The first of three Division 1 Men’s Basketball Live Evaluation periods in July is underway and lasts through Sunday, July 15. Some of the NCAA certified events (those the coaches can watch in person) taking place this period include …
Events – Evaluation Period No. 1 (July 11-15)
-Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta (S.C.), July 11-15
-Adidas Gauntlet Finale in New York City, July 12-15
-Adidas Silver Gauntlet Classic in Westchester (N.Y.), July 12-15
-Under Armour Challenge in Atlanta, July 11-14
-NY2LA Next Level Invitational in Wisconsin (just outside of Milwaukee), July 11-15
-Pangos Summer Sweet 16 in Garden Grove (CA), July 13-15
-Phenom Summer Havoc in Spartanburg (S.C.), July 11-15
-Bigfoot Hoops’ Orlando Summer Classic, July 11-15
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett’s first stop Wednesday (July 11) night reportedly (per Houston Wilson via Hooz Got Next) was Peach Jam to see prized class of 2019 commit Casey Morsell and Team Takeover (D.C.) in action. Team Takeover picked up where it left off from Nike EYBL session play, defeating E1T1 United 65-55. Morsell and company, who have yet to lose a game this EYBL season, take on Nike Team Florida (9 a.m., ET) and the Oakland Soldiers (6 p.m. ET) on Thursday (July 12) before facing Indy Heat (12 p.m. ET) and Bluff City Legends (9 p.m. ET) on Friday (July 13). This is pool play action. Single elimination tournament play for the Peach Jam title takes place Saturday and Sunday.
Aside from Morsell, Coach Bennett’s likely top Team Takeover target is class of 2020 point guard Jeremy Roach. As I mentioned in our “Strategy Session” on July 5 (click here to read the full in-depth recruiting feature), rising juniors are very likely to be the focus of Virginia’s attention this month. UVA currently projects to have four scholarships open in 2020 and there are no commitments to date. Only one scholarship is currently available for 2019.
Including Roach, there are 10 rising junior prospects we know Virginia has offered – two point guards, three wings, and five posts. By the end of this month, I expect that number will grow.
While 2020 is the prime focus, the staff will surely be evaluating some more 2019 prospects and prospects in 2021 and possibly 2022 this month as well.
Rising Juniors To Watch
No doubt there is an extensive list of rising juniors on Virginia’s radar, but here are a couple I’m interested in following in July.
Henry Coleman III – The Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, VA) standout has very serious interest from the Cavaliers, but no offer as of this writing. Coleman has been told by the UVA coaches that they are evaluating him further this month. Will the potential stretch-4 do enough to garner an offer ahead of a planned August unofficial visit to Charlottesville? We’ll see. Coleman appears to have high interest in Virginia, where his mother graduated. His father is a graduate of Virginia Tech, which has offered.
Noah Farrakhan – A native of Newark (N.J.), Farrakhan attends IMG Academy in Florida. He visited UVA unofficially in late May of this year. No offer yet, but he’s a prospect the staff appears highly interested in. He plays on Nike Team Florida 17U, which takes on Team Takeover the morning of July 12 at 9 a.m. ET.
Stay tuned to TheSabre.com for the latest basketball recruiting updates throughout this important evaluation month of July.
Thanks, Chris.