Fast-rising F Punch talks UVa offer and his decision timeline
As is always the case this time of year, Virginia is making its way through the various prospects that have stood out this summer and tossing out some new offers.
One of several forwards from the 2024 class to pull in such an offer from the Wahoos is David Punch.
The 6-foot-8 rising junior announced his decision to transfer this spring from Harker Heights School in Killeen (TX) to Dynamic Prep in Dallas. During the travel ball season, he played for Drive Nation on the Nike EYBL circuit, which is where Virginia really honed in on him.
“The staff from Virginia had kind of been steadily talking to me,” Punch told CavsCorner. “After Peach Jam I was able to get on a Zoom call with the entire staff and it was really good to be able to talk to them. They were super happy to be on a Zoom call with me and they offered me right there, so that was really cool.”
Punch explained that he knows about the track record of UVa and he enjoyed talking about the program with Tony Bennett, who he said really made impression thanks to his energy.
“I know that they are a great program and I know that they are a winning program,” he said. “Coach Bennett is a really good guy. When I talk with him, he is a super enthusiastic guy and it was great to get that kind of vibe from him.”
One thing that Punch really took away from his Zoom meeting with the coaches from UVa was how excited they were to be talking with him.
“What really stood out was how happy they were,” he recalled. “When I am talking with coaches I am really looking for love and a good family part to the program and they really showed that when I was talking to them.
“You could tell everybody was super happy to be talking to me, they were all enthusiastic and they really did a good job of showing my family the love they have for me,” Punch added
After talking with Bennett and Co., Punch also got a better understanding of how he could potentially fit into the Cavaliers system.
“They see me coming in and being a versatile option on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor,” he said.
As of now, he says he’s not in a big rush to make a college decision and instead is eyeing a timeline for after the New Year.
“I plan on making my college decision around January, so definitely no time soon,” Punch said.
When he eventually makes that decision, he knows what will be critical to both him and his family.
“It is going to be important as to how the college views me and how they plan to use me when it comes to actually playing games,” Punch said. “I want to make sure that they are showing a lot of love to me and I want to go to a place that has a good family vibe, those are all important things.”
Before making a decision, he mentioned also some schools he would like to visit. One of those, an official to Xavier, is on the books for October.
“I want to visit Virginia Tech, Xavier, Penn State, TCU, Virginia, and VCU,” Punch said.
