UVa Men’s Basketball Inks Top 10 Class

By: Chris Horne |
Guy signs his letter of intent with the Hoos
Kyle Guy signs his letter of intent with the Hoos

The University of Virginia men’s basketball program has announced the signing of four recruits in the Early Signing Period for Division 1 men’s basketball.

“We are pleased to add four quality student-athletes to our basketball program,” head coach Tony Bennett said in the press release, which you can read by clicking here. “Kyle (Guy), Jay (Huff), De’Andre (Hunter) and Ty (Jerome) are talented basketball players, who come from outstanding families. All four of these guys are high character individuals who will value a degree from the University of Virginia.”

Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.) point guard Ty Jerome was the first to commit to UVa’s class of 2016, pledging to Coach Bennett and company on September 2, 2014, a few days after making an unofficial visit on Grounds. On October 20, Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, IN) combo guard Kyle Guy committed to the Hoos just days after his first ever visit to Charlottesville.

Guy and Jerome were two of Tony Bennett’s top early targets. Their commitments got the Cavaliers off to a great start in class of 2016 recruiting, and neither prospect wavered in his decision.

“Thursday, everything becomes real,” said Guy, who signed with the Hoos at approximately 4 p.m. EST. “And whether I’m sleeping in a dream or signing my NLI in reality, UVA is the only place I want to go. Excited for the future.”

“I look at it two ways,” wrote Jerome, a 6’5” point guard, in a direct message over Twitter. “First, it’s not that big of a deal because signing the letter of intent doesn’t make my commitment stronger. Since I gave my verbal to UVA, I’ve been 100-percent committed and it is impossible for my commitment to get any stronger. However, signing a letter of intent to a school like UVa is definitely a dream come true and a real sign of a lot of hard work paying off. I’m also a step closer to being in Charlottesville, and I can’t wait!”

Guy and Jerome followed up productive junior seasons with excellent performances on the AAU circuit. Jerome earned a spot in the Nike Global Challenge as a result of his play on the Nike EYBL circuit, while Guy was named an Adidas All-American. They rose in the national recruiting rankings, with Guy earning a 5-star rating from ESPN. ESPN (No. 25), 247Sports (No. 37), Rivals (No. 44) and Scout (No. 52) consider Guy among the top 52 overall recruits in the nation in this class. Jerome, a consensus 4-star recruit, is ranked by 247Sports as the no. 30 prospect in the class of 2016. Rivals (No. 50), Scout (No. 51) and ESPN (No. 52) also include the New York native in their top 52 prospects.

“Kyle’s a shot-maker,” Scout.com National Basketball Recruiting Director Evan Daniels said. “He’s a guy that can really make 3s, but he’s a lot better off the dribble than people maybe have given him credit for. He has got some wiggle to his game. He can get to the mid-range and make shots. He has also got good vision. He’s score-first, but he can see the floor.”

Of Jerome, Daniels said: “What I like about Ty is how competitive he is. He’s a skilled guy that can makes shots. He’s a good passer. He’s a good facilitator. He doesn’t look fast. He’s not real athletic, but he always gets where he wants to go. He changes speed really well. He’s a tough competitor.”

Voyager Academy (Durham, N.C.) star Jay Huff joined the class in May of 2015, just weeks after landing an offer from Coach Bennett. The 6’11” prospect did not play on the AAU circuit this spring and therefore has not been seen by a lot of recruiting analysts; however, Scout.com analyst Rob Harrington has seen Huff in action and is high on his abilities.

“He’s a skilled, modern face-up 4-man,” Harrington said of Huff. “He’s a very good 3-point shooter, a tremendous passer, great defensive timing – I think that’s what will surprise people, because you say face-up 4 and think all offense guys, but he’s a surprisingly good defensive player. Clearly, by far the thing holding him back is the lack of strength. Even by high school standards, he’s really thin. He and his family understand that a red-shirt may be in order. He might be a 5-year player. I don’t think they are anticipating him being a two or 3-year player or anything like that.”

The weekend of September 11-13, all three commitments plus Friends’ Central (Wynnewood, PA) small forward De’Andre Hunter were on Grounds on official visits. Hunter, a 6’7” senior, saw his offer total climb from single digits to over 20 this past summer. UVa was one of those offers, and Hunter decided to commit while on his official visit.

A leg injury cost Hunter his sophomore season at Friends’ Central as well as most of his AAU season in 2014. He returned to form during his junior season and showed off his abilities on the AAU circuit this spring and summer.

“De’Andre has been on the high-major radar probably since the 9th grade,” Philly Pride AAU Director Amauro Austin said in an interview with TheSabre earlier this summer. “Now, a lot of big-time schools came to see him when he was on our 15-and-under team. The big boys came to see him. They liked what they saw. Going into his 10th grade season, he was doing something with his high school team and he broke his leg. That put him out for his whole sophomore season. He played in three events last summer (2014), but he didn’t get cleared to play until June. The only high-major willing to offer from what he had done in the past was NC State. Others liked him but needed to see more. He still favored his right leg some last summer. What people saw this year was the real De’Andre Hunter. He was always a top 75 type of player. Now that he is fully healthy, he is probably a top 40 national prospect.”

This group makes up one of Virginia men’s basketball’s most highly regarded classes in the country. ESPN (no. 5), Rivals (no. 7), 247Sports (no. 8) and Scout (no. 9) all rank the Cavaliers’ class of 2016 among the top 10 in the nation. In the ACC, Virginia comes in at no. 2 in the Rivals ranks, no. 3 in ESPN, no. 4 in 247Sports and no. 4 in Scout.

THE PLAYERS

KYLE GUY, Combo Guard, 6’3”, 165 pounds, Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, IN) (Highlights below courtesy of Playmaker Mixtapes)

– 5-star rating from ESPN. 4-star rating from Rivals, Scout and 247Sports. ESPN ranks Guy as the no. 25 overall prospect in the nation in the class of 2016. 247Sports ranks him no. 37 overall in the 2016 class, while Rivals ranks Guy at no. 44. Scout considers Guy the no. 52 overall prospect in the class of 2016.
– Rated the no. 1 player in Indiana by ESPN, 247Sports and Scout.
– Adidas All-American, NBPA Top 100 Camp selection
– In addition to Virginia, Guy had offers from Arizona State, Butler, California, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, NC State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Xavier
– Committed on October 20, 2014

JAY HUFF, Forward/Center, 6’11”, 190 pounds, Voyager Academy (Durham, N.C.) (Highlights below are courtesy of The Hoop Column.)

– 4-star rating from 247Sports (No. 74 overall in 2016 Class) and Scout (No. 86 overall). 3-star rating from ESPN and Rivals.
– The no. 4 senior in North Carolina per 247Sports and the no. 8 senior in the state per ESPN.
– Also had offers from East Carolina and Wofford
– Committed on May 20, 2015

DE’ANDRE HUNTER, Small Forward, 6’7”, 195 pounds, Friends’ Central (Wynnewood, PA) (Highlights below courtesy of Courtside Films.)

– Consensus 4-star recruit (ESPN, Rivals, Scout, 247Sports). Rivals ranks him as the no. 66 overall player in the nation in the class of 2016.
– The no. 2 prospect in Pennsylvania according to ESPN. The no. 3 prospect in the state per 247Sports.
– Selected to the 2015 NBPA Top 100 Camp
– Also had offers from Arizona State, La Salle, Miami, NC State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Penn State, St. Joseph’s, Seton Hall, Temple, Villanova, among others
– Committed to Virginia on September 12, 2015

TY JEROME, Point Guard, 6’5”, 190 pounds, Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.) (Highlights below courtesy of RI Affiliated)

– Consensus 4-star prospect. 247Sports ranks him as the no. 30 overall prospect in the nation in the class of 2016. Rivals (no. 50), Scout (No. 51) and ESPN (No. 52) rank him among the top 52 seniors in the nation.
– The no. 2 senior in New York per 247Sports. The no. 4 senior in New York per ESPN.
– Selected to the 2015 NBPA Top 100 Camp
– Also had offers from Davidson, George Washington, Rutgers, Temple
– Verbally committed to UVa on September 2, 2014

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