The final Live Evaluation Period of July began Wednesday night at 5 p.m. and ends Sunday, July 30 at 5 p.m. This is the final chance for Division 1 coaches to evaluate talent in person until September 9, when a Recruiting Period begins. Cavalier head coach Tony Bennett and staff once again have taken to the road to make more evaluations and perhaps extend some new scholarship offers.
Since the first July Evaluation Period, Bennett has offered scholarships to the following rising seniors …
-Point guard AJ Green
-Combo guard Will Richardson
-Post Immanuel Bates (Note that Bates has deleted the tweeted in which he announced his Virginia offer. We are working to confirm his standing with the Cavaliers, but for now still have him listed as having an offer.)
-Combo guard Jared Butler
Five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly still tops Virginia’s 2018 wish list. Other backcourt targets still believed to be on UVA’s target board include Butler, Michael Devoe (combo guard), Devon Dotson (point guard), David Duke (combo guard), Green, Keldon Johnson (wing), Noah Locke (shooting guard), Robert Phinisee (point guard), and Richardson. Post targets include David McCormack and Bates.
Former Virginia targets Jaelin Llewellyn (PG, Princeton commit) and Joey Hauser (F, Marquette commit) recently came off the board. Also, the Cavaliers no longer appear to be in the picture with combo guard Elijah Weaver, who recently scheduled September official visits to USC, Ohio State and Florida.
In addition to those established targets, who else will the coaches be evaluating this week? In an interview with Best Seat in the House host Luke Neer, Cavalier assistant Jason Williford mentioned the team “probably” needed to landed someone in the class of 2018 who can get to the paint and get their own shot. (Click here for the full interview.) Virginia has already offered some players capable of this. Headlined by Quinerly, most of the backcourt prospects listed above fit that bill. Don’t be surprised, though, if another similar offer goes out after this weekend.
In addition to looking to fill backcourt needs, Virginia could well offer another post. The post target board is thin right now. McCormack is the clear top target, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see other post offers go out after this weekend.
After this Evaluation Period, a Dead Period takes place on July 31. A Quiet Period takes effect August 1 and runs through September 8, following by a Recruiting Period from September 9 through November 5. Official visits can take place during a Quiet Period and a Recruiting Period, so August 1 through November 4 will be a key stretch as Virginia looks to put together its 2018 Class.
The Early Signing Period for the class of 2018 takes place November 8 through November 15.
UVA coaches in Vegas
Las Vegas is the place to be this week. Two headlining events include the Adidas Summer Championships July 26-30 and The Eight, which features Nike EYBL teams and takes place July 26-28.
Coach Bennett reportedly began this final July Evaluation period at The Eight, watching Noah Locke and Team Melo in action. E1T1 is participating in this event as well … guard Will Richardson plays for them. E1T1 played on Court 2 at 5 p.m. while Team Melo played on Court 1 at 5 p.m., so Bennett likely was watching both Locke and Richardson.
Virginia was represented watching the New Jersey Playaz team during the 8 p.m. round of games. This week the Playaz team includes Jahvon Quinerly, who previously played on the Under Armour circuit.
Bennett moved on from the Nike event to the Adidas one, as he was spotted watching the Iowa Barnstormers and point guard AJ Green in action. The Barnstormers took on Compton Elite at 6:20 p.m. Bennett reportedly was in attendance for the Mass Rivals versus Team Loaded VA matchup as well. Mass Rivals features combo guard David Duke while Team Loaded VA has David McCormack and 2019 target Armando Bacot. This game began at 7:40 p.m.
