Virginia Basketball Commit Blake Buchanan Skyrockets in 247 Rankings

Buchanan jumped nearly 100 spots in 247Sports' class of 2023 recruiting rankings

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Aug 23, 2022 12:32 PM EDT

In this story:

UVA basketball commit Blake Buchanan skyrockets in updated 247Sports class of 2023 recruiting rankings. — UVA basketball commit Blake Buchanan is now a four-star prospect and a top 75 player in the class of 2023 in 247Sports' updated recruiting rankings.
Blake Buchanan/IG

247Sports released its updated player rankings for the recruiting class of 2023 this week. Taking into account scouting reports and evaluations from this summer, some players moved up in the rankings and some moved down.

One of the biggest movers was Virginia basketball commit Blake Buchanan (Coeur D'Alene, ID), who shot up a staggering 94 spots in the rankings from No. 161 overall to No. 67. Buchanan, who was previously a three-star prospect as Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers pursued him and ultimately won his commitment over Gonzaga in July, is now a four-star according to 247Sports. Buchanan was also the No. 15-ranked center in the class of 2023, but is now the No. 9-ranked center in the class. And of course, Buchanan remains the No. 1 player in the state of Idaho.

Buchanan's rise to become a solidified top 75 prospect in the class of 2023 is one of many instances in this recruiting cycle in which Tony Bennett and the UVA coaching staff identified talented players and began recruiting them long before their stock rose and the rest of the country began to take notice.

Each of Virginia's six remaining targets in the class of 2023 moved up in the updated 247Sports recruiting rankings. Most notably, Elijah Gertrude (Jersey City, NJ) jumped from No. 157 all the way to No. 36. Gertrude, who included UVA in his top five in early August, is now the No. 3 shooting guard in the country as well as a four-star prospect.

Davin Cosby (Richmond, VA) was also upgraded to four-star status and jumped from No. 163 to No. 109. Cosby released his top seven schools on Sunday and Virginia made the cut.

As expected, TJ Power (Shrewsbury, MA) is now a top 25 prospect in the class of 2023, moving up to No. 22 from No. 52 in the updated rankings. The highly-coveted forward has UVA in his final five along with Duke, North Carolina, Iowa, and Boston College.

Elmarko Jackson (South Kent, CT) is now the No. 18 player in the country, up from No. 64, and is also considered the No. 4 point guard in the class of 2023. Connecticut's top prospect cut his list to 11 schools last week and Virginia is still in the mix.

UVA also made the top six for four-star Andrej Stojakovic (Carmichael, CA), who was already highly-rated as the No. 20 prospect, but he too rose three spots to No. 17 in the overall rankings.

Finally, Taison Chatman (Minneapolis, Minnesota) jumped from No. 45 to No. 31. Minnesota's No. 1 player and a top 10 combo guard in the nation, Chatman has Virginia in his top five as of July 17th.

The Cavaliers are hoping to snag commitments from one or two of these targets to accompany Blake Buchanan in their recruiting class of 2023.

Stay updated on all the latest Virginia basketball recruiting news, including offers, visits, and commitments here: Latest Virginia Basketball Recruiting News and Updates

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