Virginia Basketball: Elijah Gertrude Completes Official Visit

Hear what the fast-rising combo guard had to say about his official visit at UVA

6'3" combo guard Elijah Gertrude (Jersey City, NJ) took an official visit to UVA last week / ZagsBlog

Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers got to make their case to 6'3" combo guard Elijah Gertrude last week when the Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, NJ) prospect took his official visit to UVA. 

Although currently rated a three-star by the major recruiting services, Gertrude is considered one of the fastest-rising players in the class of 2023. Since getting offered by Virginia in late June, Gertrude has received a handful of scholarship offers from major conference programs, including one from the reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks. Syracuse, St. John's, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, St. Bonaventure, and Iona have also offered. 

Recruiting expert Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog interviewed Gertrude following his visit to Virginia and Gertrude had a lot of positive things to say about his time with the Cavaliers.

“The Virginia visit was good, it was great actually,” Gertrude told Zagoria. “Their message is Coach Bennett feels I’m a great defensive player and I can take take that defensive effort to another level... He feels I’m very skilled offensively and we can work on some things. Coach Bennett feels he can develop me offensively and defensively he can make me much better.”

With Virginia very much in the hunt for a playmaking guard, Gertrude came away from his visit feeling like a major priority for the Cavaliers. Gertrude does not have any other visits scheduled yet, but he wants to take visits to Kansas and Syracuse. He visited St. John's and Seton Hall in June. 

READ MORE: Virginia Basketball Makes Top Five for Four-Star PG Trey Green

247Sports currently ranks Gertrude as the No. 136 overall prospect in the class of 2023, the No. 21 combo guard in the country, and the No. 8 player in New Jersey. Gertrude is a three-star recruit on 247 and Rivals, but On3 rates him a four-star, which is likely a better reflection of his current recruiting stock after a strong summer. 

The Cavaliers are searching for their second commitment in the class of 2023 to accompany Blake Buchanan, Idaho's No. 1-ranked player, who announced his commitment to Virginia on July 3rd. UVA currently has offers out to nine players in the class of 2023:

SF Jamie Kaiser (Burke, VA)
PF TJ Power (Shrewsbury, MA)
CG Freddie Dilione (Raleigh, NC)
SG Taison Chatman (Minneapolis, MN)
SF Andrej Stojakovic (Carmichael, CA)
CG Elmarko Jackson (South Kent, CT)
CG Elijah Gertrude (Jersey City, NJ)
PG Trey Green (Branson, MO)
SG Davin Cosby (Richmond, VA)

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

---

Follow CavaliersNow on Twitter
Follow CavaliersNow on Facebook

---

See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated

---

Read more from Cavaliers Now

Virginia Football: Jackson on Watch List for Bednarik Award

VCU Pitcher Chase Hungate Transfers to Virginia Baseball

Virginia Basketball Makes Top Five for Four-Star PG Trey Green

WATCH: Former Wahoo Makes SportsCenter for Spectacular PLL Goal

Highlight Hoos 2021-2022: Owayne Owens | UVA Track & Field

Virginia Swim & Dive Wins Four Titles at Phillips 66 National Championships

In-State Three-Star TyLyric Coleman Commits to Virginia Football