Good news for Tech's basketball overhaul. 2015 3* Small forward CJ Williamson set to decide between us and Texas Tech on Oct. 27th. Given that he visits us on the 23rd, 247 has him as a 60% Hokies lean (Texas Tech at 20%), we have an exciting new coach with big time goals, and the indisputable fact that Lubbock blows, I like our chances.
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247 crystal ball hasn't been going hokies way lately. lets hope he picks VT. But I will feel much better when he signed with VT.
The most recent picks on 247 seem to be Hokie picks, they also list him as a PG which means hopefully he can really handle the ball. Also, Justin Robinson makes his decision Sunday and appears to be a Hokie lean. Chris Clarke would be another great get, good things appear to be happening with Buzz recruiting and bodes well for future.
For those wondering on how Robinson and Williamson compare:
Justin Robinson Point Guard 6'1 170 LBS, Manassas, VA
Ranked Nationally: 124
Ranked Position: 22
Ranked State: 2
Rivals Three Stars
247Sports Four Stars
ESPN Three Stars
Justin Robinson really stepped out this summer on the AAU circuit, bringing in new interest so it seems Buzz' early efforts are paying off in that he appears to be a Tech lean. His decision will come Sunday. He seems to have the skill set Buzz is looking for in his fast paced offense to create transition baskets after turnovers due to the high energy defense Buzz requires.
CJ Williamson, Point Guard, 6'6, 185 Lbs Orlando, FL (Evans HS)
Ranked Nationally: 243
Ranked Position: 48
Ranked State: 23
Rivals Three Stars
247Sports Three Stars
ESPN
Williamson brings great on ball defense to the table as his top attribute so a good fit for what Buzz is looking for. He has a deadly crossover dribble with each hand so the ability to create his own shot is another significant attribute. He seems very active on the boards in the videos I watched, especially on the defensive end, creating blocked shots from a trailing position. I could see Williamson transitioning to a two or three position at Tech, rather than as a Point Guard, although the height and length offers him a great advantage on the defensive end against other smaller guards. He seems best suited as a small forward in my opinion but time will tell. He would likely need to add about 10-15 lbs to be comfortable in that role based on the bigger bodies the three spot entails in the ACC.
A 6'6" guard would help with the lack of bigs currently.
Hopefully he will be accompanied with plenty of bigs in his class.
Rob, any info regarding Ibuka Ezundu? What are our chances with him? Will him moving from 2016 to 2015 class affect our ability to recruit him?
I believe we are still the leaders in the clubhouse for Ezundu since he hasnt gotten much recognition yet playing in the Charlotte area. I am surprised that he didnt attempt to transfer to a more premier high school/prep school. I hadnt seen anything official yet on his attempt to transition to 2015. If thats the case and its done, it becomes much more difficult for Buzz to bring him in. The only school that appears to be a real threat in his recruiting is Davidson but if Buzz really wants him than he will find a way to get him in here. So far there is only one Crystal Ball prediction and that has him headed to Charlotte.
Does it bother anyone else that this doesn't add up to 100%?
Texas and Kansas State are still listed at 10% of the Crystal Ball makeup of this recruits predictors, even though he has come out and stated that the two Tech's are his finalists. Just shows you how some of the predictors on 247 arent all that dilligent in updating their predictions with new information.
Now that Robinson has committed, how do we sit with Williamson and Clarke if both decide they want to be Hokies?
We have 10 straight Crystal Ball predictions on Chris Clarke....
http://247sports.com/Bolt/Virginia-Tech-trending-in-Crystal-Ball-for-Chr...
He is the #41 player in the nation according to 247 and #59 Composite.
This would be a huge get for Buzz...
Right, but what happens if both players decide to commit? Do we have the space? How would that work if we didn't have the space?
Most likely means more attrition is coming.
I just don't see where the attrition would come from, unless it was from one of the freshmen this year. Only other person I could see is JVZ if he graduates and thinks he will get passed in the rotation by LeDay, but I still don't see him leaving. Someone may end up having to pay their own way (someone currently on the roster could forfeit their scholarship I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong on that option).
This would ....um....leave us with ..... a lot of point guards?
I think that is why they are looking at Williamson as a wing instead of point.
This would be the roster with the two current commits next year:
PG: Seth Allen R-Jr, Devin Wilson Jr, Malik Muller R-So, Justin Robinson Fr
2/3: Adam Smith R-Sr, Ahmed Hill So, Justin Bibbs, So, Jalen Hudson So,
PF: Shane Henry Sr, Zach LeDay R-Jr, Kerry Blackshear Fr
C: JVZ R-Sr, Satchel Pierce So
*Excluded Donlon since he isn't on scholarship
If Devin gets passed by Muller this year, maybe he decides to leave, but he just doesn't seem like a kid who would quit because of adversity. Plus I think he can slot down to a 2/3 spot and provide the flexibility of having multiple people on the floor who can bring it up the court. Adam Smith leave as a graduate transfer? Not likely but could happen. He seems to have done a 180 is the happiest I've seen him in Blacksburg. Unless he struggles with injuries, I think he will thrive under Buzz. One of the freshmen leave because of not getting enough playing time? Probably likely. Not sure which one though, but consensus seems to be Hudson.
Clearly there is going to be some juggling done so Buzz gets who he wants and makes the numbers work, but we will just have to sit back and wait for everything to play out.
I know there is a lot of division on Mueller out there. Some people think he's great and will beat out Wilson this year. Some people think he was a flyer on a European after some attrition. I guess we'll see what Mueller really is this year.
If there is additional attrition I would expect it to come from the group of wing players in the event someone isnt seeing the playing time they thought they might. I still think this is where you might see Jalen Hudson decide to leave after having a hard time finding minutes behind the other 2/3 position players.
I am not sold on LeDay, especially not sold on him passing JVZ in the rotation considering the size difference between the two. LeDay is only 6'7, about 235 lbs. He only averaged 3.5 pts and 2.6 rebounds per game in 15 minutes of playing time as a sophomore. If anything I could see LeDay actually leaving before he even plays at Tech if Buzz believes one of the incoming class offers him more upside like Williamson or Freeman.
Just committed to Texas Tech.
Not surprised at all after seeing his twitter earlier this week. Hopefully we send the house for Clarke and finish this class out!
Well, I hate that for Hokies but I believe Clarke is the better player. His signing is a big key to the 2015 class.
It is entirely possible that Williamson decided to go to Texas Tech because of Robinson's commit & he got a 'hint' that Clarke was coming to VT. Maybe not likely, but these things sometimes happen. It could be that we backed off him a little. Or it might just be that he liked TT better. Either way, good luck to him, I'm glad we were in the game until the end.
Clarke would be the biggest get since Jeff Allen & Malcolm Delaney, wouldn't he? My memory says that Allen was a Top 20-ish guy, and that Delaney was a Top 30/40-ish guy? I think that's right, others can correct if necessary. Anyway, it would be a great coup for us & Buzz.
I think with the style of ball that Buzz plays, we don't have to get the elite players (like a Duke or UK) but if we can score one guy a class that's Top 50 or better, we'd be doing great. If he's a Top 10 or whatever, then great. If he's a Top 40, then just as great, in my mind. If we get three guys that are Top 100 in a single class, that's great, too. I get the impression that Buzz is always going to have at least one guy each class that is kind of off the radar, but that reminds him of himself by being a scrapper.
However it works out, I'm just extremely confident in our future.
Ahmed Hill was a higher rated recruit than Allen and Delaney in last year's class I believe, and also the highest ranked recruit since Finney-Smith. Clarke is slightly rated higher than Hill and just slightly rated lower than Finney-Smith.
Actually, I forgot all about DFSmith & also about Montrezl Harrell, who I guess we could/couldn't count. We could count him since we signed him, but then he didn't play for us, so... I don't remember either of their rankings, but I'm pretty certain Harrell was way up there, too. Part of the byproduct of trying very hard to erase the past two years of Hokie hoops from my mind.
Finney Smith was ranked 18th in his class.
Harrell was only 78th in his class.
Clarke is 41st
Delaney was high 60's
Allen was ranked in the high teens like Finney Smith.
I think Williamson realized that he was not going to get to compete heads up for a starting point guard position so to get playing time he would have to battle against established wing players to get on the court at the three spot. At Texas Tech they were selling him as potentially being a four year starter.
I wonder what the holdup with Clarke is, he has made all his official visits I believe. The longer it takes the more I am afraid someone will sweep in and steal him.
I feel the opposite, because we at least know he wasn't swept away by a recruiting visit, as sometimes happens. I feel really confident that the longer you're in communication with Buzz, the more you're sold on him.
I would much prefer you are correct, I tend to worry about all possibilities. :-)