Huff continues to prepare for UVa

Three-star forward Jay Huff doesn't exactly have a conventional game. So it would fit then that he wouldn't end up having a conventional recruitment.

Now, ahead of his final season at Voyager Academy before heading to UVa, the 6-foot-11 shooter says he's excited about the next step no matter how it is that he got there.

The Durham native told CavsCorner this past weekend that he's had a very good summer, though like any basketball player he's had to deal with getting nicked up a couple of times.

"It's been pretty good so far," he said of his summer. "I did some camps and clinics and had a couple of injuries to deal with, a broken finger and a sprained ankle, but it's not a big deal. The finger didn't let me do a lot of stuff in the weight room that I had planned but I did get to do a lot of leg work and squats. And now the ankle kind of lets me make up for what I couldn't do before. They kind of balanced each other out I guess."

Now up to roughly 190 pounds, Huff laughed when asked if he's gotten tired of people being somewhat obsessed with how much weight he's been able to gain.

"It's a little bit par for the course," he said with a laugh. "But what I really find funny sometimes is how people I don't even know will see me somewhere and tell me what to do to gain weight. One time I saw some guy in the mall and he was giving me all these random foods to eat and I was like, 'I don't even know you, man.' But I understand people want to help and I appreciate it."

In its 2016 class, UVa already has quite the assortment of talent. In addition to Huff, head coach Tony Bennett has locked up commitments from three four-star Rivals150 standouts: Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and Mamadi Diakite. Amid such a talented group, Huff believes not just in the skill level of the other guys that Bennett has lined up but also in his own development and how he will fit in among his future teammates.

"As of late, I've been doing a lot of ball handling work," Huff said. "Since I've gotten my hand back after being in the cast for about six weeks, I've just been trying to get that back. It's just not as strong, and so I wanted to get that back right. When I had the cast, I only played left handed when I'd play pick-up. So I've gotten pretty good at shooting left handed, which is cool.

So what else in his game does he think needs work?

"I think I'd say perimeter defense and quickness in general," he explained. "I guess those two fall in the same category really but I'm thinking that I want to be able to get up to speed faster. That's going to help me a lot at the next level."

He decided to focus this summer on his own game and putting on weight rather than planning on the travel circuit. It's a move that he thinks paid off.

"I think the summer was good for me," Huff said. "Breaking my finger threw a wrench into things but I was still able to work out, maybe not as much or I wasn't able to do some of the specific things I planned but it was still good. I still did a lot of core stuff and that kind of thing.

"But overall," he added, "I think it was a good summer even though I could have done a little better. The sprained ankle will let me focus on some stuff, so in a way it's sort of a blessing in disguise."

One of the big pieces to him committing to UVa in May was the presence of strength & conditioning coach Mike Curtis. Since then, Huff said he and his father have been in touch with Curtis about his workout plans.

"That was one of the reasons I wanted to commit so early," Huff said, "so that I could let Coach Curtis have basically a head start on getting me ready. And I feel like that's one thing that's going to help me in a big way and that's Coach Curtis. I think he's going to be a huge help."

Being committed and having his decision out of the way is good not only for Huff but also for his teammates.

"It's actually been really good," he explained. "It sort of takes a lot of the pressure off, not just me but also my team when they don't have to worry about this coach or that coach walking into the gym. I think it'll be good to have all of that out of the way.

"I sort of got the reputation I guess as the kid who turned down Duke," Huff added with a laugh.

Huff said he's really looking forward to the second weekend of September, when all of UVa's commits are expected to be in town and go to the football game against Notre Dame.

"I haven't met them in person but the texts and things, they seem like great guys," he said. "Being in the group message, it's clear that Coach Bennett has brought in some great guys. I'm really looking forward to it."

The closer he gets to his senior season, the more real the next step becomes.

"It's become more exciting as time has gone on," he said. "When I first committed, it still seemed pretty far away. But now that it's my senior year, it's the last year before I go up there. So it seems closer now. It still feels a little bit surreal, actually. It feels like a completely different world. I think it's really exciting and I know it's going to be a lot of fun."

So what was it about UVa that really made it so that all the interest he received in the spring sort of didn't matter?

"The biggest thing to me was the coaching staff," Huff said. "The way that they coach, the way that they are with their players and recruits. Virginia was the first ACC school to be interested in me and they recruited me the same way the entire time. I like how they are with their players, I like that they are strong Christians and that's something that stuck out with me: Coach Bennett is comfortable talking to you about anything and everything. It doesn't matter if it's a tough topic, he can talk to you about whatever.

"And the way they play, I think I can really fit in well," he added. "Especially the way they play defense, I can play a lot of help defense and block a lot of shots. Obviously Coach Curtis was a big part as well. I think he's going to get me where I need to be. And I really loved the campus and the players. I didn't want to go to a place where there were a lot of one-and-done guys. I wanted an actual team."

Things couldn't be better in Huff's opinion. He's on the track he hoped he would be on several months ago.

"Being committed, I have never one time regretted the decision," Huff said. "I knew when I got the offer especially, probably before that, that UVa was where I wanted to be. It's where I wanted to end up. I went to the Duke national championship banquet and while that was a great experience, it didn't change my mind at all.

"I'm definitely excited," he added. "Relief? I guess a little bit. I never really felt much pressure until the very end. I'm just excited about getting up there and being a part of what Coach Bennett is building."

All in all, it's been a wild ride the past year or so but it's one that Huff knows isn't over yet.

"It's crazy to think back to when I was a freshman, getting a couple letters but letters from schools that sent mail to our whole team," he said. "It was similar my sophomore year before junior year when things really blew up. I liked Virginia right away and I'm glad that's where I'm headed."

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