Intel Report 5/15/22

For three straight weekends now, Virginia has hosted 2023 recruits on visits. The latest of what’s going on with UVA’s top targets in that class. And the Hoos are going international this summer, in more ways than one.

Newest Offer

UVA handed out a pretty big scholarship offer on Thursday to 2023 Bishop Ireton (VA) guard Jamie Kaiser. He’s been one of the hottest recruits in the country of late, making a name for himself this spring on the Adidas circuit. Offers keep flooding in for him. Indiana became the latest on Saturday.

Kaiser is a two-sport star who was also recruited by Division-1 schools to play football. Recently, he decided that he’ll concentrate on basketball in college. It looks like a good choice. He’s quickly developed a reputation as one of the better shooters in the class. That’s been the tipping point that’s drawn in all the new recruiting activity. Combined with fairly good athleticism at 6’6, it makes for an intriguing package.

He’s scheduled an official visit for the weekend of June 2nd. UVA is the heavy favorite to eventually get his commitment. There’s no expectation of that happening on his visit though. This is all new to him and he wants to hear everyone out. He’s already taken officials to Wisconsin and Harvard in recent weeks. So that’s promising that he’s moving along through his process. .

He’s a high academic, obviously with Harvard involved. They feel like he’s a great fit who’s about the right stuff. In this new environment, that’s become even more important. He’s the top shooting guard target now. I'll be surprised if he doesn't end up at UVA.

Other 2023 Recruits

As I laid out last week, UVA is trying to fill four spots in the 2023 class. Spring is a gray middle area in recruiting. . Bennett is being aggressive as always, getting recruits in quickly for visits. But most of them won’t be in decision mode for a while. The goal is to get at least two of them before fall recruiting opens in September, preferably one before the July evaluation periods. There will be a whole new crop then, and those are the players they’ll recruit in the fall.

Buchanan

Lake City (ID) big man Blake Buchanan visited two weekends ago. He was the one out of the group of recent offers that there was some hope of wrapping up quickly. Well, that hasn’t happened. The reason appears to be increased interest from Gonzaga. He lives just a short drive from Spokane. I still think UVA is the favorite by a wide margin. They’ve treated him really well, giving him the priority attention that Gonznaga hasn’t. But it looks like he’ll hold out a while longer.

Dilione

I’ve heard that UVA folks think things went really well with Word of God (NC) guard Freddie Dilione on his visit last weekend. His comments in interviews afterwards were certainly encouraging too. He’s the clear top guard target at this point. The fear with him isn’t necessarily any of the other schools involved right now. It’s that his recruitment may not have peaked yet. As things stand, UVA is in a great spot.

Power

Worcester (MA) forward TJ Power has said he’s planning to visit in early June. I think that’ll be the weekend of June 10th, following Kaiser. That looks like a wide open recruitment. Indiana is after him hard. Notre Dame and Stanford recently offered as well. He and Kaiser have a lot in common. Power is another high academic, and has also been recruited as a baseball player. UVA has spent more energy on Pewaukee (WI) forward Milan Momcilovic, but Power seems more interested in UVA.

Another Visitor

UVA hosted 2023 Greensboro Day (NC) combo guard Jaydon Young on an unofficial visit on Saturday. He’s a familiar name. They were very interested in him from the start. He’s had some injury problems that set him back. But he’s reemerged after a strong spring of AAU. No offer right now. Obviously serious interest. Expect him to have Bennett courtside for the scholastic live periods in June, where players are with their high school teams.

Hoos Going International

Italy Trip

The team will travel to Italy this summer for their once every four years overseas tour. The trip was originally planned for two years ago, but covid delayed things. They’re scheduled to leave on August 10th and return on the 20th. Most of that is a recruiting dead period by the way, so well timed.

They’re supposed to play four games. I don’t know who the opponents will be. The first game is in Rome on the 13th. The second in Florence on the 16th. And the last two in Rapallo on the 18th and 19th.

Lots of sightseeing, fun activities, and good food in between. It should be an awesome trip for all involved.

FIBA Competition

I’ve learned that a pair of Hoos will likely be playing in international competition this summer. Kihei Clark has been invited to join the Chinese national team. And Taine Murray has the chance to play for his home country of New Zealand.

They’d both be participating in the Asia Cup, a FIBA qualifying event held in Indonesia. It runs from July 12th through the 24th. Assuming it’s approved by the NCAA compliance office, which I doubt is a problem, they both plan to accept the invites.