Noticed Williford liked this tweet. Also has been liking a lot of Layden Blocker’s stuff throughout the summer
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Remembering that I know little to nothing about any of this, it seems to me that, WRT to the three remaining outstanding offers, Ryan Dunn is the most practical. As I inferred from @HoozGotNext, he needs to be sold “development” and not immediate “playing time”. If he wants the former, it could be a great fit. If he’s looking for the latter, then Virginia is probably not his best option. In some respects, it’s even simpler with Phillips. I don’'t think that there is a clear path to early playing time for him (especially with Gardner’s plans being unknown), and I am skeptical he is looking for long term development. While it might be nice to get a commitment from him, I can see him getting a bit frustrated, and an unhappy camper isn’t something UVa needs. Who knows what is happening with Bobi Klintmen? He could be something; he could be nothing; he could be something else. He’s a bridge which Virginia can cross when they come to it. For now, I am very pleased with the potential of the 2022 recruiting class, and I think a commitment from Ryan Dunn would simply be gravy.
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Sometimes the success turns into FOMO for kids as well. I think Dunn is surpised at his overnight success and attention and have heard Virginia is at the top of his list (from local people here). Maybe he sees Virginia is a top 5 class and he wants to be down
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I think in keeping line with keeping the roster compact they want to take 3/4 in 2023 as well.
A point guard, Reed Sheppard or an alternative, GG Jackson or an alternative, and a lanky center like Xavier Booker/Isaiah Miranda/Papa Kante.(just the ones staff has interest in that we know of)
However it could be a 3 man class if they see GG Jackson as a rim protector on top of being a talented forward, and that those GG Jackson alternatives are the other lanky forwards. Pg, reed sheppard, GG Jackson
Ive also seen them active with more traditional powerforwards (Austin Parks who has already visited Michigan State twice somehow, Carter Lang who is local in Cville/STAB) and then also Gus Yalden who isn’t a lanky forward. maybe it’s
Pg
Reed sheppard
GG jackson/lanky forward
traditional forward/Gus Yalden.
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Questions I selfishly want answered this fall
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Will we still recruit Justin Edwards with both Leon Bond and possibly Ryan Dunn in 2022? How many wing forwards do we need on roster with our new vision?
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Will we beat blue bloods head to head in recruiting for prospects we both covet? We did take Traudt when Gonzaga and shifted and priortized him and UNC had him as a priority but also was prioritizing Jalen Washington. In GG Jackson’s case we offered AFTER UNC and Duke already did. And he is very much their priority target, but it is Tony vs Hubert and Scheyer, not Roy and K. With Justin Edwards, Villanova and Kentucky will be factors. The kid is a left handed DeAndre Hunter though so we’ll see.
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We gonna recruit Gus Yalden or nah? Offensively he is perfect for what we want. Defensively not sure he can switch and he’s more of a big body than a rim protector but if we get a rim protector at the 4 maybe it’s a moot point. I know he was supposed to visit in August but he recently said during the fall. Not sure if we moved it for many reasons or he postponed it because of a surgery he had or what. He lists us in his unofficial top 7 (along with Wisconsin, Iowa, Louisville, Rutgers, Arkansas, and Gonzaga).
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Who is our next point guard?
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Will the people who say “Tony needs to focus on the 50-100 range kids” and “one and dones wouldn’t fit us well. we don’t need them” still continue to spout their bull s&^% as Tony continues to recruit one and done, including 3 of his first 4 offers in 2023?
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WRT #5, it isn’t a question of whether Coach Bennett will offer potential OAD players. There is a long list of OADs he’s offered through the years who went elsewhere. For the most part, a player who imagines himself as a OAD is not going to select Virginia. A player who expects to spend only a year or two in college is far more likely to commit to a program which offers him a platform upon which he can display those offensive skills which earned him those five stars. Reportedly, Coby White loved Virginia and the staff, but he had no desire to play in Virginia’s schemes, or wait his turn to get on the floor. There may very well be a Top 25 player who wants to play in a deliberate offense with an emphasis on defense, and the staff will never find him if they don’t offer, but I continue to believe that Virginia’s sweet spot is to be found in that #25 to #75 range. Additionally, it isn’t just skill sets for which the staff is looking. It is also attitude, and that may be the rarer quality among the very elite. Now, having said that, we really don’t know what the impact of Overtime Elite and G-League Ignite will be on recruiting in the near future, but there will be the need for adjustments. All through the recruiting food chain. Also, just because these new enterprises may possibly skim the cream off the top, so to speak, it doesn’t mean that those left won’t imagine that they only need to spend a year in school. There will still be OADs. Finally, it is worth noting that the OAD player destabilizes a program. They certainly have done so to Syracuse. GT and Wake have suffered, too. North Carolina’s last three PGs have been true frosh, because of OADs, and look at their struggles. Duke with a roster full of five star players hasn’t finished first in the conference in nearly a decade, and they’ve only managed two second place finishes, if I am not mistaken. I expect Coach Bennett to continue to offer elite talent, but I do not expect those who think they’re just stopping for a cup of coffee to commit to UVa. They’ll go elsewhere.
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Maybe true in the past but the transition from mover blocker to five out and continuous ball screen/more pro style play is much more appealing now. It seems like they didn’t even want to play mover blocker last year but had to when they saw that we didn’t have the athletes to execute 5 out in game (so many missed layups and no one able to create off the dribble). The reason why Tony wants 5 players on the court who can all create off the bounce. And we have NBA draft success to market, especially Hunter and Murphy.
We shouldn’t build classes of one and dones but we should absolutely go for one kid in the 20-25 range and then go after a one and done who fits our playstyle and hope the interest is mutual (GG Jackson).
That’s the whole point. The staff can pursue the OAD, but he isn’t coming to UVa. Even if Coach Bennett implements a five out and continuous ball screen offense, it is still a relatively deliberate offense. UVa will not be racing up and down the court. Virginia will continue to play the Pack Line defense, they will continue to balance the floor on offense to prevent opponents from scoring in transition, and Virginia will continue to run only after live turnovers, and not all of those. Additionally, Coach Bennett is going to continue to give meaningful minutes only to players who have learned the defense. Immediate playing time is very unlikely. None of this is that attractive to the kid who imagines he’s on a short stop before the NBA. As I said, I imagine that Coach Bennett will continue to pursue elite prospects in the hopes of finding a fit, but the OAD is looking for a fit, too, and Virginia isn’t likely to be it.
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We will soon get a OAD due to Murphy’s success. However, one can easily see the the chemistry issues that can arise, amongst other things. It’s a delicate situation.
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Trey Murphy started immediately. His defense was…raw. Sam Hauser never saw the bench either. Freshmen Kyle Guy or Ty Jerome or London Perrentes weren’t exactly defensive stalwarts. If you don’t think Cade Cunningham or Jalen Suggs or Evan Mobley or Zion Williamson or Jonathan Issac would have started or at least played significant minutes for us, we’ll just disagree. I think Coach Bennett would’ve somehow found a way to get even Tre Young on the floor despite his incredibly bad defense.
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Murphy and Hauser started because there weren’t a lot of options. Neither Guy nor Jerome started as frosh until the end of February, and both saw limited minutes (19 & 14 mpg, respectively). Whether the others would have played much would be dependent on a number of factors, but it is kind of moot. They would never have picked Virginia for a variety of reasons as mentioned above. (Coach Bennett did offer Zion a scholarship, if I remember correctly.) It’s not that Virginia wouldn’t find the OADs attractive. It’s that the player, who imagines he is a OAD, won’t find schools like Virginia attractive.
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Assuming Foster goes to Duke, when will we get inklings of which PG candidate is next in line on Tony’s list? Seems like a lot of guys that they have already seen during July lives.
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For me it’s pretty obviously Sheppard 1st. And he could play deftly at the 1 2 or 3
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If we are using Hunter as a comparison for Dunn. They actually aren’t that similar. Hunter more athletic and aggressive, Dunn more fluid moving/pure stroke/lighter feet.
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The De’Andre kid looks like he could be top 5 pick in NBA
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Recruiting period opens a week from Thursday. Coaches do a lot of recruiting for a few weeks before practices start, then it starts to slow down.
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If DeAndre doesn’t have that injury in HS that keeps him under the radar he never ends up at UVA.
I think Bobi is much closer to a DeAndre Hunter type. Dunn is more of a Culver-type/what we wanted out of Jabri but probably more bought in.
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Bobi’s highlights reminded me more of Hunter than most other wings we’ve been in touch with. Said that before too. Not saying he’ll be at that level (that’s a crazy high level - Hunter was awesome) but agree his style feels most similar to me.
The one thing lacking from his mixtapes if I remember right was the type of play that made me most pumped about Hunter. I haven’t been able to find it again, but it was some grainy ass footage from I think before Hunter got hurt where he was going up against a team with some much heralded prospect or two, and Hunter delivered a vicious jam through traffic. I realize it’s not a top skill, but I always look for that aggression plus athleticism in guys tapes. Not a lot have it. Bobi definitely has some nice dunks and stuff, I just look forward to seeing how he plays in the US high school scene and if he has any “Daaaaaammmnnn” moments like that.
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Every time I see Hunter’s high school highlights, I don’t understand how he was only ranked in the 70s. I mean, I’m pretty sure I remember the internet existing in 2015…
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oh wow he does looks a lot like Culver. Also aggressive going to his left. Semi outta control but will learn
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