Class of 2025 big man Gurdak recaps his recent visit to UVa

UVa has been busy on the recruiting trail this fall, hosting 2023 prospects for official visits and younger players for unofficials.

Among the 2025 targets, Christian Gurdak was the second prospect from that class as well as the Team Takeover program to visit Virginia this fall.

In attendance two weekends ago for the football game against Louisville the 6-foot-8 big man from Paul VI said he really enjoyed the vibe.

“I am good friends with Austin Williford, who is the son of Coach (Jason) Williford,” Gurdak told CavsCorner. “We have been friends since the eighth grade because we have both been playing with Team Takeover since then. After Nyk Lewis visited, we were able to get an unofficial visit set up. When I was there for my visit, the staff was telling me they love my game and they really liked what they saw from me at Peach Jam. It was a really good vibe.”

Gurdak has long been a fan of Virginia and being able to finally meet Tony Bennett was a great experience for him.

“I grew up watching a lot of Virginia basketball,” he explained. “Their Final Four run when they ended up winning the NCAA Tournament was really cool. I followed all of it. Meeting a national championship winning coach in Tony Bennett was really cool and because the coaching staff is super important to me. Coach Bennett is a super great guy and the rest of the coaching staff stood out to me and the culture they have built there.”

The work ethic from the entire program really is something of note to him.

“They have really started to get a lot of players to the NBA,” Gurdak said. “What really stands out is how they get players to the next level and how serious everybody is in the program. This program has won a national championship and they are trying to get back to that and they know what it takes to get there so they are pushing the players really hard but they don’t push them hard enough to where you don’t want to work anymore.”

Being able to talk with the elder Williford on his visit about expanding his game was one of the main takeaways from his visit on Grounds.

“Talking to Coach Williford on my visit was really important for me,” Gurdak said. “He really does not want me to change my game but just to keep on expanding it. He would like to see me expand my game a little bit to the midrange and I am hoping to do that this year during my season.”

As it happens, Gurdak was another recruit that could only say positive things about John Paul Jones Arena.

“I really like the entire basketball facility,” he said. “They have a personal chef and the locker rooms are outstanding and the practice gym is awesome. It has a big time home feeling and they have a bunch of new equipment that helps them measure the arc on your shot, release angle on your shot and there is just a lot of space for one on one coaching. It really is amazing.”

Along with Virginia, Gurdak has visited Virginia Tech and Maryland this fall and is taking a visit to Penn State this upcoming weekend.