Four-star F Wilkins excited to get up to UVa for his official
Four-star forward Jacob Wilkins is among the best players in the class of 2025 and given his NBA pedigree, he’s becoming the kind of prospect everyone always thought he would.
A 6-foot-8 junior from Georgia, the son of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins has turned plenty of heads. Some, like the coaches at UVa, didn’t have to have their attentions grabbed since Wilkins, No. 84 overall, has been on their radar for quite some time given the connections he has to the school.
Now, he’s scheduled his first official visit to Virginia starting on October 13.
“I have known about Virginia for a while because my brother, Isaiah Wilkins, played there all four years in college so it has always been a school that I know about,” Wilkins told CavsCorner. “Now that he is on the coaching staff, I have continued to build a stronger relationship with them and really gotten to know Coach (Tony) Bennett. Coach Bennett is an amazing person and an amazing coach so I have really enjoyed talking to him.”
Wilkins said that he has been enjoying talking to Bennett and that the veteran head coach has drawn comparisons between himself and a former Wahoo who is not his brother but someone that is now in the NBA.
“He has been telling me he really sees me as a Trey Murphy type player,” Wilkins explained. “He thinks I could do well in catch-and-shoot situations and shooting off the dribble. He also thinks I can get out in transition like him and finish strong above the rim. So he really does compare my game to him but at the end of the day they want me to just continue to grow as a player and as a young man. They really want me to be the best version of myself so I can help them win a lot of games.”
Wilkins is similar to his older brother in size but believes he could have a similar role win some ways to Isaiah if he were to go to Virginia. But he also said he would consider their games to be a little different.
“I see a similar role as my brother but at the same time I feel like our roles will be different because I am a little bit more of a scorer and Isaiah really stood out on the defensive side,” he explained.
Wilkins also said he does understand that if he were to go to UVa, he will need to continue to develop on defense because of how important Bennett values that end of the floor.
“The way they hedge immediately stands out when watching Virginia,” he said. “They hedge really hard, they always get back well, they always rotate well and I think the way I am developing, I could fit in their defense really well.”
At this point, Wilkins has not scheduled any other official visits but is hoping to get more lined up at the end of the month and into October.
When asked what he wants to get out of the Virginia official visit, he said, “I just want to feel at home and see how I really fit into that program.”
