Ryan Odom hasn’t been the coach at Virginia for 24 hours, and he has his first high-profile recruit, with Chance Mallory, the nation’s #2 rated point guard, announcing on Saturday that he will play at UVA.
Mallory, a senior at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville, had originally committed to UVA when Tony Bennett was still the head coach, but then decommitted when Bennett stepped down before the season in October.
We’ll have more on Mallory’s commitment later today; stay tuned.
With Mallory in the fold, the next question is, who else Odom will be bringing with him?
ICYMI
Word on the street is that Odom will likely bring most, if not all, of his assistant coaches from his staff at VCU, which, according to a college basketball insider, is a huge bonus, as Odom’s staff is considered “top-shelf.”
But wait, there’s more.
Last fall, Woodside High (Newport News) prospect Silas Barksdale, a 6’8”, 235-pound forward/center, announced his commitment to VCU.
Shortly after completing his senior season, in which he led Woodside to the state’s Class-5 title, Barksdale was named state player-of-year.
Rated by Rivals as the No. 20 center nationally, Barksdale chose VCU over Virginia Tech, Butler, Miami, Drake and Maryland.
Barksdale said of his VCU commitment:
“The coaching staff, it was crazy; the first time I pulled up there, they made me feel like I was already part of the team. I knew I could trust them; Coach Odom let me know that I’m going to be able to play my own game and have fun.”
Barksdale would obviously be a welcome addition to the UVA roster, were he to decide to make the leap.
Any more possible VCU commitments who could come to town?
Well, since you asked, there is one more to keep tabs on.
Jordan Tillery, who hails from Bradenton, Fla., and spent his senior year at the IMG Academy in Orlando, is a 6’5” small forward.
The skinny on Tillery: He’s long, athletic, and has an aggressive scorer mentality.
This next part is key regarding Tillery: “He thrives in transition, puts pressure on the rim as a driver, but also uses his physicality to score over the top.”
Tillery chose VCU over Arizona State, Drake, George Washington and Georgia.
As far as current players on the VCU roster are concerned, there are slim pickings there.
Most of the core players on Odom’s A-10 championship squad have exhausted their college eligibility.
The most intriguing player who could travel 64-West with Odom is freshman Brandon Jennings.
Jennings, a 6’4” guard from Richmond’s St. Christopher School, is a left-handed true point guard and excels as a true point guard.
Jennings was rated the No. 30 point guard in the country during his senior season at St. Christopher’s.
Jennings played in all 35 VCU games this season, averaging about 14 minutes per game, mainly backing up star guard Max Shulga.
Having watched the Rams numerous times this year, I noticed that Jennings made the most of his limited playing time.
His motor never stopped running.
The next few weeks will be fun for UVA Basketball fans.
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