Four-star forward Jarin Stevenson has become the most prioritized recruit for Tony Bennett and Virginia the past couple of weeks. Not only has the staff has seen him multiple times the past two weekends during the live periods but before they began, the 6-foot-9 prospect was also on an official visit to Virginia.
On the court, with the April live periods now over Stevenson feels like he’s making some strides.
“I felt like my team and myself took steps toward the right direction,” he told CavsCorner. “The first weekend we went 1-3 but this past weekend we went 3-1 so I feel like we took a lot of big steps toward the right direction.”
Stevenson, No. 24 overall in the class of 2024, visited UVa for an official visit before the live periods last month and came away excited about the experience.
“It was a great visit,” he explained. “Being able to hang out with Coach Bennett and to see the facilities was awesome. I had been there for an unofficial visit before but I got to see some other stuff that was pretty cool. I hung out with Leon Bond and Ryan Dunn and the community was great. We ate at a lot of good restaurants and overall it was really nice.”
While Stevenson was on Grounds, Bennett was able to talk to him a lot about how he could potentially fit in with the Wahoos. The veteran coach also pointed areas where his game could improve.
“He mainly talked about areas to improve on so I can fit in their system,” Stevenson said. “He wants me to keep working on my closeouts, keep working on my jump shots because he would want me to be a knockdown shooter and he obviously wants me to be reliable on the defensive end if I were to go there. He really likes my size and he said he would have me guard any position which would make me an important piece to their program.
“I feel like I could bring my shooting ability to a college program,” he added. “I think that I have pretty good guard skills at my height, I can defend most positions, I have a good paint presence where I can block shots and I can help bring the ball down the court if the guards are having trouble.”
In terms of how Bennett sees him, Stevenson said he compared his game to that of two former Wahoos who currently star in the NBA.
“They compared me to Trey Murphy and a little bit of DeAndre Hunter,” he said. “They said I am similar in size to them and they feel like I could guard just like they could. They also said they think I could be a good wing player, take it to the rim, and knock down shots like they did.”
While UVa has a good footing in his recruitment, North Carolina is another school that has been prioritizing Stevenson. With him living so close to their campus, Stevenson knows a lot about the Tar Heels.
“My relationship with them is going great,” he said. “I texted them quite a few times during both live periods and I have been to a lot of their games, with the campus being 15 minutes away from me. Coach Hubert Davis is a great guy and I enjoy talking to him. Coach (Jeff) Lebo is my main recruiter there and he is another great guy. The community is very passionate and it is a great place.”
There has been a lot of talk about Stevenson potentially reclassifying into 2023 and that remains something he’s thinking about doing.
“Right now my decision to reclass is kind of 50/50,” Stevenson explained. “I will probably make a decision at the end of the summer, that is kind of the timeline right now but I am still feeling things out. With the April live period now over, it could happen but we will see.”
When asked what his decision is going to come down to, he pointed to relationships and development.
“It is going to come down to a community where I feel welcome and comfortable,” Stevenson said. “I want the coaching staff to treat me well and I want to play in a system where I fit in well so I can showcase all of my skills and a program that will take me to the next level, which is the NBA.”
