Jerome recaps his official visit

When you've been committed to a school as long as Ty Jerome has, finally getting to take your official visit can seem a little anticlimactic. After all, over the past 12 months, he's learned just about everything there is to learn about the Cavaliers.

But that didn't make his recent visit to Charlottesville any less sweet. And in fact, because he and his fellow commits were looking to add another to the fold, a mission they ultimately accomplished, it was made all the more meaningful.

A 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard from New Rochelle (NY) Iona Prep, Jerome is a four-star prospect ranked No. 50 overall in the Rivals150. He was joined on his official visit by fellow commits Kyle Guy and Jay Huff and, at the time, uncommitted four-star Rivals150 wing DeAndre Hunter.

"It was exactly how I thought it would be," Jerome told CavsCorner of his visit. "I might have even had more fun than I had imagined going in. It was just a great experience. Coach (Tony) Bennett told us before we came down that we were just going to enjoy the weekend, have a celebration weekend, and anything we wanted to see they'd make sure we saw it.

"There was really nothing new," he added, "but it was still great, especially getting to know DeAndre and having him join the family."

Before the weekend was over Hunter, ranked No. 66 overall, committed to the Hoos. It was something that Jerome and the other commits had really hoped would happen.

"We had to show him what we were all about and kind of talk to him and get him on board and we were able to do that," Jerome said. "But honestly, I don't think me, Kyle, and Jay did anything different. We were just us. We were really laid back and enjoying ourselves and once DeAndre committed, it gave the weekend more meaning. That's the future right, that group."

Though Jerome knew Guy really well, this was his first chance to spend a lot of time with Huff and also too his first chance to get to know Hunter. But the two got a chance to get that friendship started even before they made it on Grounds.

"I didn't know him before the visit but as it worked out, DeAndre and I were on the same flight in," Jerome recalled. "I had a connecting flight from New York into Philly and he was on my flight out to Charlottesville so we talked a lot on that flight. I think we hit it off right away.

"He's just a really cool, nice, humble kid and it's awesome to have somebody like that join the group," Jerome added, "because sometimes you get kids who are really talented like that but they're a little cocky and think they're better or whatever but he's just the opposite. He's a super humble kid and he's also super talented and just a great teammate, I can tell."

Things kept building from there, as the group spent a lot of time together on Friday.

"That first day, we got off the plane and the first thing we did was go to Littlejohn's to get a sandwich," he said. "Then we went over to JPJ and watched the guys work out, watched them lift. After that, we went to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit then a little later we went to dinner with a few of the guys from the team and all of our families and the coaches. That was a great night.

"Then that night we got back to the gym and played some ball," Jerome added. "And then the next day we obviously got to go to the football game, which was great. The atmosphere was crazy. That night we went to coach's house and that's where DeAndre ended up committing. It was a lot of fun."

Another big part of any official visit is getting to know the current players, something that stuck out to Jerome even though he committed to the Hoos last September.

"We really spent time with everyone, honestly," Jerome said. "Everyone was super cool and like I said about DeAndre earlier, everyone there is super humble. They were No. 2 in the country last year and you wouldn't know it with how humble they are. They're real cool to be around and that's part of the reason why UVa is so special, because of the kids that Coach Bennett and his staff bring in. It's a great group of guys with a great coaching staff at a great school."

And what about the other member of their group, former four-star 2016 recruit turned 2015 early enrollee Mamadi Diakite?

"Mamadi is hysterical," Jerome said with a laugh. "He's just having a great time, though. But yeah, he's hilarious. At dinner, he just had a million jokes and he's cracking everyone up. I think he's enjoying himself a lot and that's great to see."

As well as things were going among the four, Jerome actually admitted that he wasn't totally sure what Hunter was thinking in terms of his recruitment at that point. So when Bennett announced to the group that he had committed, Jerome was both somewhat surprised and really excited.

"That first night when we were out at dinner he tweeted 'Wahoowa' and we were like, 'Oh man'," Jerome recalled with a laugh. "And then at the football game, he was cheering hard like we were, so we had a feeling. Really, the whole weekend he kept saying 'we' whenever he would talk about Virginia but at the same time, we didn't want to get ahead of ourselves. We had a strong feeling that he was in so when he finally did it, we were all relieved because you never know if a guy takes another visit and at that point, he had some other visits lined up. So it was good to get it done that weekend."

Since they all went their separate ways, Jerome said the recruits have kept in touch. They're all excited about getting back to Charlottesville together down the road, though he'll see Hunter much sooner than later.

"I'm actually going down to Philly on October 10 and I'm going to be playing against DeAndre in the New York vs. Philly game," Jerome said. "So I'll get to see him then and we'll go at it. That'll be fun."

It won't be too long after that game that the two recruits will be able to officially sign their letters of intent on November 11 and officially become members of the UVa family.

Needless to say, Jerome is pretty pumped about being able to sign with the Wahoos.

"I can't even tell you, man," he said. "I am just so, so excited. Signing the letter is another big step along the way but what I really can't wait for is to get down there and be on the floor. I'm looking forward to November but what I'm really looking forward to is next June 15 or whatever the day is when we head down. I can't wait."

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