Recruiting Report: Lavar Batts (2017)
At the NBPA Top 100 camp a few weekends ago in Charlottesville, there were many point guards that stood out as high major prospects. While he may not have been the most dominant point guard in attendance, Lavar Batts of Jay M. Robinson (NC) stood out with his athleticism and ability to make plays in transition.
At 6’1”, Batts has good size for how explosive he is at the point guard position. It’s no wonder why high major programs like Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State, Clemson and Butler all are pushing to have him on campus. With a lot of schools making Batts a priority, many of which are completely different in style, he feels like he’s versatile enough to help whatever school he chooses.
“I’ll try to do whatever I can for that school,” Batts said. “It doesn’t matter how I play, if I go there I have to change my style to however they want me to play. I’ll bring my style to the team and just help them win in whatever way I can.”
With that being said, he’s still interested in a program that allow him to play on a national level and showcase his talents. He’s a menace in the open court, where he’s usually the fastest and most athletic player, and an uptempo system with other guards and wings that can run with him would seem to be the best fit.
“Like you said, I’m looking for somewhere that I can play my game and help them win while I get a good education,” Batts said.
Sprinkled in among the ACC, Big 12 and SEC schools that are recruiting Batts is A10 powerhouse VCU, a school in which he talks very highly of. Batts has a lot of similarities to former Rams’ star Briante Weber, who is now playing with the Miami Heat. Batts is at the top of the VCU recruiting board for the 2017 season, and he’s taking them very seriously after an unofficial visit that he loved last year.
“VCU is much better than what you think,” Batts said when asked which school stood out among his unofficials. “People think of VCU they think it’s a little rundown but it’s really nice. I love the city, the campus, they have nice people, everything is real nice.”
Batts plans to take an official visit to VCU after the AAU season is over, and names Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida State, Clemson and Butler as possible other options. However, with most of those schools, other than Butler, as football first schools, the ravenous fanbase at VCU will likely make a big push on social media to have Batts team up with incoming freshman Deriante Jenkins in the backcourt.
It’s still an uphill battle for VCU, because Batts’ stock continues to rise and high major programs will likely come in late and try to persuade him to a bigger program, a probability that he sees and a major reason he’s in no rush to commit.
“I plan on cutting my list this fall, and making my commitment during the spring at some point. I just want to see what comes in, I don’t want to jump the gun then a school comes in that fits me better than the one I signed at, so I’m just going to be patient, weigh my options and visit the schools that are interested in me.”
With their new state-of-the-art practice facility, a good 2016 class coming in and six straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, it would be crucial if VCU can pull another top 100 recruit to the program, solidifying Will Wade’s position as a top coach and recruiter.
Batts will be a key point for CP3 at the EYBL Peach Jam Finals the first week of July, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more high major programs looking for an athletic point guard to jump on him. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a member of VCU’s coaching staff sitting court side at each of his games either.