Fresh off of last week’s visits to the University of Virginia and UNC, Silver Creek (Sellersburg, IN) forward Trey Kaufman announced his top five schools. UVA made the cut for the 6’9”, 215-pound senior, a consensus 4-star prospect in the class of 2021.
UNC joins Virginia as the only schools outside of the Hoosier state to make Kaufman’s final list. Indiana and Purdue, schools Silver Creek head boys varsity basketball coach Brandon Hoffman says Kaufman has visited “multiple times,” and Indiana State round out the finalists. The 2020 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year told Inside The Hall on Tuesday (September 8) that he has no timetable for a decision. He also did not name a favorite.
UVA has recruited Kaufman since his sophomore campaign. Head coach Tony Bennett offered a scholarship this past April.
“Virginia has been around for a while,” Hoffman told TheSabre.com in this EDGE report. “Orlando (Vandross) came during Trey’s sophomore year and watched him during a time when they were playing Louisville. Last year, Coach Bennett came to two practices. Trey was one of those he wanted to start forming a better relationship with. The more Coach got to know Trey and the more film we sent, I think Coach realized it was a no-brainer to recruit Trey.”
“The (Virginia) coaches there compare him a lot to De’Andre Hunter and how they used him there,” said Hoffman, who added that the staff has also mentioned Sam Hauser in their comparisons. “Trey could be a back-to-the-basket guy like Diakite and other big guys they’ve had. But Trey is a mismatch matchup. He has guard skills. He can shoot it. He’s really comfortable facing up, but if there is a smaller guy on him, he can play them with his back to the basket. Coach really likes that he’s diverse.”
Stay tuned to TheSabre.com for more on Kaufman, who averaged 25.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 27 games his junior season. He helped Silver Creek to a 25-2 record in 2019-20, one year after leading the Dragons to the 3A state championship.
Keels Set To Narrow List
Another top Virginia class of 2021 target is poised to narrow his list of schools. Paul VI (Fairfax, VA) guard Trevor Keels posted on Instagram that he will reveal his final three on Wednesday, September 9.
It appears Keels’ final three will come from the following schools: Duke, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Villanova, and Virginia. He made official visit to UVA and Ohio State in the fall of his junior year.
A longtime UVA target who landed an offer from Tony Bennett during his sophomore year, the 6’5”, 210-pound Keels has risen to 5-star status by Rivals and 247Sports.
UVA Awaits Murray Decision
Maryland, Stanford, and UVA are the final three for 6’5” guard Taine Murray, a senior out of Auckland, New Zealand. The standout guard revealed his finalists almost one month ago. No definitive decision timetable was given; however, Murray indicated to 247Sports that a commitment could come any time.
Since he has not visited any of the three finalists, it is possible that Murray is waiting to see if the recruiting Dead Period is lifted by the NCAA. A Dead Period, which prevents prospects from taking official visits, is in effect through September 30. It seems likely that it will be extended because of coronavirus concerns, but as of this writing the NCAA has not made any announcements.
Tony has vision beyond his vision.
That’s how to keep an elite program elite.
Among his other skills!!
What am I missing? Kaufman was just in Cville on an official visit but Murray can’t come for a visit due to the ‘dead period’ that goes until 30 Sept. Different kind of visit?
Kaufman’s visit was unofficial, so he was not able to interact with the coaching staff when he was on the Grounds.