Guy and Jerome looking ahead
A couple of weeks after teaming up together at the Mary Kline Classic, and well before they arrive on Grounds next summer to begin classes and practices at UVa, the two ended up on the same team at last week's NBPA Top 100 Camp.
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Their bond, as one might expect, has never been tighter.
Guy and Jerome each committed to Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers last fall, the first two pieces of a 2016 recruiting class that quickly caught people's attention.
Last week playing against the best of the best during camp, the future Wahoos continued to turn heads.
"We've got totally different games," Guy said, "but we both shoot the ball, which spreads the floor, we both come off of pick-and-roll, and we're both combo guards so it really doesn't matter who's bringing the ball up."
"He said it all," Jerome added with a laugh. "I'm comfortable with both but I'm more of a 1."
It's not every day that a coach can find two players who seem to fit his wish list the way Guy and Jerome fit Bennett's but both guards are complete
and multi-faceted. Each say they don't care where their future head coach slots them. They're ready for anything.
"We're going to be playing in [UVa's] program in a year and a half now and it's a great feeling," Jerome explained. "They only recruit good kids. That's great."
"When I committed," Guy added, "I thought we were going to be Top 25. I didn't know we were going to go, what was it, 18-0 to start off with. It's just a blessing that I'm able to play for such a great program."
Not only are the two excited to share the court together against once they arrive in Charlottesville but they're also thinking about rooming together when their UVa careers begin.
"When I committed," Guy recalled, "he immediately texted me and we haven't looked back since. We text each other at least five times a week throughout, all the time. It's fun. We're combo guards who compliment each other well. We're great friends off the court, basically a brotherhood just like it is [at UVa]."
Both commits have busy summers ahead. From Top 100, Jerome said he'll be at the Nike Skills Academy in L.A. before heading for Peach Jam with the PSA Cardinals. From there, he's not sure if he'll do the Nike Global Challenge or the Ty Lawson Camp in Washington, D.C. The final weekend of July, he said he'll be playing in Kansas City or Las Vegas.
Guy, meanwhile, said he'll take a few weeks off before heading to Atlanta for the adidas championship and then up to New York for the adidas All-American Camp before heading to L.A., Vegas, and then adidas Nations back in L.A.
As far as what they're hoping to improve on over the course of the summer, Guy said he wants to focus on his all-around game. He also knows he needs to get stronger and work on his quickness before he arrives in the ACC.
"People take a glance at me and think I'm not athletic," he said with a laugh. "But that's something I've really been working on."
Jerome chimed in, joking that Guy is more athletic than he looks and pointed out that his future teammate was in the dunk contest at the Mary Kline Classic.
Each say that Mike Curtis, UVa's strength and conditioning coach, was a big reason why they felt so comfortable choosing the Cavaliers when they did.
"That was definitely part of the reason UVa stood out to me," Jerome said of Curtis, "and made me commit so early. He's one of the best if not the best strength coaches in the country. I think that's the main thing I really need to work on: getting stronger and more athletic. I think he's going to really help me do that."
One of the benefits of choosing a school almost two years before you can enroll is that you get to be a major part of its recruiting efforts. Guy and Jerome spent much of last week doing just that and working on a host of recruits to join them at Virginia.
"They see UVa and now it's a national powerhouse but guys still think Kentucky and Duke," Jerome said. "I wouldn't say it's hurtful but it's surprising. I think UVa can play with anyone. They didn't shoot that well in the last game in the tournament but they were 30-4. People think there's bigger and better but I don't know how much bigger and better there is."
"I think people get scared because we didn't average so many points last year," Guy added. "You have to play with the cards you're dealt. Coach Bennett is one of the best coaches in the nation and that's why we both committed. I think the recruiting pitch is at an all-time high.
"That's another thing I like about the coaching staff so much," Guy continued. "They give us the freedom to sort of pick and choose the players. We don't have the ultimate decision; that's the coaching staff. It's their team. But they give us a lot of freedom about who we want to go after."
The two had formed a great relationship with fellow Rivals150 standout Sacha Killeya-Jones, who committed to UVa in January but decommitted recently in an effort to give himself a chance to make sure the fit was right.
"I was really, really surprised," Guy said. "He didn't tell us or anything. Then he ended up telling us and stuff but we're cool. We're hanging out with him here and trying to get him back. I think we do [have a chance].
Added Jerome, "Just speaking to him here, he's cool. We're hanging out with him and he's a kid that I like. He seems like a good kid so hopefully we get him back."
Currently, Durham forward Jay Huff is UVa's third commit in 2016 and his future teammates say they are looking forward to getting to know him and playing alongside him in college.
"I don't really know that much about him," Guy said. "From what I've heard, sky is the limit."
"I've seen a little bit of film on him and he looks like a big that can really shoot it and is really skilled," Jerome added. "I think he's going to be a really good player."
With a successful camp experience behind them, there's no doubt that the work they put in this summer will help them in their development. It was also an experience they won't soon forget.
"It was a great experience at Top 100," Jerome told CavsCorner after returning home. "Definitely learned a lot. Playing with Kyle was great. He's real talented and I really enjoyed playing with him. I'm very excited for the future."
"Feels like we were already there playing in front of the best fans in America," Guy added. "I'm ecstatic for the future."