Basketball Recruiting: 2013 Preview - University of Virginia

Basketball Recruiting: 2013 Preview 

 University of Virginia

ALl-MET ELITE

EDITION

Here's a look at Virginia's top 2013 targets, in alphabetical order.

BeeJay Anya

Dematha H.S

BeeJay Anya (Hyattsville, MD): The Dematha big-man has a bunch of offers from big time programs, Virginia among them. With offers from Georgetown, Maryland, Florida, Texas and others, Anya will be a tough one for Virginia to pull out of the DC area. That won't stop the UVA staff from trying, however. The Virginia staff stops by Anya's school to check in on him and several other players from time to time, in hopes of having staying power in his recruitment. Virginia's hope now is just to get Anya on campus and try to position themselves to be a player down the stretch. It's going to be a challenge though.


Anthony Barber (Hampton, VA): Barber would be the real prize of the 2013 class for Virginia. Point guard is obviously UVA's biggest need, and Barber is one of the best point guards out there. Barber has good size for a point guard, with elite quickness and playmaking ability. Obviously with his proximity to Charlottesville, Bennett and the Cavaliers have been on Barber for some time now. Barber, who goes by the nickname "Big Cat," was AAU teammates with 2012 Virginia signee Justin Anderson, and that certainly doesn't hurt. The 6'2'' guard currently holds offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State and Providence. Seth Greenberg's departure in Blacksburg is helpful to Virginia's position, because the two in-state schools seem to be in the driver's seat for Barber at the moment. An offer from UNC, Duke or Kentucky could doom the Cavaliers' pursuit of Barber, as it has with many other UVA targets in the past.


Troy Caupain (Midlothian, VA): The in-state guard holds offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Richmond so far. Although Virginia has offered, it is not clear at this point how hard the staff is recruiting him, and Caupain could be seen as somewhat of a backup option for the Cavaliers. If UVA loses out on some other shooting guard targets like Stanford Robinson and Matt Thomas, expect Virginia to up its interest in Caupain. For now, it's hard to get a read on where Caupain will end up, but Virginia is at least involved at this point.


Corban Collins (Woodstock, VA): The 6'2'' point guard does not currently hold an offer from the Cavaliers, but the coaching staff is keeping tabs on him at this point. Like Caupain, Collins could be a backup option at the position he plays, and Virginia may target Collins if they lose out on guys like Anthony Barber and Tyler Ennis. Virginia Tech had shown some interest in Collins before Seth Greenberg was fired this week, and it remains to be seen how the new staff will go about pursuing Collins. As for now, it's a wait and see approach with Collins' recruitment, at least until Virginia offers him.


Stanford Robinson (Fairfax, VA): Here is another in-state target that the Cavaliers have been seriously pursuing. The Paul VI guard stands 6'4'', and would probably play the two-guard spot in college. Robinson's recruitment has taken off in the last year, and he holds offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State, and Pittsburgh among others. There is also reported interest from Georgetown, Maryland and Indiana as well. The interest between Virginia and Robinson seems mutual, and the UVA staff has put themselves in a solid position to land the Fairfax native.


Brandan Stith (Brunswick, VA): Stith's younger brother B.J. is committed to Virginia for the 2014 class. It probably goes without saying, but the Stith brothers are the sons of former UVA and NBA player Bryant Stith. As for now, Virginia has offered Brandan a scholarship for the 2014 class, after having him prep for a year in 2013 to develop his game further. We will see if Virginia changes their approach to this, but as for now, consider Stith a member of the 2014 class, at least as far as UVA is concerned.

Troy Williams (Hampton, VA): The only reason Williams is included in this list is because he is an in-state target that people will want to know about. Well, he has narrowed his choices down to Kentucky and North Carolina, both of whom have offered. Turn out the lights, the party's over.