2018 class I see you! #ESPNTop60
— Jason Williford (@CoachWillyUVA) January 26, 2017
ESPN.com released its updated list of the Top 60 high school junior prospects in the nation earlier this week. By our count, the Virginia men’s basketball program, which currently projects to have six scholarship spots available to use in the class of 2018, has scholarship offers out to 14 uncommitted prospects on this list.
6’7” forward Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.), the No. 2 player on this list, participated in the 2016 NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville last summer. However, to our knowledge he has not taken a thorough unofficial or official visit on Grounds.
Of those uncommitted prospects UVA has offered in the ESPN Top 60, we know of six who have been on Grounds for unofficial visits. They are point guard Immanuel Quickley (No. 12), wing Keldon Johnson (No. 18), point guard Jahvon Quinerly (No. 22), forward Jalen Smith (No. 37), wing Brandon Slater (No. 43), and point guard/wing Prentiss Hubb (No. 60).
Smith, a 6’9” prospect out of Mount St. Joseph School (Baltimore, MD), was in John Paul Jones Arena last Saturday and watched the Hoos defeat Georgia Tech.
“He’s basically a coach’s dream — a very talented player, terrific student and never a discipline problem,” Mount St. Joseph head varsity basketball coach Pat Clatchey said of Smith in this free article on Pressboxonline.com. “Jalen can score inside and out. Jalen can affect and impact the game on both ends of the floor.”
In addition to the Georgia Tech game, we know Smith also attended Virginia’s Elite Camp in 2015. Maryland, Syracuse and Villanova are among the other schools that have offered the 5-star prospect.
Listed below are those uncommitted recruits UVA has offered who are in the 2018 ESPN 60. Click here for the full ESPN 60 and click here for our Scholarship Picture Page, which includes a listing of all of those prospects we have confirmed Virginia has offered in the class of 2018.
UVA Targets In The 2018 ESPN 60
No. 2: Zion Williamson, Forward, Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.)
No. 4: Cameron Reddish, Forward, Westtown School (Norristown, PA)
No. 12: Immanuel Quickley, Point Guard, John Carroll School (Bel Air, MD)
No. 13: Darius Garland, Point Guard, Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, TN)
No. 14: Quentin Grimes, Wing, The Woodlands College Park (The Woodlands, TX)
No. 16: Brandon Williams, Combo Guard, Crespi (Encino, CA)
No. 18: Keldon Johnson, Wing, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.V.)
No. 22: Jahvon Quinerly, Point Guard, Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.)
No. 31: Joey Hauser, Forward, Stevens Point Area (Stevens Point, WI)
No. 37: Jalen Smith, Forward, Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore, MD)
No. 42: Elijah Weaver, Point Guard, Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, FL)
No. 43: Brandon Slater, Wing, Paul VI (Fairfax, VA)
No. 51: Nassir Little, Wing, Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, FL)
No. 60: Prentiss Hubb, Combo Guard, Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)
