James Robinson to Pitt

DeMatha point guard James Robinson has selected Pitt over offers from UVA, Georgetown, and Notre Dame, among a host of others. This needless to say is a blow to the 2012 recruiting class as Robinson was seen as all but locked up by the Cavaliers in the months prior to this weekend's visit to Pitt. Obviously Jamie Dixon knows what he's doing up there. Reports are that Robinson was sold on the development  of former point guards at that program, specifically Levance Fields. While this is a bummer for UVA this does point to the one hole this program has, and that is stars at the next level. Will that come in time? Absolutely, with the caliber of players Coach Bennett has brought in there is bound to be some star power in the NBA soon. However it appears those top tier players want to get to the NBA fast and play in a system that prepares them for it, and we might not have that. In the time the Bennetts were at Washington State they produced all of 1 player who is in the NBA. That is not a good track record for kids who are only focused on getting to the next level, which are usually the biggest fish in recruiting. That being said Coach Bennett appears unconcerned with that fact knowing that his system can win without those big name stars, and I'm sure Craig Littlepage isn't crushed that one and done players will most likely be shying away from UVA because of this.

Too Easy

All that being said this still leaves UVA with a bad taste in it's mouth for the 2012 PG position. So where do we go from here? Well first off it gets a lot easier to recruit a 2013 PG, but also a lot more dire. We NEED a point guard in that class or we will be in serious trouble. This also means Malcom Brogdon will probably be getting a lot more playing time at the point this season, which may or may not be a good thing. Look for the heat to be turned up on Nate Britt immediately. As far as 2012 the logical choice is LJ Rose who has recently been spurned by UCLA and Texas, his top choices. However since UVA has been so focused on Robinson of late it could be a bad situation for the Hoos to walk back into. No one likes to be the backup date. (I was going to go with the rebound but I thought that was too much). Hopefully Coach Bennett can court Rose into the fold and land Nate Britt who looks like an absolute stud out of Gonzaga in DC, but that will be quite a fight.


Kendall Sez:  I posted this as a comment, but figured it was meaty enough to tack on to the original post.

Make absolutely no mistake -- we NEED a point guard in the 2012 class. In 2012-13, the only point guard on the roster will be senior Jontel Evans, unless we can bring in a guy in this class. To me, that is an absolutely pressing need.

I don't want to be overdramatic, but I think Tony Bennett's coaching career at UVA might be teetering in the balance with his ability to pick up the pieces and find (or develop) a primary ball handler after being spurned by Robinson.

The 2013 class is too late, unless we're willing to punt the 2012-13 season, and roll into 2013-14 with a true freshman running the point.

Brogdon might be the answer, but that's no gimme.

At some point, Tony Bennett needs to get into the Tournament and win some games there, if he wants to stay employed as the head coach at Virginia. This same thing happened with Pete Gillen, with Majestic Mapp's injury and Keith enifer (no J) being a total flop.

Bennett is exploring options for the 2012 class right now. Maurice Watson is a name that is bubbling to the surface, along with LJ Rose. I have faith we'll land a guy, and hopefully that guy will be something more than what we have in Jontel Evans, who should only ever be a backup.