Ryan Odom has been on an absolute tear during this recruiting season. After already being a top-10 finalist for three top-40 prospects (including a pair of five-stars), Virginia is a finalist for yet another five-star recruit.
The latest star prospect to consider the Cavaliers is point guard Nasir Anderson, who ESPN ranked as the No. 9 recruit in the country and the second-best point guard. He is one of the most coveted high school recruits in the country.
Advertisement
According to League Ready, Anderson has narrowed his list to Virginia, Florida, UConn, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse, Indiana, Georgia and Providence.
Anderson had offers from several other notable Power Four programs, including Kansas, Houston, Illinois, Auburn, Louisville, Alabama, USC and Virginia Tech – but all of those programs were omitted from his top-10 list.
Top programs are courting the Georgian guard for several reasons. Anderson is known for his scoring ability and versatility, as he averaged 18.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game on the AAU circuit this year.
Advertisement
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports praised Anderson as one of the most dynamic guards in the 2027 class.
“A lefty power guard who plays with a distinct downhill style, Anderson can bully his way to the rim more effectively than arguably any other guard in the national class,” Finkelstein said. “He’s built almost like a football player, with a tremendously powerful upper body, good positional size, and long arms, which allows him to initiate, and then absorb, all types of contact going to his dominant side. He’s virtually unstoppable with the ball in the open court.”
Other scouts have also taken note of Anderson’s elite metrics in terms of ball-handling skills, body control, moves at the rim, and on-court awareness. Anderson has been compared to another star from the Peach State, Anthony Edwards of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. That may be a lofty comparison, but the young Anderson shows flashes of meeting those expectations.
If Virginia manages to land Anderson, he would be the program’s highest-rated recruit since Ralph Sampson. It would be easy to envision overwhelming success with Anderson operating Odom’s offense with players like Chance Mallory, Favour Ibe and other recruits forming an elite attack.
Advertisement
After the Cavaliers won 30 games in Odom’s first season, the nation began to take notice. Virginia is reemerging as an ACC giant with its new head coach. Several blue-chip recruits are considering taking their talents to Charlottesville.
Today’s best reads
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as Virginia a top-10 finalist for five-star 2027 point guard Nasir Anderson.
