Men’s Basketball Scholarship Situation

Originally, it appeared as though the staff was done with 2012 recruiting and looking ahead to 2013 and beyond. The recent attrition — K.T. Harrell and James Johnson deciding to transfer — changes the outlook. Particularly Johnson’s move, as now only three low post players — Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins, and 2012 recruit Mike Tobey — are projected to be on the roster in the 2012/2013 season. No names have come to the forefront at this point, although certainly the need is there for another low post prospect in the 2012 class.

Virginia has three scholarship spots open for the 2012/2013 season, so there is room for more in the 2012 class (Four players have already signed). One more will come open in the 2013/2014 season, so if no more players are added in the 2012 class, Coach Bennett and company will have four scholarships at their disposal in 2013.

Looking ahead to 2013, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the recruitment of Brandan Stith. UVa, which already has a commitment from guard B.J. Stith for the 2014 class, has offered the 6’6″, 200-pound junior forward. As of now, though, Coach Bennett and company would like for Brandan to attend prep school for one year and enroll as a member of the 2014 class, but with more open spots now available this could change.

Brandan is a little bit of a ‘tweener in terms of college projection. He plays (and plays well) in the low post, but size-wise he is more of a 3 on the next level at this point.

“Coach Bennett offered Brandan a scholarship, but his situation is more complex,” former UVa star Bryant Stith told TheSabre.com back in September. “They’d love Brandan to come in the year 2014, which means he would have to prep. Brandan has also received offers from other schools to come in year 2013, so he has more research to do. He has to make a decision on if he wants to be 2013 or 2014. It’s more complex. Therefore, he is taking his time trying to find the right situation for him.”

Football Recruiting – Chesapeake Bowl

University of Virginia-bound seniors Tyrell Chavis and Andre Miles-Redmond are set to play in the 2nd annual Chesapeake Bowl, which takes place tomorrow, December 30, at 7:30 p.m at South River High School (Edgewater, MD).

The 6’4″, 280-pound Chavis, a product of Varina High School (VA), earned 2011 first-team all-Central Region honors for his on the offensive line and at defensive tackle. Miles-Redmond, who stands 6’4″ and weighs 260 pounds, earned second-team all-Central Region honors. He was a team captain at Hermitage (Richmond, VA), which captured the Central Region, Division 6 title and defeated Varina earlier in the regular season.

Miles-Redmond will start out on the O-line at Virginia, while Chavis figures to begin his college career at defensive tackle. The two will play alongside each other on the offensive line tomorrow night. Miles-Redmond is listed at center on the Chesapeake Bowl website, and Chavis is listed as an offensive guard.

The Chesapeake Bowl pits the North squad (high school seniors from DE, NJ, PA) against the South (MD, VA). Good Counsel (Olney, MD) wide receiver Stefon Diggs and Good Counsel running back Wes Brown, two of the Hoos’ top remaining targets in the 2012 class, are among the other notables expected to play in the game. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

Jefferson Forest PK Accepts Recruited Walk-On Offer From Virginia

In case you missed it, Jefferson Forest (Forest, VA) senior place-kicker/punter Dylan Sims has accepted a recruited walk-on spot with the University of Virginia. Sims, an all-region selection as a punter and place-kicker, verbally committed about two weeks ago. He chose the Hoos over a similar offer from Virginia Tech.

Patrick Henry (Roanoke, VA) senior punter Nicholas Conte has also accepted a recruited walk-on offer with Virginia. All three of Virginia’s current kickers — kick-off specialist Chris Hinkebein, punter Jimmy Howell and place-kicker Robert Randolph — have no more eligibility remaining after this season.

First-year head coach Joanne Boyle and the Virginia women’s basketball program received great news on Saturday, when Forest Park (Woodbridge, VA) point guard Breyana Mason verbally committed following the Hoos’ win over Radford. The 5’9″ junior, who was in Charlottesville for the game, chose the Cavaliers over offers from Georgetown, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Penn State and Virginia Tech.

HoopGurlz rates Mason as the no. 44 overall prospect in the nation in the 2013 class. For more on this commitment, check out this Washington Post report.

TheSabre reported in a December 5 EDGE article that Virginia had shown interest in Salem (Virginia Beach, VA) senior Divante Walker. According to a report on Recruit757.com, the Hoos have now extended an offer to the 5’10″, 170-pound standout.

Walker is most known for his exploits on offense. He rushed for 1,688 yards this season, averaging about 10 yards per carry. Virginia, though, is recruiting him as a cornerback according to Salem head coach Robert Jackson.

“He could do well at cornerback. We just had people back there, so we didn’t have to play him,” Jackson said of Walker.

UVa is the first FBS-level school to offer a scholarship to Walker. Other offers include James Madison, Norfolk State, Old Dominion and Richmond.

We’ll have more on this development soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Recruit757 report, in which Walker discusses the offer.

Virginia has 24 total commits in its 2012 recruiting class. Four – wide receiver/safety Anthony Cooper, tight end Kyle Dockins, linebacker Mark Hall and defensive end Eli Harold – hail from Virginia Beach.

When Mike Scott received a medical hardship waiver to return for this season, much of the discussion focused on the inside presence he would help give the Cavaliers. He hasn’t disappointed with a near double-double average on the stat sheets through nine games. While his play in the paint has been solid to date, however, Scott’s versatility has become one of the team’s strengths to date.

In the Hoos’ 8-1 start, Scott has been moving fluidly all around the floor not just around the rim. Yes, he’s giving the team post-up options on the blocks down low, but he’s also catching the ball in face-up post positions from the short corner and high post. He’s doing a better job of defending on-ball screens and with Pack-Line rotations, one reason the Cavs are off to such a good start defensively. Scott has 56 defensive rebounds and 7 steals on the year so far. All of those things have helped Scott post averages of 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds. He’s passing the ball well too with 16 assists.

The senior forward also has added an unexpected tool to his kit: the 3-point shot. Entering the year, he had made 10 triples in his entire career so he’s not going to let one fly from downtown very often, but he is 3 of 6 on 3-point attempts on the season. So while the long-range shot isn’t completely new or a go-to weapon of choice, so far it has been a reliable change of pace option for Scott.

“Mike actually has nice touch. Whether it’s been mid-range or 17-footer, I’ve been comfortable with him taking that as long as it’s in rhythm and he’s actually worked hard to add some more range, but if it’s a good shot in rhythm and he’s not coming down trying to shoot it off the dribble … and if it’s a quality look in the flow of the offense, I’ll give him an opportunity to shoot that for a shot or two and we’ll see,” UVa coach Tony Bennett said. “His strength is that he’s inside, he’s outside, he’s moving, back to the basket, facing and so as long as he doesn’t fall too in love with [the 3-pointer], he has the freedom certainly to shoot it because he’s fairly accurate with it.”

Maurice Canady, Matt Johns and Max Valles have uploaded senior year highlights to the net. The footage for each UVa-bound recruit is linked for you below.

- Maurice Canady, QB/WR/CB, Varina (VA) – 2011 highlights

- Matt Johns, QB, Central Bucks South (Warrington, PA) – 2011 highlights

- Max Valles, WR/DE, St. Joseph (Hammonton, N.J.) – 2011 highlights

Good Counsel (Olney, MD) wide receiver Stefon Diggs made an official visit to California last weekend and could be headed to Ohio State for an official this coming weekend, Josh Barr of the Washington Post reports. Urban Meyer’s hiring seems to have vaulted the Buckeyes, which were not included in Diggs’ final eight schools, into serious contention.

In addition to Cal and OSU, the 6’1″, 190-pound senior is also considering Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Diggs is set to play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which takes place on January 7. UVa commits Eli Harold and Kwontie Moore are scheduled to play in that game as well.

Also, according to Good Counsel football, UVa was represented at the school last Friday, December 2. GC revealed the news via Twitter.

Heading into last weekend, only three of the University of Virginia’s 2012 class commits still had football left to play. Here is how they fared in playoff action:

- OL/DT Andre Miles-Redmond and the Hermitage Panthers (Richmond, VA) lost a tough one to Centreville in the Division 6 state semifinals. Hermitage, undefeated heading into the weekend, missed the potential game-tying extra point and eventually fell to the Ken Ekanem-led Wildcats, 10-9.

Miles-Redmond is a likely interior offensive lineman at UVa, though he could play defensive tackle.

- Buford (GA) defeated Carver 28-13 for a berth in the Class AA state championship game. The Wolves have won four consecutive state championships and are 14-0 so far this season. UVa-bound speedster C.J. Moore plays cornerback, receiver and running back for Jess Simpson’s squad.

- St. Joseph (Hammonton, N.J.) blew away St. Mary of Rutherford 51-0 to capture the Non-Public Division 1 state title. This is the third straight state championship for the Wildcats (10-0), who allowed only 19 points the entire season. Senior Max Valles, a 6’5″, 225-pound prospect, played defensive end and tight end for coach Paul Sacco. He could play receiver, tight end or defensive end at UVa.