Mike Young Busy on the Recruiting Trail Days Into His Virginia Tech Tenure

Editor

April 12, 2019, 03:00 AM

After being introduced as the next Virginia Tech basketball head coach on Monday, Mike Young hit the recruiting trail starting yesterday as the new recruiting period opened. So far, Young has made visits to priority targets throughout the Mid-Atlantic as he stated would be a priority during his first press conference at Virginia Tech. Here's a rundown of some of the initial recruiting moves and visits for Mike Young.

Virginia Tech Offers 2019 SF Jeremiah Davenport

The first offer of the Mike Young was extended yesterday to Jeremiah Davenport, a former Wright State commit who decided to prep this season at Hargrave Military Academy. https://twitter.com/J24Davenport/status/1116413780978798593 Davenport is now reaping the benefits with the Hokies among a trio of offers he's received along with St. Bonaventure and East Carolina. The offer for the 6'7'' small forward came hours after the Hokies lost their second 2019 commitment from Yavuz Gultekin who is taking an official visit to Texas A&M this weekend and seems likely to join Buzz Williams in College Station. For now, the Hokies appear to be well positioned at the biggest offer for Davenport, a Ohio native, but it seems likely that Davenport will receive more major conference offers given the rumored interest of other major programs.

Mike Young Heads to Richmond, Visits 2020 Four-Star SG Joe Bamisile

Mike Young was in Richmond yesterday on the first day of this recruiting period and made at least one stop at Monacan High School, home of 2020 four-star shooting guard Joe Bamisile. https://twitter.com/MonacanHoops/status/1116473678756237320 Bamisile told us that he had the chance to spend some time with Young yesterday while also getting to work out in front of the Hokies' new head coach. Bamisile told us that Young is a "real genuine guy" and "really down to earth" after getting a first impression of him yesterday, days after Bamisile had a phone conversation with the Hokies' new head coach. The 2020 talent pool is strong in the Commonwealth of Virginia with Bamisile clearly emerging as a top target for Young as he looks to bring some of the Commonwealth's best basketball talent to Blacksburg.

Mike Young Set to Visit Anthony Harris

When Anthony Harris announced that he was decommitting from Virginia Tech, he made it clear that he had not ruled out signing with Virginia Tech again. Unsurprisingly, Mike Young is making Harris a priority with the multitude of open scholarships he has reportedly making a trip to visit Harris today according to Tech Sideline's Chris Coleman. https://twitter.com/ChrisColemanTSL/status/1116480646308880384 There's no doubt that Young is making Harris among his top priorities for building out next year's roster, but the Hokies will have plenty of competition with North Carolina and Indiana reportedly among those expressing interest in Harris according to Rivals' Corey Evans. Even though Buzz Williams is gone (and was likely a factor in his initial decision), there's no doubt that Harris has a lot of familiarity with Virginia Tech, something that should help the Hokies a lot. One other thing that could also help the Hokies is if Mike Young decides to retain Christian Webster, the one assistant that did not follow Buzz Williams to Texas A&M. Webster is well-respected as one of the rising assistants in the game and a very good recruiter who brings strong recruiting connections in the D.C. area, his native area, to the table. Having Wesbter could help Young's push to bring Harris back into the fold as a primary part of not only the 2019 class, but also the 2019-20 roster.

Mike Young Visits 2020 Five-Star Cam Thomas

Harris isn't the only elite recruit that Mike Young is visiting as the Hokies' new head coach is making a trip to visit five-star guard Cam Thomas. https://twitter.com/coreyevans_10/status/1116671131598184449 Thomas, the Chesapeake, VA native, plays for powerhouse Oak Hill Academy where he had an impressive season averaging over 26 points per game while putting up some impressive shooting numbers. https://twitter.com/D1Circuit/status/1102375514327695366 There's no doubt that the Hokies will have an uphill battle for Thomas but the home state presence combined with the fact that Virginia Tech has proven to be a place where five-star recruits can gain NBA attention (see Nickeil Alexander-Walker) should help the Hokies. For now, Young is focused on building the foundation of Virginia Tech's pursuit of the talented five-star scorer and 757 native.