Intel Report 10/13/22

Breaking down the contenders for 2023 guard Cameron Carr ahead of his official visit to Virginia this weekend. And Bennett's 2024 plan is taking shape.

Only One Remains

Point guard Elmarko Jackson has made his decision, posting an announcement date on Tuesday along with a top five that didn’t include the Hoos. With that, there’s only one recruit left on the 2023 board for UVA now. Link Academy (MO) combo guard Cameron Carr.

I expect this to be their last swing before next month’s early signing period. There have been a few others to mention new interest, and no doubt they’ll continue looking if things don’t work out with Carr, but I think Bennett is ready to focus on the upcoming season and the 2024 class for now.

One other note. Sidwell Friends (DC) point guard Cameron Gillus is set to announce his college choice on Friday. UVA had been recruiting him as a walk-on. It sounds like he’ll be taking a scholarship offer elsewhere.

Cameron Carr

Virginia offered Cameron Carr a couple weeks ago after Bennett attended an open gym session at Link Academy. He reminds me somewhat of former UVA guard Darius Thompson. I think that’s sort of the role they would have in mind for him, a versatile guard who can defend three positions and even run the point if needed.

He hasn’t put up the kind of numbers usually associated with a recruit at this level. On his AAU team, he only played about 10 minutes per game. But he was efficient in his role. He’s shown good playmaking ability, and shoots the ball pretty well. Combine that with his defensive potential, a very good athlete with a 7’0 wingspan, it’s easy to understand why he’s become a hot commodity as coaches have studied him a bit more.

Carr Contenders

Carr has scheduled an official visit for this weekend. He’ll be in attendance for the Blue-White scrimmage on Saturday. The following weekend, he’ll visit Tennessee. He’s already made recent trips to Northwestern and Kansas State. There are some other teams lurking, but it looks like he'll move forward and decide between those four over the next few weeks.

Kansas State

Carr has multiple connections to K-State. He grew up there. His dad, former NBA player Chris Carr, was on the women’s coaching staff. He attended Manhattan High for two years before transferring. And then his coach at Link Academy joined the new K-State staff. So there’s lots of familiarity. It’s not all pleasant memories though. His dad left the program last year, at the same time his sister transferred off the team.

New coach Jerome Tang has created a lot of excitement around the K-State program. He’s recruiting well so far. They have a couple quality guards in the class already. Carr would be a bonus. They’re pushing for him really hard though.

Northwestern

Northwestern has their own personal connection. Assistant coach Chris Lowery was a college teammate of Carr’s dad at Southern Illinois. And he was at K-State until the coaching change last year. They’re no doubt very close.

The seat is probably getting warm for Head Coach Chris Collins after five straight losing seasons. Instability usually isn’t good for recruiting. They’ve done pretty well in the 2023 class though. Maybe not in terms of rankings. But they’ve gotten three recruits that they prioritized. Carr would be the final piece. I actually think they were in the best position before UVA and Tennessee jumped in.

Tennessee

Tennessee came in with the latest offer, a week after UVA. His Link Academy teammate Cade Phillips is committed to the Vols. That led to them taking notice of Carr. They had been eyeing him for several weeks before Rick Barnes dropped by with the offer.

They’re in nearly the same position as UVA. Barnes has been looking around after missing out on other guards. They have a good group of young backcourt players already, but also plenty of open scholarships. The upside of Carr was too good to pass on.

Virginia

UVA coaches have been mentioned with and gone to see several senior guards this Fall. Carr is the only one to receive a scholarship offer. Assistant coach Kyle Getter first took notice. Shortly after, Bennett paid a visit resulting in the scholarship offer.

There’s been some catching up to do, especially given the relationships at K-State and Northwestern. UVA’ has had more success than maybe anyone developing big guards. We’ll see if that history can win out over the relationships at K-State and Northwestern, and perhaps a little less roster competition at Tennessee.

Prognosis

It’s a very hard recruitment to handicap. Now that the visits are set, it’s more likely than not he’ll choose one of the more successful programs, Virginia or Tennessee. Both of them have track records that fit him well. But it won’t be surprising if the personal relationships and an easier path to the court at K-State or Northwestern win out either. .

2024 Plan Takes Shape

UVA only has seven projected scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. That’s sure to change by next Spring, but they’ll still have more space than they need.

The early plan is for three recruits in the 2024 class. A point guard and a forward are firmly on the agenda. They’ll also want a second guard, either a shooter or an athletic wing. Depending on what type of late addition is made to the 2023 class, if any.

*All rankings from the 247Sports composite

Point Guard

Daniel Freitag 6’2 PG Ranked 53

School: Jefferson (MN) AAU: Howard Pulley (Nike)

Lead Recruiter Getter Competition: Wisconsin

When UVA found out it was over with Elmarko last week, they wasted no time making the call to Freitag. It’s pretty significant that he was the first 2024 PG offered. Getter was up there to see him last month. Bennett saw him play a few times over the summer. He’s also a heavily recruited football player. Seems likely he’ll choose hoops in college, but that’s to be determined.

Wisconsin is recruiting half of his AAU team, trying for the package deal. They’ve had them all on visits a couple times already. At least at this early stage, they have an advantage. But I don’t see him ending up there. His stock will keep rising. UVA is trying to get him down for a visit after his football season ends.

Point guard had been on hold until 2023 options were exhausted. It’s really just beginning. They’ll probably offer someone else in the weeks ahead.

Forward

Jarin Stevenson 6’9 PF Ranked 13

School: Seaforth (NC) AAU: Team United (Nike)

Lead Recruiter: Williford Competition: North Carolina

Stevenson was the first player offered in the class, way back in January. He’s already visited three times, most recently in June. Williford stopped by his school in September.

The thing to watch is UNC’s recruitment of 2023 forward Zayden High. If they get him, things open up with Stevenson. It wouldn’t mean he’s coming to UVA for sure, or that UNC is out of the running. You’d see other teams come after him, maybe blue bloods. But it would get very interesting.

Caleb Williams 6’7 SF/PF Ranked 135

School: Sidwell (DC) AAU: Takeover (Nike)

Lead Recruiter: Williford Competition: Villanova

Williams was offered while on an unofficial visit in August, actually his second visit of the summer. They saw a lot of him during the AAU season. Williford has made multiple trips to Sidwell since.

He’s been very active in his recruitment early on, taking lots of visits. That typically means things will get serious with him by Spring. Villanova has history with Sidwell players. Saddiq Bey went there.. It’s a little different now that Jay Wright has retired though. Michigan, Indiana, and Notre Dame are probably the other relevant teams.

Shooter

Kon Knueppel 6’5 SF Ranked 44

School: Wisconsin Lutheran AAU: Team Herro (Nike)

Lead Recruiter: Getter Competition: Wisconsin

Of all 2024 recruits, Bennett saw the most of Knueppel’s AAU games this summer. So, the offer last month was pretty unsurprising. His mom and uncle were both star players at Bennett’s alma mater Wisconsin-Green Bay.

He’s planning early official visits to Notre Dame and Stanford. I expect he’ll find his way to Charlottesville this Winter too. It’ll be a fight to get him out of Wisconsin. And by next Spring, there could be bigger brands involved. We’ve learned when there’s a connection to Bennett like this, the usual rules don’t apply. He’ll recruit Kon hard no matter what else may change.

Juke Harris 6’6 SG Ranked 42

School: Salisbury (NC) AAU: Loaded VA (Adidas)

Lead Recruiter: Vandross Competition: Tennessee

Harris was offered while on an unofficial visit in August. He had a huge summer, going from unknown to borderline five-star recruit in some places. Bennett stopped by to see him last month while on a sweep through NC.

The way he’s trending, it’s probably going to be a bit of a longshot for UVA to pull off. And I’m not confident they’ll put forth the kind of effort it would take to stay in the picture. Houston and Tennessee are strong with him early.

Athletic Wing

Isaiah Abraham 6’6 SF Ranked 56

School: Paul VI (VA) AAU: Takeover (Nike)

Lead Recruiter: Williford Competition: Villanova

Abraham has already visited twice, most recently for the home football opener. This is one that we’ve known they would be recruiting for a long time. His offer in August was no surprise.

UVA is in a good spot with him early. I’m not sure that means very much though. Villanova is after a big class in 2024. They’ll be a factor. His aunt is on the women’s staff at Georgetown. But above all, it’s the unknown of what’s to come. The field won’t be set until next Spring.

Rakease Passmore 6’5 SF Ranked 47

School: Combine (NC) AAU: Garner Road (Adidas)

Lead Recruiter: Vandross Competition: Kansas

Bennett offered him a scholarship after watching an open gym session at Combine in September. The staff were regulars at his games over the summer.

Simply put, he’s a very longshot. He was relatively unknown when they first started looking, then things blew up in a hurry. From what I’ve heard, he’s probably not going to be very responsive to UVA’s message anyhow.

Building The Next Generation

The ideal scenario right now is for UVA to finish off their 2023 class with Cameron Carr. If that happens, they’ll want a shooter for the second guard spot in 2024. Add in one of the current freshmen as a redshirt. Leon Bond fits best with what they’re doing. You’re left with a neat blueprint of the usual seven-player generation Bennett tries to assemble every two years.

Daniel Freitag Lead Guard

Elijah Gertrude Combo Guard

Cameron Carr Athletic Wing

Kon Knueppel Shooter

Leon Bond Athletic Forward

Caleb Williams Skilled Forward

Blake Buchanan Center

It’ll never work that smoothly of course. But the plan at the moment looks something like that.