A Sea Of Red

It is ridicuously early but that's how you play the game in hoops recruiting. Coach McKay has already dropped a pair of offers on PGs for this class:

Chance Mallory from Charlottesville

Kemari Pointer from DC

The Flames have now offered Mallory's backcourt mate at STAB as well:

Austin Williford from Charlottesville

Obviously Coach McKay worked with Austin's dad in his time at UVa

The Flames had a recent visit from their May offer CG Zander Carter.

Carter is the first commitment of the class.

In case you were wondering where we stand with the Class of '25, we still stand at two commitments between Xander Carter and Andrew Grimes.

According to VerbalCommits, we have three offers still out to prospects:

• PG Chance Mallory

• SG Austin Williford

• SG Michael 'MJ' Harper - Offered in February

Of course, Torr Sorenson could be signed into the Class of '25 or '26 since he was reclassified.

Now that we have the current roster finalized, by my calculations we will have a minimum of 4 scholarships available for 2025. 2 of those will most likely go to early commits Zander Carter and Andrew Grimes (both look like textbook replacements for departing players.) I highly doubt we fill the remaining 2 with HS seniors, so I expect we will be active in the portal again. Of course, the 4 openings is a MINIMUM, and in the current climate, it would be unrealistic to think we won't have at least 1 or 2 transfer out.

This commit currently puts us at the scholarship limit for next year. This is a great looking 3 man class, which should solidify the transformation of our roster begun with the 5 transfers we brought in this year.

The move to CUSA has definitely helped raise the talent level. I hope we get back to dominating the conference like we did in the asun.

Genuinely curious why you guys are thinking this class is looking better than prior classes? I feel like it’s hard for me to tell in basketball and we always seem to think we got a couple of really good players.

I'm probably late to the game, but is this Eric Sorenson's kid?
https://x.com/torr_2410/status/1835714498725908643

Kricket wrote: ↑September 12th, 2024, 7:46 am Genuinely curious why you guys are thinking this class is looking better than prior classes? I feel like it’s hard for me to tell in basketball and we always seem to think we got a couple of really good players.

It's hard to know as recruits if they are more skilled but the difference in length and athleticism has been night and day. We aren't recruiting unathletic (for CUSA) 5'9" guards anymore which is progress.

LUOrange wrote: ↑September 16th, 2024, 8:59 pm I'm probably late to the game, but is this Eric Sorenson's kid?
https://x.com/torr_2410/status/1835714498725908643

Yes

Early signing day is 11/13. If we can sign Carter, Grimes and Drain and then add 1 or more transfers in the Spring, this could be a very solid class. We will almost certainly lose one or 2 players from the end of the bench to the portal, and should be able to upgrade with those scholarships.

Early signing day.

No announcements of signings yet, but no reason for concern. While it has been referred to as "signing day", yesterday was in fact the first day of the early signing period. For several years, there was a focus on announcing signings as early as possible, with players often tweeting them out independently. Often there was one or more players who delayed their announcement because they were having a signing "ceremony" (usually at their HS). The trend now is to wait until all NILs are in and then make official announcements through the sport's X account and the AD website. It should happen in the next day or 2. As far as the likelihood of one of our commits being flipped at the last minute...............next to zero. Fact is, cannot recall it ever happening since Ritchie arrived.

Here we go:

Carter
https://libertyflames.com/news/2024/11/ ... -of-carter

Grimes
https://libertyflames.com/news/2024/11/ ... gns-grimes
Note that he is now listed as being 6'9"

Drain
https://libertyflames.com/news/2024/11/ ... bb-program

"To the future signing class 2025-2026 on A Sea Of Red Forum: Get ready for a wild ride! Some of you may see minutes, some may red-shirt, and all of you will face the harsh reality of not always being 'the dude.' But hey, think of it as a rite of passage. Just remember, even the benchwarmers get to perfect their towel-waving skills and reading about the LU ARMCHAIR COACHES thoughts and predictions and also being part of the victory celebrations! "

Besides losing Aquino, the portal treated us pretty well - we may have actually improved. Any further news on Maughmer/Peter/Ihnen? I feel good about this next year.

John_6_47 wrote: ↑April 23rd, 2025, 9:57 am Besides losing Aquino, the portal treated us pretty well - we may have actually improved. Any further news on Maughmer/Peter/Ihnen? I feel good about this next year.

I did see that a few football players lost their lawsuits to try and get more eligibility . It’s not really relevant to their cases but the pendulum might be swinging in the other direction with players getting too aggressive with these lawsuits.