Virginia certainly has a big basketball recruiting weekend ahead for the 2006 class, but don’t overlook several prospects heading in out of the 2007 group. In addition to two 2006 recruits – 4-star power forward Jon Mitchell and 6-10 center Brad Sheehan – Coach Leitao and company are expecting unofficial visits from 2007 4-star point guard Sam Zeglinski and 5-star shooting guard Austin Freeman .
Zeglinski, a 6-0, 160-pound prospect out of William Penn Charter High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be making his second unofficial visit to Virginia in as many months.
“He’s been down to check it out already,” Penn Charter head coach Jim Phillips said. “Me and him went down there in late August. They wanted to get him back down for a football game. His father played for Wake Forest, so he has seen Virginia before. Granted, it was a while ago. His mom has not seen it. I think they want to get mom comfortable.”
Asked if Zeglinski is prepared to make a decision, Phillips replied “Is he expecting to? I’m not sure. Is it possible he could? Sure.”
As a freshman, Zeglinski had the opportunity to play with current Virginia point guard Sean Singletary . Sam has taken over the roll nicely over the past few years and is now drawing interest from Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Seton Hall, Villanova and Virginia Tech in addition to Virginia. He has great range on his shot, but is a pure point guard according to Phillips.
“He’s a point guard,” Phillips said of Zeglinski. “He has the old school mentality of a point guard. I’m excited to see what happens when he moves up to the college level and has excellent talent around him. He can score, but he doesn’t need to. I think he could really be effective on the next level with talent surrounding him.”
As for Virginia’s chances, Zeglinski likes what the Cavs have to offer.
“He has done a good job educating himself on what the University of Virginia has to offer him, and I think he likes it,” Phillips said. “The situation seems good for him.”
Zeglinski is rated a 4-star prospect by Scout.com.
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Virginia signed wing guard Mamadi Diane in the 2005 recruiting class and hopes to go to DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) again in 2007. Virginia is one of 15 schools to offer 6-5 shooting guard Austin Freeman .
“At this point and time Austin has 15 offers on the table, mostly from schools in the ACC, Big East and Big 10,” DeMatha head coach Mike Jones said. “And, in my opinion, he is one of the top shooting guards in America, regardless of class.”
Asked if Austin could make a commitment this weekend, Jones answered “He will not commit this weekend. He’s just making a visit.”
Freeman is rated a 5-star prospect by Scout.com and a 4-star by Rivals.com. He averaged close to 14 points per game on a loaded DeMatha Catholic team last season as a junior.
