you know is full of targets. As far as associate head coach Ron Sanchez, his schedule included stops in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando for the Battle of the Best where Duke and Mass Rivals are this week before possibly meeting up elsewhere with other members of the staff. Lastly, as UVa's resident west-coast guy, Brad Soderberg was on his way to LA but stopped in Milwaukee first and then on to Kansas to see Green and then on to Texas. And Bennett? He has hit and will continue to bounce around among those sites during the course of this period.
As described above, it's clear that UVa's biggest goal during this period has been to track the targets that are currently on their board in 2018 while also continuing to do the early evals on a host of younger guys, like the two they offered coming out of last weekend. We won't rule out new 2018 offers but our sources didn't point to anyone they thought might be close.
Diving deeper on the PGs
With a new name to add to this section that UVa is clearly excited about, we thought we'd once again break down where things are at the point by going position by position. And given what we've heard, Green has moved into the mix near the top of the list for UVa, which really consists of Quinerly, Duke, and three-star guard Jaelin Llewellyn. Word we've heard about Duke is that the more Virginia sees him the more they really like him but also the more they think that he's more combo guard than true point guard. He's big enough to play the wing but is that what he wants? That will be an interesting wrinkle to watch over the next two periods and thereafter as he works deeper into his recruitment. Quinerly remains the top guy here and while that might seem like a headscratcher to those who doubt UVa's chances, it's important to note the Hoos aren't putting all their eggs in that basket. As we've posted elsewhere this week: As long as he continues to reciprocate their interest and hasn't committed elsewhere, they'll recruit him. The one guy who seems to have lost a little buzz is Llewellyn, who had a tough go of it in some spots during the first period. We still hear UVa likes him a lot but the degree to how much may have dipped some.
Four-star Florida guard Elijah Weaver and four-star Baltimore native Noah Locke remain very much on the board. While things have been quiet on Weaver (he's lined up OVs to Ohio State and Florida to start next month), Locke's recruitment has blown up of late, with offers coming in from Florida State, Kansas, NC State, and Oklahoma State. UVa doesn't feel like they're out of the running or anything but the vibe we got is that the hill will be tougher to climb and it's going to take a while for sure. Bennett was in D.C. to see Locke in action on Thursday afternoon.
UVa remains in the mix for four-star Mike Devoe (who Bennett also saw in D.C. yesterday afternoon) and three-star Rob Phinisee but we haven't gotten enough from our sources lately to say too much more beyond that. That usually means UVa is drifting away a bit in terms of interest or that the traction just isn't what it is. It'll be interesting to see where things are following this live period in both of those recruitments. We wouldn't be surprised to see UVa kick up some dust on Devoe following his performance yesterday.
Lastly (again), this one won't go away mainly because UVa won't let it. Four-star Charlotte guard Devon Dotson is someone Bennett refuses to give up on despite not having made his cut recently. No matter, though, since what we've heard is that UVa has been getting good traction with him and (as with all recruits) will continue to recruit him until such time as that changes or he commits to someone else. Dotson would be a great fit for what UVa is looking for in this class and given where things are, the Cavaliers lose nothing by putting effort into his recruitment. The risk is well worth the reward. In fact, the buzz from Philly is that Dotson was the best player at UAAA thus far.
The latest on the wing targets
So far, we've told you about the offer to Richardson and the intense interest in Johnson. We're often asked some form of "are those two related" questions and in this instance, we can tell you that the Cavaliers aren't looking at other wings because of where they think they stand with others. In fact, we'd always caution anyone about assuming too much about other recruitments based on new offers that go out. UVa isn't any less confident in Quinerly or Johnson because of the offers to Green and Richardson, sources say. When spots are open, they're open, and Bennett will keep working to fill them. But the Cavaliers really like Richardson and thought he was worthy of the offer.
Along with guys like Jeenathan Williams, and Noah Kirkwood, Richardson is going to be a guy the staff tries to see plenty of and a guy they continue to make a push for. There's really no true pecking order among those three but we believe they're all takes at this point (first come, first served of course).
We also believe it's safe to say that four-star wings Saddiq Bey, Kaden Archie, Dwayne Cohill, and Landers Nolley are all right there when it comes to an offer. Despite our sources downplaying the likelihood of a slew of new 2018 offers following this period, we'd be at least moderately surprised if at least one of those guys doesn't have one soon. Given the scattered nature of this period, though, our best read is that it likely happens after the Super Showcase when the competition is more centralized.
McCormack or bust in 2018?
Last week we touched on the fact that UVa wasn't pressing big man recruiting the way it was guard recruiting and part of that was related to the prospects in the class compared to what UVa is looking to find. And the more we hear, the more that seems to have solidified. Four-star big man David McCormack remains the top target and UVa is certainly not alone, as the competition is steadily growing more crowded. The Hoos feel good about where they stand, as Williford has a great relationship with McCormack and his family.
Word we heard is that UVa watched enough of Tyrese Samuel last week to be intrigued and they'll likely watch more of him next weekend since he's out of the country during this period. Of course, there's always a chance at this stage in the cycle that moving in that direction (which could be described as "new") could open up a different type of pursuit in terms of the types of bigs that are out there. Quality "traditional" types like McCormack are few and far between in 2018 but there are some Samuel types who might make sense (four-star Rivals150 forward Josh LeBlanc, for example, would be another). Right now, we don't foresee the Cavaliers opening the doors too wide regardless of what happens with Samuel and LeBlanc. But make no mistake: The intense focus in 2018 is on a point guard and everything else, even wing to some degree, is secondary.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
