For those select few Cavalier basketball fans who combine a love for roundball with a passion for gossip, the 1998-99 recruiting binge was something out of a fairy tale.
It was drawn out, with commitments rolling in from September all the way through April. It was suspenseful; would hyped high schoolers like Gatorade Player of the Year LaVell Blanchard and the menacing Jason Parker actually pick the Cavs over their respective hometown schools, Michigan and North Carolina? Both eventually snubbed Virginia, but their well-documented travels certainly were good fodder for conversation.
Most importantly, the harvest was rich, reaping five prospects, including a McDonald's All-American in Majestic Mapp and two other Top 50 recruits in Travis Watson and Roger Mason, along with Jason Rogers and junior college transfer Stephane Dondon.
The sequel to last year's blockbuster couldn't be more different. The Cavs are endowed with just two scholarships, and the team already has expended one on Maurice Young, a 6-foot-5 wing forward from Mitchellville, Md.
With Young in the fold, a single scholarship remains. And with the NCAA's recent mandate that Virginia tender its final free pass to only those recruits it pursued before the sanctions were decreed Oct. 6, just two players are still under consideration: power forwards J.C. Mathis and Abdou Diame. Terry Sanders of Hargrave Military Academy and Kyle Cuffe of Rice High School also received offers from the Cavs, but the duo opted to go elsewhere - Sanders to Marquette and Cuffe to St. Johns.
Mathis, a 6-foot-9 post player from Kennedy High School in Brooklyn, NY, officially visited Virginia last weekend, enjoying the Hoos in the Hall festivities and the Florida State football game. He previously toured Florida and lists Massachusetts, Seton Hall and Ohio State as other possibilities.
"He's still going to visit a few more schools," Mathis's coach and father Johnny Mathis said. "Our plan is to take our time and just see what's the best situation for him."
Most recruiting publications project Mathis as a Top 150 prospect, but Brick Oettinger of Prep Stars Recruiting Handbook still has questions.
"I was a little disappointed in his progress," said Oettinger, who has seen the forward play for over two years. "He hasn't continued to grow physically, and he's a good but not great athlete. But he's not a bad prospect."
Diame could be a spectacular one. Tabbed as a Top 25 recruit, the Oak Hill Academy standout has practiced against and played with former Academy megastars Watson and Jules Camara, both of whom settled into scholarships at Division I schools.
But Virginia's pursuit of Diame isn't without heated competition. Maryland and Auburn are hot on his trail, though Diame insists he will wait until the spring to choose his ultimate destination.
Diame is not the only highly touted hoopster that may be headed the way of the ACC.
With Ed Cota graduating in May and backup Ronald Curry shelved for six months with a ruptured ACL, North Carolina is desperately seeking a point guard, with its attention focused specifically on Omar Cook, the floor leader of prestigious Christ the King High School in New York City, alma mater of Erick Barkley and Lamar Odom.
Cook visited North Carolina Oct. 29, Oettinger said.
"Cook was quoted in the last week that Carolina was his number one choice. But St. Johns is also in the running. He said he wasn't inclined to stay in New York, that if he like his visit to UNC, he might commit," he said.
Cook's interest may be waning, however, with Minnesota point guard Adam Boone's recent verbal commitment to the Tar Heels over in-state nemesis Duke.
Carolina is also in the running for 7-foot-6 center Neil Fingleton, who Boston College covets as well.
Other Blue Devil targets include Jared Jeffries, a consensus Top 5 prospect from Bloomington, Ind., and Jackson, Miss., native Darius Rice.
"Jeffries has made all his visits, and he's eliminated everyone but USC, Florida State, Indiana and Duke," Oettinger said. "Word was it that Duke had made some inroads for sure. The longer it goes, the more it seems to favor Duke."
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