Men’s basketball secures highly-anticipated 2017 recruits

Four highly-touted high school seniors signed National Letters of Intent to attend VCU in 2017, coach Will Wade announced last week.

The four-man class is currently ranked No. 19 nationally by ESPN and includes two ESPN top-100 recruits — guard Lavar Batts and forward Mayan Kiir, as well as four-star forward Sean Mobley and three-star center Marcus Santos-Silva.

Wade said he’s pleased with the versatility and length of the new recruiting class, which will be freshman in his third season as VCU’s head man.

“(Our staff) did a good job of getting guys who do a number of different things,” Wade said. “We went out and got the guys that fit the best together for our program long term.”

Batts, ESPN’s 99th-ranked talent and consensus four-star recruit, is the top-ranked player out of North Carolina for 2017, according to 247Sports. During his junior campaign, the 6-foot-2 guard led J.M. Robinson High School to a AAA State Championship, averaging 20.7 points, five assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals on the year.

“Lavar is a tremendous competitor,” Wade said. “He’s extremely quick, guards the ball and is a blur in the open court. He’s what you’d think for a VCU point guard.”

Kiir, the other top-100 recruit, is a 6-foot-9 forward and the Rams’ most recent commit. Born in Australia to South Sudanese parents, Kiir moved to the United States prior to his junior year of high school to join other Australians at Florida’s Victory Rock Preparatory. As a junior, Kiir averaged 12.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks-per-game.

Wade said he looks forward to working with Kiir to help the raw athletic forward reach his full potential as a player.

“Mayan is a player with tremendous upside,” Wade said. “He’s terrific defensively and on the glass, and his offense is underrated. He’s got good range. But he’s tremendous on the offensive and defensive glass, taking charges, that kind of stuff. He’s going to be a special player for us.”

Mobley, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound big man out of Florida’s Montverde Academy, is the third ESPN four-star recruit to sign on for 2017. As a junior, Mobley led his team to a 26-2 record and a spot in the semifinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals.

Wade said Mobley’s versatility will be an asset for the Rams and his ability to play any spot down low will help ease the potential loss of seniors Mo Alie-Cox and Ahmed Hamdy.

“(Mobley) can play multiple positions, is versatile, passes well, shoots well, rebounds well, he has tremendous feel for the game,” Wade said. “One thing we noticed is that he always makes the right play. He has a college-ready body, and he comes from a tremendous high school program that will have him ready day one.”

Although Marcus Santos-Silva is the only of VCU’s 2017 recruits not to be named a four-star player by ESPN, the 6-foot-7, 265-pound forward is rated as the No. 3 player in the state of Vermont by 247Sports.

Wade said he looks forward to having a player of Santos-Silva’s size on the roster and said he believes Santos-Silva’s tenacious work ethic will be a valuable addition for the Black and Gold.

“He’s got really good feet and hands and a really good feel for the game,” Wade said. “We love the fact that he’s a self-made player. He’s worked really hard these last few years, and we know with that work ethic, he’ll be successful here.”

______________________________________________________________________

Nick Versaw, Contributing Writer