The first of three July Live Evaluation periods kicked off Wednesday night. As mentioned in my feature article Wednesday, there are three major events virtually every major Division 1 coach in the nation is likely to attend – the Under Armour Finals, the Adidas Uprising Finals, and the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.
Before getting to Wednesday night’s notes, it’s worth noting that Cavalier coach Tony Bennett has been spotted at the Adidas event Thursday morning (July 13) watching Basketball University versus the Ohio Basketball Club. Of those two teams, only class of 2018 guard Quentin Grimes currently has an offer from the Hoos.
Also at Adidas, Rivals spotted Bennett at Indiana Elite versus the Arkansas Hawks as well. Indiana Elite features class of 2018 point guard Robert Phinisee, who claimed an offer from the Cavaliers last year. He told Inside the Hall last month that he hears “frequently” from the Virginia coaches.
Head coaches from Florida St, Mississippi St, Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska, Virginia, Xavier, Ohio St here for Indiana Elite & Arkansas Hawks
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) July 13, 2017
We’ll have a full recap of Thursday’s events later. Meanwhile, let’s check out where UVA coaches were spotted and other notes from Wednesday night at the start of the evaluation period.
Opening Night!
– UVA recruiting source Hooz Got Next reported that Coach Bennett was on hand to watch 5-star class of 2018 point guard Jahvon Quinerly in the opening night of Under Armour Association Finals. The Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) star had 11 points in 16 minutes of action in the 21-point loss.
– Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Corey Evans reported UVA represented along the sidelines watching Urban DFW Elite class of 2018 wing Kaden Archie. Virginia has not yet offered the 6’6” Midlothian (TX) native, but there have now been several reports indicating the Hoos are seriously interested. Archie impressed Evans with his performance Wednesday night. Click here to watch highlights of Wednesday night’s action in Spartanburg (S.C.).
Kaden Archie is a jumpshot away from being something else. Really impressed by ball handling and high ball screen skills. Matchup nightmare
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) July 13, 2017
– Class of 2018 two-guard Noah Locke scored 20 points, dished out three assists and pulled down three rebounds in Team Melo’s loss in opening night action at the Peach Jam. The 6’2” Locke continues to shine on the Nike EYBL circuit.
The McDonogh (Owings Mills, MD) standout has been offered by UVA and visited Charlottesvile unofficially last month.
– A Virginia coach was spotted watching the Louisiana Elite squad at Under Armour on Wednesday night. Elite defeated Washington Supreme, 64-58. Class of 2018 forward Josh LeBlanc, who was at the NBPA Top 100 Camp last month, may have been UVA’s target. He had 13 points and four blocks in the win.
– Team Takeover’s Twitter account tweeted that the following schools were represented during Wednesday night’s showdown versus CP3 in the Peach Jam.
UNC, NOVA, GW, UMD, Penn St, UM, UVA, Notre Dame, Clemson, West Virginia, Washington, Tulsa, Xavier, UCF have all packed the baseline
— Team Takeover BBall (@TTOBasketball) July 13, 2017
Of those listed in the box score, class of 2020 big Hunter Dickinson had six points and pulled down nine boards, helping Takeover take down CP3 60-52. Dickinson is a 6’11” prospect out of DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD). No UVA offer as of yet for the young big man.
