This week, Phony Bennett, Chris Havlicek and Mark Jerome jump into questions from the forum, twitter, facebook and more. You can always ask questions at: https://virginia.forums.lockerroomaccess.com/
The mailbag with HoozGotNext and Zach Carey is below:
It's time for another edition of the Locker Room Access mailbag. Fans can submit questions via twitter each week for our panel to discuss. Zach Carey and I will be handing the blog portion. Be sure to check out our podcast for Mark Jerome and the gang's take on this week's questions.
Zach: Any sort of blanket eligibility waiver is still being decided upon by the NCAA and there’s still plenty of uncertainty, but if Murphy does get immediate eligibility, there’s potential for him to be a significant contributor. His skillset is tailor-made for the Bennett system. At 6’9” with a 7’1.5” wingspan, he’s got the shooting and handling skills of a two-guard and could usurp guys like Stattmann, Woldetensae, and Abdur-Rahim to crack the starting lineup as a small forward. He would provide versatility on both ends of the court as he and Hauser would be able to switch off playing the four depending on matchups like Braxton Key and De’Andre Hunter did back in 2018-2019. Bennett loves to have versatile wings like Murphy, so if he gets eligibility this year, this top-five team just gained another dangerous weapon.
Hooz: I think we all have a fair idea of what may be going on behind the scenes. We'll have to let it play out. I can't say that I know all that much about the waiver process, if one is even being applied for in this case, but the NCAA seems to be handing them out at a pretty high rate this year.
Hooz: Barring a major surprise, New Zealand guard Taine Murray will be the only recruit signed during this week's early period. Paul VI (VA) guard Trevor Keels has UVA as a finalist and is still uncommitted. Our best hope for him at this point is for it to drag out, and essentially reset. Should he pull the trigger soon, Duke seems to be the likely choice. The good news, if you want to call it that, is if it doesn't go down this week it probably will drag on a while.
Odds are UVA's next commit will come after the season, in the form of a frontcourt player that isn't being discussed yet. With Trey Kaufman and Caleb Houstan heading elsewhere, they'll still look to add a forward for next season. The late Spring cycle will be even more full of options than usual with more opportunities for late discoveries of high school seniors that would have normally popped up during summer AAU, as well as the likely rule change allowing immediate eligibility to transfers. We're already seeing that filtering process begin with the staff reaching out to Estonian import Markus Ilver.
Hooz: Your forecast sounds about right. According to VerbalCommits.com, there were more than a thousand Division-1 transfers last season. That's well over 20%. I don't know what the rate is for the power conferences alone, lower I assume. It'll naturally rise with the one-time waiver rule likely coming. I don't expect it to be the catastrophic event that some others seem to believe. There will be a lot of transfers going forward, however, no way around that.
It will change the way coaches recruit and manage rosters. The ones that adapt quickest to the new environment will have an advantage. The rarely spoken truth is that the majority of outgoing transfers at this level are good for the program. UVA has gained in the transfer trade-off. Young players that aren't working out are replaced with proven commodities. The key going forward is to maintain that net gain by continuing to selectively take advantage of the growing market.
Zach: Shedrick is an interesting prospect this season. Logic would suggest he doesn’t see the court except in blowouts considering there’s too many guys above him in the frontcourt pecking order. Huff and Caff
