Virginia Basketball Recruiting Primer As Regular Recruiting Calendar Resumes

A recruiting dead period that has been in effect since the spring of 2020 comes to an end May 31, paving the way for Division 1 men’s basketball coaches and recruits to resume normal recruiting calendar activities. Coaches, including University of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett and staff, will be able to host recruits on campus in June and evaluate prospects in person in June and July.

Here is a look at what to expect in the next two months.

JUNE

A Quiet Period is in place from June 1 through July 5. The NCAA defines a Quiet Period as “that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.”

June includes two Evaluation Periods, which are defined by the NCAA as “that period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.”

The June Evaluation Periods are scheduled for the 18-20 and 25-27. They are for “scholastic events approved by the NCAA and NFHS (National Federation of High Schools) and intercollegiate events approved by applicable two-year college governing body only” – AAU events are not included. College coaches will certainly evaluate these high school-related opportunities, but the month of June may be more important for recruits making unofficial and official visits.

As of this writing, Virginia is expected to host two class of 2022 prospects on official visits the weekend of June 11-13. One is West Virginia guard Isaac McKneely, who pledged to UVA on January 30. The other is Nebraska forward Isaac Traudt, a consensus 4-star prospect who is also scheduled to take officials to Nebraska, Michigan State and North Carolina in June. McKneely and Traudt are two of the five known scholarship offers UVA has dished out in the class of 2022. The others are Texas point guard Austin Nunez, Swedish wing Bobi Klintman (he will spend his senior year attending Sunrise Christian in Kansas) and Charlottesville wing Justin Taylor.

Pennsylvania class of 2022 combo guard prospect and Purdue decommit Jameel Brown, who told Prep Hoops he has been in contact with Coach Bennett and assistant coach Orlando Vandross, said in the same report that he wants to schedule a visit to UVA.

A pair of class of 2023 prospects are scheduled to visit UVA. Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers reports that Goodpasture Christian School (Madison, TN) combo guard Isaiah West has set an unofficial visit on Grounds for June 12. Mississippi, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest are among the early offers for the 6’2” rising junior, who is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals (No. 27 nationally in his class) and 247Sports (No. 41 nationally).

Reed Sheppard, a 6’3” shooting guard out of North Laurel (London, KY), will take an unofficial visit to UVA on June 14 according to this report from 247Sports. Iowa headlines the early list of offers for the 247Sports 3-star prospect, whose father, Jeff, played at Kentucky in the 1990s.

Another key date to watch out for is June 15. This is when college coaches can begin directly calling rising junior prospects, and this may give an indication of which class of 2023 prospects Coach Bennett and company are high on at this stage of the process. Virginia has not offered any rising juniors at this point.

JULY

A Dead Period is scheduled for July 6-31 with some exceptions. A Quiet Period spills into the beginning of July (1-5) and closes out the month (26-31), but do not expect recruits to make visits during these times. Per the NCAA, “A prospective student-athlete may not make an unofficial visit during the month of July unless he has signed a National Letter of Intent or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has received a financial deposit from the prospective student-athlete in response to an offer of admission.”

“NCAA certified events” – including AAU competitions – as well as “institutional camps and permissible governing body events” are featured as live Evaluation Periods take center stage in July. There are three separate weekends designated for college coaches to watch these events in person, including July 8-11, July 16-18, and July 23-25. The three major AAU circuits have their plans in place.

Nike EYBL – (Taylor (Team Takeover) plays on this circuit) The 2021 Peach Jam runs from July 13-25 in North Augusta, South Carolina.

Adidas 3SSB (McKneely (Wildcat Select) and Nunez (Southern Assault) perform on this circuit) – Live 1 takes place July 8-11 in Birmingham (AL). Live 2 takes place July 16-18 in Omaha (NE).

Under Armour (Traudt plays for Nebraska Supreme on this circuit) – Session I is July 8-11 in Cartersville (GA). Session II is July 16-18 in Frisco (TX). The UAA Finals take place July 23-25 in Westfield (IN).

Other organizations such as NY2LA Sports will be putting on events during these weekends as well.

OTHER NOTES

– Virginia men’s basketball has canceled summer camp plans for 2021.

– The NBPA Top 100 Camp, which has typically been held at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, reportedly (per Prep Scouting) will be held in Orlando (FL) in the “last period” in July.

– The NCAA has not yet released the recruiting calendar for 2021-22. However, look for the late summer/fall months to be important as both high school juniors and seniors will be able to take official visits. High school juniors (class of 2023) can begin taking official visits August 1 ahead of their junior year.

3 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. While I would think a European trip is not feasible this summer, it’s being reported that Indiana U. has scheduled some summer games in the Bahamas. I have no idea if there are other Caribbean venues which are relatively covid free, but they would make intriguing possibilities.

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