Virginia to Host Northern Illinois Transfer Xavier Amos for Official Visit
Virginia's busy April on the recruiting trail continues. The Cavaliers have scheduled a third transfer visitor and one that could be an ideal fit at a critical position of need.
Northern Illinois transfer forward Xavier Amos will reportedly take an official visit to Virginia this upcoming Friday (April 26). Amos will be the third transfer portal target to visit UVA this offseason, joining Saint Mary's forward Joshua Jefferson, who visited April 12-14, and Illinois-Chicago wing Toby Okani, who is set to visit the Cavaliers on Tuesday, April 23.
Update: Xavier Amos will be Virginia's fourth transfer portal visitor of the offseason, as the Cavaliers are also hosting Saint Mary's transfer guard Aidan Mahaney on Tuesday.
A 6'8", 215-pound forward from Chicago, Illinois, Amos started 25 games as a sophomore in 2023-2024, averaging 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 1.2 assists, and 0.8 steals per game in a little over 30 minutes per contest. Tony Bennett will naturally be interested in Amos as a plus defender, but he is also an offensive asset who can score at all three levels and stretch the floor by shooting 38.5% from three, which would have made him Virginia's fourth-best three-point shooter last season. His best game came against a major conference team that made the NCAA Tournament, scoring 26 points on 11/15 shooting and 4/5 from three-point range on the road at Northwestern.
Amos entered the transfer portal at the end of the season with two years of eligibility remaining. Virginia was among the first of an sizable list of major conference programs to reach out to Amos, a group that included Kansas, Texas, Illinois, Xavier, and Cal.
Not only is Amos an extremely valuable player on his own, but his fit would be ideal to address a particular need on Virginia's roster for next season. The Cavaliers are losing both of their main power forwards from a season ago in Ryan Dunn and Jake Groves, leaving incoming freshman Jacob Cofie as the only power forward on next year's roster. With his ability to serve as a versatile defender and rim protector on the defensive end and his ability to score at all three levels on the offensive end, Amos would be a home run addition for the Cavaliers if Tony Bennett and company can reel him in next weekend.
The timing of the scheduling of this visit should be noted as well. Virginia had its eyes on another forward in the transfer portal: Joshua Jefferson from Saint Mary's, who visited two weekends ago. Jefferson took a couple of additional visits after his trip to Charlottesville and is now being projected to commit to Iowa State per On3. If Jefferson is off the board, it makes even more sense that the Cavaliers are now aggressively pursuing another forward who might be an even better fit.
Virginia currently has four open scholarships for the 2024-2025 season.
More Virginia Men's Basketball News and Content
Virginia's Updated Scholarship Picture With Dante Harris Transferring Out
Virginia to Host Four-Star Point Guard Trent Perry for Official Visit
Virginia Guard Reece Beekman Declares for 2024 NBA Draft
What's Next for Virginia After Ryan Dunn's Departure for the NBA Draft?
Virginia to Host UIC Transfer Wing Toby Okani for Official Visit
Could Trent Perry be the Solution to Virginia's Point Guard Problem?
Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker