The WAR ROOM is back and this edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! With the final evaluation period of the summer underway, we'll tell you where the coaches are recruiting and tell you what the plan was coming out of the second week. We'll fill you in on what the board now looks like at wing, where the Cavaliers continue to pair down the list of prospects and it seems like two or three have emerged as the ones to watch. And of course, we'll touch on the recruitment of a certain former five-star who is looking to transfer and UVa is considered the heavy favorite. So what's the plan there? We'll give you all of that and more.
As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!
Final live period rolls on
For the last time in a War Room this summer, we'll start once again this week with logistics, as Tony Bennett and his assistant coaches are out on the road during the final evaluation period of July. Bennett as well as Brad Soderberg and Ron Sanchez are all in Las Vegas pretty much for the duration this week. Whereas the other two live periods included a host of events nationwide, the third sort of focuses a lot of the action in Vegas and that's where the staff is spending most of its time.
Assistant coach Jason Williford, meanwhile, was planning to spend the first couple of days in Kansas City before heading to Louisville for two more. He'll close out the weekend in Washington, D.C. at the Team Takeover event, according to our sources.
We said that going into the second live period, UVa felt good about where things stood in the post but that there was uncertainty on the wing. That was the focus last week and coming out of it, things sound much more paired down. But that doesn't mean the board is full of prospects that the Cavaliers are making a push to get. Instead, it sounds like Bennett and his staff didn't see but so much from the bevy of wings they were looking at and as such, the pecking order is small. So during this evaluation period, the thinking was to spend more time looking at 2017 and 2018 prospects strictly from a scouting perspective. Sources say the Hoos feel really good about how their recruiting has worked the past couple of years and a lot of that was built off of being able to see young kids, track them, and get them committed early. The thinking was that using this period to watch younger players helps set up that same scenario for future classes.
Blackwell, Sneed, and Jones head up the wings
Let's start by focusing on the wings, which is where some of the developments of the last week reside. As everyone knows by now, four-star Rivals150 small forward Braxton Blackwell is down to six schools: Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt, and UVa. In talking to our sources, the Cavaliers have been in the picture for some time but really started to make a hard push maybe a month or so ago. It wasn't really a surprise to them, then, that they had made his list and, as seems to be the case for every recruit they go after, four-star commit Kyle Guy is friends with Blackwell. Since he'll be at Oak Hill Academy this coming year, the staff will have a chance to see him more often and that definitely won't hurt. There's also talk about some of his family relocating, though there hasn't been any firm details on that front as of yet. Since Blackwell is the nephew of former UVa great Ralph Sampson and already has family in the area, it makes the whole idea of it all work a little better.
So, how do the Wahoos see him fitting if he ultimately decides he wants to come? Well, one source passed along that he's exactly what they're looking for in terms of his style and his frame. They love his length and his game. He's a guy that does everything well. And that theme translates to his all-around game. Bennett loves "complete" players and one source passed along this week that UVa sees Blackwell as a complete guy.
At this point, we haven't heard anything firm in the way of a timeframe from here on out. Our sources said UVa does expect to get a visit at some point.
The other main target right now on the wing appears to be Xavier Sneed, who Williford was set to see in KC this week. The Cavaliers have seen him a lot this month and are really loving what they've seen. Things aren't quite as deep there but word is he's a guy Bennett could make a push for down the road. As we've said before, as much as the staff wants a wing in this class they're not going to take a guy just to take a guy. Focusing on Blackwell and Sneed is sort of how the Cavaliers work a lot of times, pairing down a list of guys and then seeing where one or two recruitments go before moving. Sources say they're fine with waiting until the spring if that needs to happen in order to get the right guy.
And that may end up being the case if Andrew Jones is that guy and he decides to wait. Simply put: He's really blowing up this month and Virginia isn't the only school to come calling. While sources say that UVa really, really loves him, there's a feeling that it might be a little too late to carve out a niche and gain some traction in his recruitment. That won't stop them from trying, though. Since it still appears that he's ready to take things into the spring, it could work out for the Wahoos. But for now, the focus really seems to be more on Blackwell and Sneed.
Lastly, there are a lot of other guys on the wing that we've mentioned previously that UVa has evaluated and we wouldn't shut the door completely on any of them. At this point, though, we think the focus is on the three mentioned above.
Diakite and Gabriel still atop the board
We thought we'd at least touch on the bigs before moving forward this week, as the Cavaliers remain focused on two there as well in four-star Rivals150 standouts Mamadi Diakite and Wenyen Gabriel.
As discussed the past couple of weeks, things with Diakite are in a great spot and Gabriel, who continues to pick up new interest this month, is working on a longer timeframe. We haven't heard anything new on a potential commitment window for Diakite but we still remain firm in our high number on the Confidence Meter from a couple of weeks back.
Speaking of timeframes, word from four-star Rivals150 big man Tyler Cook is that he could be done sooner than later. Remember, he trimmed his list down to six (Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, and UVa) about two months ago and was scheduled to visit UVa until an opportunity to attend a big Nike camp was too good to turn down. Now, he sounds more and more like he wants to be done with his recruitment. He told Rivals this week that he plans to take some visits but he's not sure how many he'll even take. He's not in a hurry but he's not waiting around, either.
So how does that play into UVa's plans? Well that really depends...
The latest on Nichols
We'll close out this week with some notes on what we're hearing about the recruitment of Memphis transfer Austin Nichols. And as much as some folks might cringe at the thought of it, we still haven't heard anything that would give us any cause for concern.
For example, there's now a lot of talk out there about him visiting UVa this weekend. When we first heard mention of a possible visit, the context was important. It was framed as something he "wasn't even sure if he need[ed]" to do. Think about that for a second. Sure, recruiting is crazy and he could end up somewhere else but generally, when a guy gets to the point where he's not sure if he needs a visit, the decision seems sort of elementary at that point. And that's what our sources have said consistently, even after that brief mention of Kansas being involved. This visit feels more like a job interview where they show you where your desk will be. We heard Nichols was curious about where he'd live and he wanted to meet the players, for example. The feeling is it's more of just an extra bit of comfort.
Still, it's easy to see why folks are excited/stress. After all, this is a big-time prospect and no doubt other schools have been trying like crazy to get into the mix. We've heard that the visit, which if it goes according to plan should start on Saturday or Sunday depending on travel schedules, will be the only one. Again, we feel very comfortable with UVa's chances at this point.
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!
Final live period rolls on
For the last time in a War Room this summer, we'll start once again this week with logistics, as Tony Bennett and his assistant coaches are out on the road during the final evaluation period of July. Bennett as well as Brad Soderberg and Ron Sanchez are all in Las Vegas pretty much for the duration this week. Whereas the other two live periods included a host of events nationwide, the third sort of focuses a lot of the action in Vegas and that's where the staff is spending most of its time.
Assistant coach Jason Williford, meanwhile, was planning to spend the first couple of days in Kansas City before heading to Louisville for two more. He'll close out the weekend in Washington, D.C. at the Team Takeover event, according to our sources.
We said that going into the second live period, UVa felt good about where things stood in the post but that there was uncertainty on the wing. That was the focus last week and coming out of it, things sound much more paired down. But that doesn't mean the board is full of prospects that the Cavaliers are making a push to get. Instead, it sounds like Bennett and his staff didn't see but so much from the bevy of wings they were looking at and as such, the pecking order is small. So during this evaluation period, the thinking was to spend more time looking at 2017 and 2018 prospects strictly from a scouting perspective. Sources say the Hoos feel really good about how their recruiting has worked the past couple of years and a lot of that was built off of being able to see young kids, track them, and get them committed early. The thinking was that using this period to watch younger players helps set up that same scenario for future classes.
Blackwell, Sneed, and Jones head up the wings
Let's start by focusing on the wings, which is where some of the developments of the last week reside. As everyone knows by now, four-star Rivals150 small forward Braxton Blackwell is down to six schools: Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt, and UVa. In talking to our sources, the Cavaliers have been in the picture for some time but really started to make a hard push maybe a month or so ago. It wasn't really a surprise to them, then, that they had made his list and, as seems to be the case for every recruit they go after, four-star commit Kyle Guy is friends with Blackwell. Since he'll be at Oak Hill Academy this coming year, the staff will have a chance to see him more often and that definitely won't hurt. There's also talk about some of his family relocating, though there hasn't been any firm details on that front as of yet. Since Blackwell is the nephew of former UVa great Ralph Sampson and already has family in the area, it makes the whole idea of it all work a little better.
So, how do the Wahoos see him fitting if he ultimately decides he wants to come? Well, one source passed along that he's exactly what they're looking for in terms of his style and his frame. They love his length and his game. He's a guy that does everything well. And that theme translates to his all-around game. Bennett loves "complete" players and one source passed along this week that UVa sees Blackwell as a complete guy.
At this point, we haven't heard anything firm in the way of a timeframe from here on out. Our sources said UVa does expect to get a visit at some point.
The other main target right now on the wing appears to be Xavier Sneed, who Williford was set to see in KC this week. The Cavaliers have seen him a lot this month and are really loving what they've seen. Things aren't quite as deep there but word is he's a guy Bennett could make a push for down the road. As we've said before, as much as the staff wants a wing in this class they're not going to take a guy just to take a guy. Focusing on Blackwell and Sneed is sort of how the Cavaliers work a lot of times, pairing down a list of guys and then seeing where one or two recruitments go before moving. Sources say they're fine with waiting until the spring if that needs to happen in order to get the right guy.
And that may end up being the case if Andrew Jones is that guy and he decides to wait. Simply put: He's really blowing up this month and Virginia isn't the only school to come calling. While sources say that UVa really, really loves him, there's a feeling that it might be a little too late to carve out a niche and gain some traction in his recruitment. That won't stop them from trying, though. Since it still appears that he's ready to take things into the spring, it could work out for the Wahoos. But for now, the focus really seems to be more on Blackwell and Sneed.
Lastly, there are a lot of other guys on the wing that we've mentioned previously that UVa has evaluated and we wouldn't shut the door completely on any of them. At this point, though, we think the focus is on the three mentioned above.
Diakite and Gabriel still atop the board
We thought we'd at least touch on the bigs before moving forward this week, as the Cavaliers remain focused on two there as well in four-star Rivals150 standouts Mamadi Diakite and Wenyen Gabriel.
As discussed the past couple of weeks, things with Diakite are in a great spot and Gabriel, who continues to pick up new interest this month, is working on a longer timeframe. We haven't heard anything new on a potential commitment window for Diakite but we still remain firm in our high number on the Confidence Meter from a couple of weeks back.
Speaking of timeframes, word from four-star Rivals150 big man Tyler Cook is that he could be done sooner than later. Remember, he trimmed his list down to six (Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, and UVa) about two months ago and was scheduled to visit UVa until an opportunity to attend a big Nike camp was too good to turn down. Now, he sounds more and more like he wants to be done with his recruitment. He told Rivals this week that he plans to take some visits but he's not sure how many he'll even take. He's not in a hurry but he's not waiting around, either.
So how does that play into UVa's plans? Well that really depends...
The latest on Nichols
We'll close out this week with some notes on what we're hearing about the recruitment of Memphis transfer Austin Nichols. And as much as some folks might cringe at the thought of it, we still haven't heard anything that would give us any cause for concern.
For example, there's now a lot of talk out there about him visiting UVa this weekend. When we first heard mention of a possible visit, the context was important. It was framed as something he "wasn't even sure if he need[ed]" to do. Think about that for a second. Sure, recruiting is crazy and he could end up somewhere else but generally, when a guy gets to the point where he's not sure if he needs a visit, the decision seems sort of elementary at that point. And that's what our sources have said consistently, even after that brief mention of Kansas being involved. This visit feels more like a job interview where they show you where your desk will be. We heard Nichols was curious about where he'd live and he wanted to meet the players, for example. The feeling is it's more of just an extra bit of comfort.
Still, it's easy to see why folks are excited/stress. After all, this is a big-time prospect and no doubt other schools have been trying like crazy to get into the mix. We've heard that the visit, which if it goes according to plan should start on Saturday or Sunday depending on travel schedules, will be the only one. Again, we feel very comfortable with UVa's chances at this point.
That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!
