Intel Report 7/28/22

Fresh off the summer’s last live period, UVA extended a pair of new scholarship offers. And one of the Hoos top targets is in Charlottesville this week.

Calendar

First off, we’re still in the cloudy time following the July live periods. There will probably be more scholarship offers made. It takes a couple weeks for the dust to settle so that we can see the full picture of where things stand.

There’s a window for recruits to visit right now before the dead period which runs from August 6th through the 15th.

The Virginia team will of course be leaving for their trip to Italy on August 10th, scheduled to return on the 20th.

The first home football game is on Sept 3rd vs Richmond. Early season football weekends are prime for visitors.

Fall recruiting opens on Sept 9th. That’s when coaches are allowed back out to visit recruits at their schools or homes. Mostly they attend open gym sessions at high schools.

Long Term Roster Building

When we talk about recruiting, it’s all too often focused on the immediate. While coaches are looking at the long term. I’m showing this 2024-25 projected scholarship chart to try to explain what the UVA coaching staff is trying to do, particularly when it comes to guard recruiting.

The first thing to notice, they need lots of players. They'll be looking for six more high school recruits by then. And as you can see, there’s no one you could call a point guard. That’s why it’s the most urgent need. And they'll actually need a pair of them by then.

As usual, they’re trying to put together their next generation of four guards over the ‘23 and ‘24 classes. A floor general, a multi-positional defender, a sharpshooter, and a big wing. That’s Bennett recruiting 101, rinse and repeat. .But because of the predicament, this time either the multi-positional defender or the sharpshooter will also need to be a dependable point guard.

So when you hear point guard mentioned a lot over these next two classes, that’s why. The plan is to bring in two by 2024, It’s possible they both come in 2023. Only, one of them will need to be capable of serving multiple roles.

New 2023 Offers

Green

Link Academy (MO) point guard Trey Green capped a great summer by being named Peach Jam MVP after leading his team to the championship. The next day, he had a new offer from UVA. It looks like it’ll be primarily a three-team race with Xavier and Kansas State. Miami could possibly factor in as well. Only Xavier had offered before this week.

He released a top seven back in May and had even set some fall visit dates, but none of that has any significance anymore. Xavier was essentially set to be the pick if these new offers hadn’t come. They have an opportunity for him to potentially start as a freshman. He’s visiting there this weekend.

The UVA offer was definitely a game changer. But so is the one from Kansas State. It was announced on Wednesday that they’ve hired his high school and AAU coach as their new assistant. That might be hard to overcome.

He had mentioned committing in August. It’s a different ballgame now. So I wouldn’t necessarily assume that holds. I don’t know if there’s a date set yet, but UVA does expect him to visit soon.

If UVA was to get Trey Green, it would not take them out of the running with anyone else currently holding an offer. The other “point guards” being recruited are all bigger multi-positional defenders.

Cosby

The Hoos are taking another swing at an in-state recruit too. Benedictine (VA) shooting guard Davin Cosby was offered on Tuesday. A great shooter with good size at 6’5, he’s up to a dozen high-major offers now. All coming in July.

There’s no plans for him to visit yet as far as I know. He’s planning to see Wake Forest and Alabama soon. It’s a wide open recruitment. Everybody is a newcomer. UVA should get their shot this fall. But it’ll also depend on how things play out with other guards in the meantime, most notably Elijah Gertrude.

Weekend Visitor

Hudson Catholic (NJ) guard Elijah Gertrude is scheduled for an official visit beginning on Thursday. They really made him a top priority this summer. It’s far from a sure thing, maybe call them a slight favorite over the field, but he is the guy with a current offer that they’re in the best position with.

There doesn’t seem to be any expectation of him committing while there. But having the visit now does give them a nice window over this next month or so to try to close that deal before he takes other visits and UVA has to bring others in. Kansas recently offered, but we think the main competition still comes from schools in the region. Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and potentially Syracuse

Gertrude is an elite athlete, capable of being an absolute lockdown perimeter defender. He’s had some ups and downs offensively this summer, but has shown good potential both as a creator and shot maker.

Power

Worcester (MA) forward TJ Power has been the top overall target since being offered in the spring. He visited shortly after. UVA seemed to be leading the pack, until a barrage of blue blood offers came his way in July.

He made a pair of quick one-day official visits this week to Duke and North Carolina while visiting some family nearby. The bright side is he’s now visited all the schools that I believe are relevant. UVA, Iowa, and Notre Dame all received earlier visits.

I’m sure Duke and UNC will try to get him back in the fall, as will others. But this could very well be it. Either way, it fits with what Bennett wants. He typically tries to get yes/no verdicts from early recruits before fall recruiting opens in September. If Power hasn’t committed by then, it’s unlikely that UVA will be the choice.

There haven’t been any new offers to competing players yet. A UVA source said there were other players they were ready to move on, and that was back during the first July live period. I don’t know who that would be, and there was no sign of it this last week on the road. But they definitely seem to have new candidates in mind. The fact that they haven't pulled the trigger on that speaks to there still being a higher degree of confidence about Power than those on the outside seem to think.

The Rundown

All with offers, in order of relevance

South Kent (CT0 point guard Elmarko Jackson is a top priority for UVA. The only way they'd let up full pursuit of him is if two other guards commit before it ends. There’s some optimism about it too. He’s planning to name finalists soon, then schedule Fall visits. I’d expect UVA to get one. .

Word of God (NC) guard Freddie Dilione is supposed to visit Wake Forest and Alabama soon. He visited UVA, Tennessee, and VCU in the spring. Still alive, but not hopeful at all.

Totino-Grace (MN) Guard Taison Chatman has UVA in his final five. The Hoos seem to be the fifth on the list though. He’s already visited Kansas and Xavier. And he plans to make trips to Minnesota and Ohio State in early September. UVA might get their chance too before it’s over

Rolling Meadows (IL) guard Cam Christie continues to mention UVA and possibly visiting in the Fall. We’ll see, but I doubt it happens. It’s been a lukewarm recruitment, and he wasn’t that great in July. There’s a good chance he commits to Minnesota soon.

Wing Jamie Kaiser, now transferred to IMG Academy (FL), is as good as gone. He’s visiting Indiana this week. They seem to be the only challenger left for Maryland.

Jesuit (CA) wing Andrej Stojakovic will release a list of finalists on Friday. No idea if UVA will be on it, but it doesn’t really matter. Duke recently offered. UCLA has been considered the favorite.

2024

There haven’t been any new offers yet to the 2024 class. But there are two to keep an eye on above others in m the months ahead.

Seaforth (NC) forward Jarin Stevenson is of course still the only player in the class with an offer. I won’t be surprised at all if he makes his decision this fall. It’s only a two-team race between Virginia and North Carolina. It’s hard to see that lasting long once the head coaches turn their attention to him in September.

The other one to watch is Mountain Brook (AL) point guard Ty Davis. He likes UVA a lot. A coach’s son, a big guard that can play on or off the ball, great shooter. Definitely Bennett’s type. He’s had the UVA boss courtside consistently in July. Assuming he’s offered, and I do think he will be, things could turn serious with him this fall too