Why is this date so important? Well, that's the weekend that UVa hosts some of the nation's finest athletes for their official visits.

Among the non-committed are Ahmad Brooks (6-4, 230 LB, Woodbridge, VA), Kai Parham (6-4, 235 LB, Virginia Beach, VA), Michael Johnson, Jr. (5-10, 190 RB, Newport News, VA), Marcus Vick (6-1, 180 QB, Newport News, VA), Jonathan Lewis (6-2, 290 DT, Richmond, VA), Marcus Hamilton (6-1, 180 CB, Clifton, VA), Brenden Hill (6-3, 180 WR, Newport News, VA), Shadu Moore (6-4, 295 OL, Paterson, NJ) and Brandon Snow (6-2, 225 RB, Newark, DE).

Word is that Brooks, Parham, Johnson and Vick will likely commit to UVa if they feel the Cavaliers will get a strong recruiting class. Of course, their commitments would assure that to happen, since none of those four players have a recruiting ranking under #2 at their position in Rivals100's national database.

Having all of these recruits take their visits so late, and at the same time, increases the chance of a domino effect for UVa, as long as many of them do not commit on earlier visits to other schools.

"The talent that will be gathering in Charlottesville on January 18th sort of reads like a 'who's who' list of top high school football players -- both from in state and out of state," said Zirkle Blakey of VirginiaPreps.com. "Someone on the UVa coaching staff should win an award for recruiting strategy -- as a number of the undecided visitors are reportedly waiting for the other 'big-name recruits' from the state to make their decisions before making their own.  The power of persuasion from both the already committed recruits and the UVa coaching staff could gather just enough momentum to 'snowball' and influence the 'undecideds'.  Speaking of snowballs, rival recruiters must be hoping for a snowstorm that weekend, in order to wreak havoc with UVa's big recruiting weekend."

"The amount of in-state talent on hand could rival or exceed the amount of talent that annually gathers in July for the states All-star football game," Zirkle added.  "Names like Brooks, Parham, Vick, Johnson, etc., have all indicated that they will be on hand, and those names are not only familiar to anyone that follows recruiting, but those are the type of kids that if they decided to band together, could turn any program, not just UVa's around.  Kids are often influenced by their peers and this group would be no exception and their commitments to one program would send a 'shot heard round the recruiting world.'"

Obviously, UVa is taking a small chance that these recruits will stay uncommitted until then, but most of the top blue chip recruits wait until January anyway. Stay tuned, because the weekend of January 18th could very well be one of the greatest in UVa football history.

Other recruiting weekends

According to the Rivals100 database, Maurice Stovall (6-5, 200 WR, Radnor, PA) appears to be the only big-time recruit taking his official visit this weekend at Virginia. Stovall will likely be joined by several of Virginia's current commitments.

The weekend of December 7th, UVa will host some of the nation's top out of state recruits. UVa commitment Tony Franklin (5-11, 175 RB, Bedford, OH) will be joined by Devin Hester (5-11, 180 DB, Riviera Beach, FL), D'Brickashaw Ferguson (6-5, 250 OL/DL, Freeport, NY) and offensive lineman Randy Hand (6-6, 300 OL, Fort Meyers, FL).

Jonathan Lewis

Lately, it's been said that Varina H.S. defensive tackle Jonathan Lewis is favoring Virginia Tech over Virginia at this point. Lewis camped at UVa this past summer, but has made more unofficial visits to Virginia Tech than Virginia this season. Many assume that Lewis is Tech-bound, especially since his older brother Kevin already plays there. But don't count out Virginia just yet. Lewis remembers some of the positive experiences from UVa's camp.

"It was a good experience and I had a lot of fun," Lewis told TheSabre.com last Friday. I met some good people. I met all the coaches and I really liked [Coach Mike] London."

Lewis has scheduled an official visit to UVa on January 18th, the day that many of the state's top recruits will be visiting.

Postponed or cancelled?

The Virginia men's basketball game against MSU was postponed last night due to dangerous floor conditions. An announcement will be made on Friday, November 30th regarding the possible make-up date for the Michigan State vs. Virginia basketball game. If the game will not be played, details about refunds will be provided at that time. Ticket stubs will be required for refund if the game will not be re-scheduled.

For more on the situation, see the Sabre Newslink.

Next up, the Hokies

Virginia's next basketball game is a home contest against Virginia Tech this Saturday, December 1st. Game time is 7:00, with gates opening at 6:00. There will be no public sale of tickets for this game because of student ticket demand.

Football game this Saturday

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Virginia Basketball climbs to #8

The Virginia Basketball rankings chart has been updated. Hoos climb to 8th and 9th this week. Check out our poll chart to follow the Hoos rise in the national rankings.

There's a new board in town

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