Virginia recently offered four-star 2025 guard Acaden Lewis out of Sidwell Friends School, a player who has been on Grounds a couple of times already. Now, on the heels of a big summer with Team Durant on the EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound DC product has put himself in a position where he's clearly a player the Wahoos would love to add.

“My recruitment has been good,” he told CavsCorner. “I have been hearing from a pretty consistent rotation of schools which I like and it lets me know which schools are truly interested and which ones are just reaching out to have somewhat of a connection. Since June 15th, I have been keeping track of which schools text me the most, call me, reach out and all that. Whoever contacts me I am always appreciative of them taking their time out of their day and taking time away from their family or maybe even practice to talk to me and help me.”

When Tony Bennett and Jason Williford officially got on board with the offer, it was a big moment for Lewis, the 69th-ranked prospect in the country.

“The offer from Virginia means a lot,” he explained. “I got to see Virginia on an unofficial visit last fall and went to a football game and watched practice. During that visit, it was the first time I had met Tony Bennett. We have been talking on and off for about a year now and the program is close with my high school coach.

“I look forward to keeping a relationship with them,” he added, “and I definitely am trying to get back up there as much as I can to keep building that relationship with Coach Bennett and Coach Williford and especially because it is not too far.”

Lewis also talked about how very few offers Virginia extends, which he thinks shows him that he is a priority for the Hoos.

“The main thing they are saying is that they need a guard from the 2025 class and I truly believe whenever they say that I am a priority because it is proven with how many people they offer and who they are going after,” he said. “They do not just go and offer everybody and that was one thing they told me basically this whole year, so you really know when they offer you it really means something. When Coach Bennett called and offered me, he said ‘congratulations you earned this offer,’ and that really showed that this particular offer meant something so I really appreciate that.”

In terms of fitting into what Bennett does in Charlottesville, he has no concerns.

“I think I would fit really well in the Virginia system,” Lewis said. “Tony Bennett lets his guards really run the show and especially in late-game situations. I think my playing style and the flash I do have, I think it could be very helpful for them. Scoring wise, passing wise and with the way I defend, I think I would fit very well in their system.”

There are going to be a lot of high major programs trying to land Lewis and he recently has visited some programs with a couple also on the horizon.

“I have been to Georgetown and Maryland recently,” he said, “and in October I am going to visit Florida State and I am planning a visit to Oregon and Ohio State as well.”

In terms of making a decision, Lewis mentioned that he has a pretty good feel for when he’d like to wrap up his recruitment depending on how things shake out.

“I think definitely before my senior year starts at school so I am thinking probably right after Peach Jam,” he said, “but it also could depend on what happens between coaching changes and the transfer portal so we will really just see how everything plays out.”