Basketball Recruiting Update

I usually don't post on recruiting, although if I do, it's almost always about basketball. I find football recruiting too difficult to keep up with, for the most part. Seth Greenberg managed to land the best-ranked recruit of his tenure this week... CJ Barksdale of Danville, VA. This is also Tech's highest ranked recruit since Dell Curry back in the early 1980s. Right now this is only a verbal commitment, as Barksdale is only a junior in high school and won't get to VT until 2011, meaning there isn't much keeping Barksdale from switching his commitment. However, I do not really expect for that to happen, unless he gets an offer from childhood favorite UNC, and that supposedly is very unlikely considering they have already made two offers in the 2011 class to higher-rated recruits and they apparently don't have a lot of scholarships to give out that year.

Barksdale is either a big small forward or a small power forward at 6'7", 220 lbs. Bare in mind, he is only a junior and could still grow both in height and muscle-mass. He could probably play either the 3 or the 4, but he most likely will replace Jeff Allen at the power forward spot after the Big Donut graduates next year. Barksdale is supposedly a terror in the paint where he grabs rebounds, blocks shots, and gets points by both posting up with his back to the basket and facing up farther out for a jumper. His weakness right now is foul-shooting, so he should fit in just fine as a Hokie. Honestly, after reading how well he is doing this year and how he outperformed UNC's 2011 recruit, PJ Hairston, in the matchup of those two teams... I am getting a little concerned about him being plucked away from us by one of the big dogs. Hopefully our new practice facility, close proximity to his home, and other Hokie amenities will keep him locked in. If he does stay with us, that could get other highly rated recruits to join in as Greenberg is close to landing a some others.

We also have a fantastic player coming in the 2010 class. Jarell Eddie could be the next coming of AD Vassallo (but I might trade a few of those points for better defending, so we'll see if that happens)... he's an excellent scorer and rebounder who plays on the wing (which is exactly why I am projecting Barksdale as a power forward for us). Eddie's game is more slashing to the hoop and shooting from distance, which makes me think he will get placed at the wing, even though he's big enough at 6'7" and 210 lbs to be an undersized power forward. He is likely to take a lot of time from Terrell Bell next season, and has an outside shot of taking Bell's spot as a starter.

There are good things happening in Blacksburg, and for what seems to be the first time, it's happening for our basketball team instead of our football team.