NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 2020 classes prior to spring
13. Virginia Cavaliers (3 commits)
Average Class Ranking: 13.5
Virginia is not often known as a recruiting powerhouse but head coach Tony Bennett has experienced plenty of success on that trail since winning the 2019 national title. The defensive-minded coach has now proven that his style of play can win on the biggest stage and he has also sent plenty of players to the NBA – many of whom have had strong careers at that level as well.
As a result, Virginia’s recruiting has experienced a boom and its three-man 2020 class looks to be special. This group is filled with talent at the point and both wing slots. It feels as though at least one or two of these players will immediately slide into a role on a title-contending squad as freshmen.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim, a 6-foot-5 small forward, is the top-rated player in the class but he is followed closely by highly-touted point guard Reece Beekman as they are both Top 75 players. Abdur-Rahim is fresh off an extremely impressive summer in which his recruitment seriously boomed. He is a lanky athlete that finishes very well at the rim and uses his size to defend multiple positions.
Beekman is similarly talented on the defensive end of the floor thanks to long arms as a 6-foot-2 point guard. He plays with great pace as a lead guard while understanding when to take advantage of defenses being out of position. Beekman is very intelligent on the court and it’s hard to put into words the ways in which he impacts each game. He just does it all.
Carson McCorkle finishes this class as the No. overall player in the class. He is a 6-foot-3 guard that can absolutely let it fly from beyond the arc. He should be a multi-year player in the program and could master the blocker-mover offense during his time in Charlottesville.
It is also important to mention that Virginia will see sit-out transfer Sam Hauser join the roster for this coming campaign as well so the program will have some fresh and talented faces next year.