FanPost

Blowing Up Bennett’s Backcourt

Virginia’s basketball recruiting class of 2015 is complete, and consists of just one name: Jarred Reuter. Reuter, a 6’8" banger of a power forward, committed to Virginia just days after receiving an offer from Coach Tony Bennett. Reuter is a consensus two-and-a-half star recruit. Given that Bennett only had one scholarship to offer, why rush things when higher-rated recruits remained on the board?

The answer is simple: Bennett wanted to close the book on 2015 so he can move on to the critically important 2016 recruiting class. For 2015, he had no playing time to offer at any position. He’s simply loaded. So he took a player in Reuter who shows some promise but needs seasoning. While Reuter is not exactly a "project", he’ll clearly benefit from a year of development. And a redshirt is not out of the question. Reuter has a logjam in front of him his first year: Tobey, Gill, Salt, Wilkins, and even Shayok, Anderson, and Nolte will want those frontcourt minutes.

Reuter chose Virginia over Iowa, Providence, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. With his aggressiveness at the basket and nose for offensive rebounds, he shows promise. But don’t expect to see it manifested on the court for a couple years.

But now recruiting gets serious. Looking ahead, the 2016/17 roster will look like this:

Fourth Year:

PG London Perrantes ***

Third Year:

PG Devon Hall ***

PG Darius Thompson ***

SG B.J. Stith ***

G/F Isaiah Wilkins ***

G/F Marial Shayok ***

F/C Jack Salt **

Second Year:

F Jarred Reuter **

There is not a single highly regarded, hotly recruited player on that roster. On film, none of them displays athleticism of a Justin Anderson or the versatility of a Malcolm Brodgon. They will, however, be an experienced, older squad with years of learning the system behind them. They’ll also be big and physical: with the exception of London Perrantes, everyone is listed at over 6’5". And that seems to be what Bennett wants: team-oriented, defense-minded, physical, and long players that he can develop within his system.

But what’s missing from this roster? In a word, shooters. For Bennett, still the NCAA’s leader in three point percentage, that’s a nightmare. No one on this roster is known as a three-point shooter yet and only B.J. Stith is a true perimeter guy who can make shots (although Perrantes, of course, can shoot). For 2016, despite the buzz around the otherworldly Thon Maker, guards will be Bennett’s priority. In addition to shooters, Virginia will also need a new point guard to take over for London Perrantes and back up Devon Hall and Darius Thompson.

Of the five scholarships available, at least two will be reserved for guards, and probably three. That leaves two more for bigs. But the backcourt is the top priority. You see this reflected in Bennett’s recruiting strategy: twelve of the seventeen known offers so far have been to guards.

2016 Priorities

With only B.J. Stith on the roster in the shooting guard role in 2016, Tony Bennett will need to find someone who can make threes. Preferably more than one. I’d expect Bennett to chase one pure shooter and one Brodgon-like big hybrid guard. Unlike previous years, immediate playing time appears to be available in the backcourt.

SG Options:

Tyus Battle (*****): Battle is one of the best players in the country and has the offer sheet to prove it. Battle said, "Michigan, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Villanova and Indiana (are recruiting me the hardest)." Virginia is clearly on the outside. While his game – especially his defensive prowess -- would be the ideal addition to Bennett’s squad, would someone who calls himself ‘Kid Mamba’ fit the culture?

Curtis ‘Cujo’ Jones (***): Jones is a shooter whose recruiting is heating up and is at least listening to Virginia’s pitch, but he’s long been considered a Maryland lean.

Kyle Guy (***): Hard-working Indiana-based guard with an impressive pull-up jumper who called his offer from Indiana "surreal". Might not be the in-state lock he was once considered, though; his recruiting has gone national over the summer.

De’Monte Buckingham (***): A slashing "power guard" from Virginia whose 6’3" 210-pound body makes the 16-year-old look like a college wing guard already. He rebounds like a forward but doesn’t quite have his shooting touch yet. And, defensively, he might be a touch slow for the pack line defense.

PG Options:

While Perrantes, Hall, and Thompson are on the roster in 2016, all of them will be upperclassmen. It’s a tough sell, though: barring injury or early departure, there’s just no chance a first-year guard will supplant Perrantes, and in his second year he’d have to contend with Hall and Thompson, who, if they develop as expected, would be highly-experienced upperclassmen, both in their fifth year of college. With those three on the roster, a PG in the 2016 class can’t count on playing much until his third year. This may be why Bennett is paying early attention to 2017 left-handed superstar PG Matt Coleman out of Norfolk. Or maybe Bennett just likes the lefties. But Bennett has offered a boatload of 2016 point guards anyway:

Jamal Murray (****): Murray is a big, strong Canadian who appears to be a Syracuse lean.

Kobi Simmons (*****): Georgia-based 6’5" combo guard Simmons has the potential to be a lock-down defender. He’s got a good handle and vision, but he’s also a driver.

Dennis Smith Jr (*****): A "magician" with the ball in his hands, Smith, out of North Carolina, is a superior athlete whose ball-handling and speed are a deadly combination. Smith is Duke’s top priority in 2016, and they aren’t recruiting a point guard in 2015, so they must have some confidence in their ability to land him.

Howard Washington (****): Tall but thin, Washington has some of that Perrantes mistake-free coolness to his game.

Payton Pritchard (***): West Coast-based PG who was in Charlottesville for the Top 100 Camp and took an unofficial visit. But Pritchard says, ""Definitely coming in I want a chance to start." With Perrantes in his way, that might just rule Virginia out.

Ty Jerome (**): A skinny PG who excels in crunch time, Jerome may be a player, like Perrantes, where Tony Bennett sees something that others don’t. Jerome doesn’t have a high-major offer list; most peg him as a smart, hard-working mid-major superstar.

Temple Gibbs (****): Gibbs is a tough, composed guard out of New Jersey who can nail jumpers.

Ty Graves (**): Graves is an undersized (5’10" 160 pounds) point guard with a nice mid-range jumper who’s a smart, calm leader. Graves is considered a Virginia lean.

Expect more names to be added to this list in coming months. It’s clear that Bennett is casting a wide net for his five scholarships in 2016. While it’s not exactly the Hokies’ style of offering everyone with a pulse and a pair of hightops, it does seem somewhat less-than-selective. Could Bennett be feeling the pressure to avoid a huge drop-off after the departure of the Brogdon, Gill, Anderson, Nolte, and Tobey class?

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