Virginia Basketball Recruiting Notes: Early Signing Period Starts Wednesday

By: Chris Horne |

The Division 1 Men’s Basketball Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, November 13 and is open for one week before ending on November 20. The University of Virginia men’s basketball program is expected to ink three recruits – point guard Reece Beekman, shooting guard Carson McCorkle, and wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim – who make up the Cavaliers’ most highly regarded recruiting class since 2016.

As of this writing, UVA’s 3-recruit haul is rated no. 6 overall in the nation by 247Sports.com and no. 7 in the nation by Rivals.com. 247Sports ranks the class third in the ACC behind Duke and North Carolina, while Rivals has Virginia’s class fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference behind the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, and Florida State.

The Players

Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Wing, 6’6”, 205 pounds, Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.)

– 247Sports: 4-star, #13 small forward in the class of 2020, #50 overall in the class of 2020
– Rivals: 4-star, #9 small forward, #39 overall
– ESPN: 4-star, #6 small forward, #31 overall

Summer of 2019 highlights, courtesy of Courtside Films

Reece Beekman, Point Guard, 6’3”, 170 pounds, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, LA)

– 247Sports: 4-star, #8 point guard, #57 overall
– Rivals: 4-star, #16 point guard, #68 overall
– ESPN: 4-star, #8 point guard, #41 overall

Summer of 2019 highlights, courtesy of Courtside Films

Carson McCorkle, 6’3”, 175 pounds, Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.)

– 247Sports: 4-star, #26 shooting guard, #131 overall
– Rivals: 4-star, #26 shooting guard, #122 overall
– ESPN – 4-star, #26 shooting guard

High school junior season highlights, courtesy of BALLISLIFE.com

UVA currently has one scholarship available to use in the class of 2020. Almost all of the offered targets in the class – click here for the full rundown on our Scholarship Picture Page – have made their commitments. The two who haven’t are California wing Ziaire Williams and Maryland center Hunter Dickinson, but Virginia isn’t in the running for either player at this point. Head coach Tony Bennett and staff no doubt have other targets on the board they are evaluating. As the high school season goes on don’t be surprised to see new names emerge, and as is the case every year we will see what happens when the spring arrives in terms of decommitments and transfers as well.

In addition to adding Abdur-Rahim, Beekman and McCorkle next season, redshirting transfer Sam Hauser will also become eligible to play next season. The 6’8” Hauser, an All Big East Second-Team selection in 2019, transferred from Marquette to Virginia this offseason. He is redshirting because of NCAA Division 1 transfer rules, and next season will be his only year of eligibility with the Hoos.

As Class Of 2020 Recruits Are About To Make Their Commitments Official, A Few Class Of 2021 Targets Make Official Visits

Virginia has not extended many scholarship offers in the class of 2021. However, two juniors who have been offered were on Grounds on official visits this past weekend.

Steward School (Richmond, VA) seven-footer Efton Reid returned to Grounds for the first time since making an unofficial visit to see the Cavaliers raise their National Championship banner. Reid was offered by Virginia this past June, and this Coach Bennett has visited the Steward School twice, a sure sign that the promising post is a top target in this class.

This was Reid’s second official visit of his recruiting process. Prospects can now take 10 official visits in high school – five from August 1 of their junior year through the end of their junior year, and five more from the end of their junior year until October following their senior year. Ohio State was Reid’s first official visit destination.

Florida, Ohio State, Rutgers, Virginia and VCU are among the offers the 4-star junior is considering. There is no known timetable for a decision.

Joining Reid in Charlottesville was Arizona 4-star junior DaRon Holmes, a 6’8”, 200-pound forward who boasts offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Kansas, Marquette, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. The Millennium (Goodyear, AZ) star has taken unofficial visits to Arizona and Kansas as well as an official visit to Marquette.

Below are some tweets from his father from the trip to UVA.

Virginia has now hosted four early top targets in the class of 2021 on official visits. Paul VI (Fairfax, VA) guard Trevor Keels, who received an offer from the Hoos last February, made his official visit in September, the weekend of the Florida State football game and banner raising ceremony. All three class of 2020 commits as well as Reid were on Grounds that weekend. Meanwhile, Blackhawk Christian (Fort Wayne, IN) post Caleb Furst took an official on Grounds in October. The 6’9” Furst received a scholarship offer from Coach Bennett this past August.