The defending national champion University of Virginia men’s basketball program secured an impressive victory on the recruiting front on Wednesday (July 10), when consensus 4-star wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim announced his pledge to the Cavaliers. The 6’7”, 205-pound rising senior chose the Hoos over Michigan, but he also considered scholarship offers from Arizona, California, Kansas, Louisville, UCLA and Villanova, among others.
Abdur-Rahim’s decision comes less than two weeks after he was on Grounds on an official visit, the only official he has made in his recruitment.
100% committed #gohoos ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/REkuYPdudk
— Jabri (@jabri404) July 10, 2019
The 2018-19 Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey averaged 15.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while helping Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) to a 22-4 record and the Prep A state championship this past season, his first as a Buccaneer after transferring from Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.).
After high school basketball season, Abdur-Rahim, who is the son of former NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim, has impressed in AAU and camp settings. He averaged 25.2 points (39.8% field goals in 261 attempts, 75.8% free throws in 120 attempts and 30.8% 3-pointers in 91 attempts) and eight rebounds per game in 13 games with the New Jersey Playaz on the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit. He then topped all players at the 2019 NBPA Top 100 Camp in scoring with 17.3 points per game in six games, making 14 3s (second-best at the camp) and shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
A source told TheSabre.com that Abdur-Rahim rose sharply on head coach Tony Bennett’s wish list this spring. The timing matches, as Bennett extended a scholarship offer to the Blair Academy star in May and pushed to secure an official visit in June. Abdur-Rahim told Adam Zagoria that Virginia “made it clear I was a priority” while on the June 28-30 official. Additionally, at the Top 100 Camp in mid-June, Abdur-Rahim noted that Virginia had been “on me really, really hard, especially these last couple months.”
Abdur-Rahim becomes one of UVA’s most highly rated commitments in the Tony Bennett era. By the time his high school career ends, he could be the most highly rated. Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN all rank Jabri as a 4-star recruit and among the top 61 prospects in the nation in the class of 2020. ESPN ranks him no. 28 overall in 2020, while Rivals has him at no. 41 and 247Sports puts him at no. 61. Of Coach Bennett’s 4-star or better recruits at Virginia, only Kyle Guy (5-star, no. 27 in ESPN) has a higher rating than Abdur-Rahim at 28 among the three major national basketball recruiting outlets.
Virginia now boasts three commitments in the class of 2020, including Abdur-Rahim, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, LA) point guard Reece Beekman and Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) shooting guard Carson McCorkle. Beekman is also a consensus 4-star prospect, rated by ESPN as the no. 40 prospect in 2020, by 247Sports as the no. 64 prospect in 2020, and by Rivals as the no. 65 rising senior in the nation. McCorkle is rated by ESPN as a 4-star recruit and by Rivals and 247Sports as a 3-star and among the top 150 rising seniors.
As the scholarship picture stands currently, Virginia has no more scholarships available to use in 2020 recruiting.
Him good