GJ Vilarino

districtballer

districtballer

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Posts
13,106
Likes
16,689
So lot's of buzz around this recruit. Word is that he is close to committing to the Rams. Here is some info on him for those of you who are interested. He's a strong pickup if the rumors are true.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=2476305

Scout has him as the #30 PG in the nation. He was a 4-star recruit on both Scout (was the #9 PG) and Rivals last year and was downgraded his senior season.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recr...ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=43092

ESPN also has him as the #30 PG (fwiw, Eblen is #32 on ESPN). He's an 88 (Eblen is an 87), here is his latest evaluation on ESPN.

August, 2008: This quick lefty has good speed and quickness with the ball. Although thin and wiry, Vilarino is fearless and competes at all times. He pushes the ball in transition and can finish with speed to the rim with his left hand. He runs the offense in the half court and has a pass first mentality. A good athlete for his size that can penetrate and kick but has trouble finishing against the trees inside. He is a good decision maker and puts pressure on the defense by always probing and looking for an opportunity to create. Vilarino has a heavy left hand dribble that can slash to the rim when the play breaks down. He's an average shooter at best that is most affective from about 15-17 feet. Vilarino needs to invest some time on his shooting especially from three point land. His form is not bad but his jumper is not where it needs to be yet. Strength is also a factor, Vilarino needs to hit the weight room in order to help him finish in the lane and defend taller point guards. On defense he has very good foot speed and lateral quickness that allows him to stay in from of the ball. With improved strength and shooting along with attacking more going to his right, his game will go to the next level.
Click to expand...

Here is some video of him (Vilarino is #3): http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...ei=NYvrSf69I4WIrQKLqbzIBw&q=gj+vilarino&hl=en

He was the only junior named to the Texas 4A all-state team last year.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/adidas-Nations-Experience-2009-High-School-Prospects-2987/

Here is a draftexpress article on his performance at the Adidas Nations camp.

The least-highly regarded of any player on this squad as far as the recruiting services are concerned, G.J. Vilarino (unranked Scout, Rivals, ESPN) probably had one of the best all-around performances of any of the 2009 high school players, which should give Kentucky fans some room for optimism that help is on the way.

Vilarino doesn’t look like much on first sight—he’s a very small, lanky kid without much meat on his bones, but he definitely showed that he belonged once he had the ball in his hands. Vilarino stood out mostly with his speed and playmaking skills at the point guard position, making great passes to everyone around him and showing a lot of toughness and heart operating on the floor. He took the ball strong to the basket and didn’t back down when faced with contact, even if his lack of size clearly will make things a little more difficult at the next level.

Vilarino shoots the ball on the way down and thus isn’t going to be making shots all that consistently until he fixes his mechanics, but he was the first one in the gym to get extra work in on the day of the championship game. Defensively, Vilarino is quick and pesky, showing a strong will to get in his man’s grill. He’ll have some problems going up against bigger and stronger players, though, which is why he needs to work on his body. Vilarino is almost certainly a 4-year college player, but could be a very good addition to Kentucky’s roster. He’ll probably be able to play a similar role to the one Cliff Hawkins did a few years back, but might be a little more naturally talented.
Click to expand...

Here is his Rivals profile. Cincinnati is actively recruiting him as well and is likely our biggest competition for Vilarino.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=51438

Here are his stats in the past high school year from Maxpreps: http://www.maxpreps.com/texas/baske...d-4c08-b687-afb41d9f9601&urpath=,local,player
 
From Rivals:

G.J.'s Final five: Cincinnati, Georgia, Gonzaga, VCU and Oregon.

Nice to be mentioned in that group. 8-)
 
Any word on how soon he could be making a decision? How about Ben is he close to deciding on us one way or the other?
 
VCU Finance 2008 said:
Any word on how soon he could be making a decision? How about Ben is he close to deciding on us one way or the other?
Click to expand...

I'm hearing probably sometime next week at the earliest. Hopefully he'll stay high on the Rams.
 
Sounds like next week could be another big week. Hopefully by the end of the week things will be falling into place.
 
I'm sure we all hope so. Having GJ join the Rams will help us all breathe a little easier I think.
 
Gotta believe Eblen would feel better if G.J comes to VCU. I'm sure he's wondering if we'll be able to hold it together with losing some players and our coach. If he sees other high recruits coming to VCU even after getting a new HC he'll see VCU is the place to be.
 
On the other hand, he could see that as a sign that Shaka doesn't believe that Eblen can run the team. We don't know what he's thinking. Everything is still uncertain at this point. That said, there is hope on the horizon! :)
 
so we have a 1 in 5 chance, that doesn't make me feel good
Click to expand...

Makes me feel good, though. If we're going to compete for higher level talent, we're going to have a bunch of 1 in 5 chances going on. We've gotta keep it going. Sure things at VCU aren't going to be always that impressive.
 
chrisbrower said:
so we have a 1 in 5 chance, that doesn't make me feel good
Click to expand...


I don't know. Makes me feel good about the future. Having a 1-5 chance to land a kid who is capable of playing at UK, that doesn't sound bad to me at all. Not to mention when we do land that "1 of 5" kid, it is gonna be awesome!!
 
You know, the thing I want to see "replaced" is the tone Joey set on defense. And you don't know which one of these guys will do that. We need a 30 minute player that will do that. I'm trusting Shaka will find him. Hopefully he's one of these guys we've got coming in. Vilarino, maybe?
 
Do you think Eblen would still want to come if we have another big-time PG coming in?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top