I watched about half of that game. Holmes showed he is the real deal but also showed a few times he’s still in High school. He just needs Mike Curtis to put some muscle on that lean frame. Interesting game as Millenium self destructed in the last 3 minutes almost blowing a 10 point lead. Holmes blocked a layup that would have tied the game as time expired. It was a heads up play to save the game
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I’m sure Roy wants to see his commit RJ Davis, but I suspect he’s mostly going to check out Trevor Keels.
North Carolina head cosch Roy Williams and assistant Hubert Davis will be in Delaware today to see R.J. Davis when @step_basketball takes on Paul VI, one of the Top 10 teams in the country.
— Varsity Insider (@lohudinsider) December 29, 2019
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So I asked around about the Efton reclassification talk. That led to another conversation about his recruitment. I think if you follow along, you’ll see the two subjects are related.
He loves the Steward School, is close with his coaches and teammates. He’d prefer not to transfer for his senior year, even though going to a top prep school would be better for his development. Heading to college a year early would be a way to continue his progress on the court, possibly without going far from home. UVA doesn’t really care which class he’s in. They’re not pushing for it, but would certainly welcome him in 2020 if he wants to go that route. Still, I don’t know how likely it is.
As for his recruitment, it sounds promising. He and his family have hit it off with Bennett. They’re people of strong faith, so that’s a big part of it. However, there are some on his side who believe going further away from home would be good for his personal development. He’s so close with his family, they think maybe he should have room to stand on his own. That’s where schools like Ohio State fit in.
In some ways, I don’t think they’re competing against anyone for Efton. This is a UVA vs not UVA decision for now. That’s exactly where we want it to be.
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Man that is some great information! Sounds like we are on the right track with Efton! Really hoping it works out. If he would be our first to commit, does that help our chances of getting a second top 50 recruit like Keels, who doesn’t play the same position as Efton? Seems like they could complement each others game a lot, and that might be another good incentive to choose UVA?
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Efton might help a little with Keels. They were AAU teammates last summer, although I don’t think they’re that tight. DaRon Holmes would be the guy I think he’d help the most with. They’ve gotten to be real friends starting with the USA mini-camp then on their official visits together.
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Well lets take all three of them then! …Which reminds me of a question Ive been having…I think we have given approximately 6 or so offers for 2021. Obviously we dont have 6 scholarships to fill. So are scholarship offers handed out on a first come first serve basis? Seems kind of weird that teams can hand our more offers than what they have available.
Also, how does this effect the mentality of individuals who have received the offers. Reid, Holmes, and Furst are all listed as PF. If one of these guys commits before the others, dont they miss out on an opportunity? I would expect there to be a sense of urgency to take the scholarship or lose it to someone else, but that seems to never be the case. Do other schools like Duke/Kentucky/UNC have that luxury with recruits where there is a sense of urgency among those they are recruiting? Just curious how this process works…seems like its such a long process from offer to commitment.
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Whew…that’s a meaty topic. lol Yeah essentially it’s first come. But the only way you’ll get a commitment without going the distance to next Fall is by pushing for it.
That’s really the whole strategic aspect. Choosing wisely where to spend your energy, especially your head coach’s time.
Every coach has their own way of going about it. Duke for example has a few guys they’ll recruit heavily from the start, then a bunch of others they’ll lightly recruit until the final summer when they essentially select who they want.
As the three “power forwards”. Reid and Furst are being recruited for one spot. They’re both traditional big men. Holmes is separate, more versatile.
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Actually Coach Bennett is very tight with offers. I’ve talked with @HoozGotNext about this before
If you will look at the recruiting profiles of a lot of the 4 and 5 stars you will see certain teams over and over again with offers. Wake Forest and Va. Tech do but the one I’ve noticed the most is Florida. Seems like they offer half of the Top 100,lol
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Definitely sounds like Peyton Watson is intent on rescheduling that visit.
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Coach Bennett made his way down to Myrtle Beach to see DaRon Holmes. Got there a game early too, possibly for '21 stud guard Jaden Hardy from Vegas.
Defending national champion Virginia head coach Tony Bennett courtside @BBCbasketball
— BIG SH🏀TS (@BigShotsNation) December 30, 2019
5️⃣⭐️Jaden Hardy & 4️⃣⭐️Tyler Beard on the floor, 5️⃣⭐️DaRon Holmes next
With that, I’ll be bumping up DaRon Holmes to Group A on the list way above.
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What it does change is the recruiting economy. If the best 15 players don’t HAVE to go to college (or overseas) for that one year, then what is Duke/KU selling to the next 30-40 guys that we don’t? These are the guys that stand to benefit from a decision to develop vs. getting pure exposure. They aren’t good enough walking in the door to make the league so their best shot is to actually choose somewhere that makes them better. Point is - the post “one-and-done” rule era favors schools that actually offer a track record of developing recruits into pro prospects that otherwise wouldn’t have made it.
And that’s when Tony can point to Mike, Joe, Brogs, Ty, Dre, Kyle, Devon, Justin, Klay (don’t forget!), etc.
Methinks another ship or two before 2025 will alleviate some of these concerns as guys consider the amount of airtime they ultimately get over the long term (assuming they aren’t already in the nba convo when they decide on a school) - but that’s a big maybe
If you’re looking to kill time before the Orange Bowl, you can see what Coach Bennett is watching here. Holmes game should start around 5:30.
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I am unconvinced that a change by the NBA would change the attitudes of that many prep stars. I suspect the next 15 or 20 kids in the rankings would also imagine that they only need a year of college ball before they’re ready to be drafted. I suspect that there will be plenty of folks telling them the same, including some of the coaches recruiting them. These kids won’t be looking at long term development. They’ll be looking for exposure. I don’t think it changes much for Virginia. What really changes is the element of risk for programs like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, etc. Now they have to consider the probability that one of their signed recruits will skip college at a point in the recruiting year when alternatives will be far and few between. Among other things, I doubt that any draft decisions will have to be made before the early signing date.
Is Watson an alternative to Holmes’s spot more so that Keels?
Keels. They’re different players too. Keels is sort of the Brogdon to Watson’s Anderson (Hunter being the better model today). Jabri gives them the flexibility to go for either type, but really can only get one who expects to play right away. Holmes is closer to Diakite, only I guess you’d say more modernized as a 4 in today’s game. Basketball isn’t positionless yet as people claim but the lines are getting blurry.
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So Keels and Holmes are friends? Guessing UVA is the only school that is strongly recruiting them both giving them the opportunity to play together. Might give us another advantage . Imagine landing Keels, Holmes, and Reid in the same Class…Easily our best recruiting class yet…Not sure how likely it is though…Seems like that might be our coaches primary gameplan/goal?
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2021 recruiting is getting fun. In the past, Bennett has lost all his battles for a top 50 recruit against OAD factories. But now he’s going head-to-head for every single one of his 2021 targets. And why not? He’s got a solid platform of Clark, Beekman, Morsell, Abdur-Rahim, McCorkle, Caffaro, Shedrick, McKoy, and Stattmann already on board for 2021. That’s a nine-deep experienced, balanced roster already.
If you’re a developmental player in the typical Bennett target 50-100 range, that’s daunting. Who are you going to steal minutes from? So Bennett might as well shoot for the stars.
And, even though it’s early, it looks pretty promising with Efton Reid, and they’re competitive with a few others like Holmes, Furst, and Keels. Getting just one of these early targets would be a major win.
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Reid and Holmes are friends, based on what HGN said (Reid was the one who visited at the same time as Holmes).
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Ah, thanks for the clarification. I misread HGN on that.
Sounds like Bennett has a good strategy going…If we get one to commit it might really increase our odds of landing the other.
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