Virginia offers recent visitor Sharma, 2024 sharpshooter

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Can a player who can solve a Rubik’s Cube in a single minute and shoot the lights out fit in Tony Bennett’s program? Bennett thinks so, and has offered Ishan Sharma from the recruiting class of 2024.

Sharma is a 6-foot-5, sharpshooter from Milton, Ontario, Canada, a player the Cavaliers discovered during this summer’s Peach Jam event in which he showed off his shooting skills.

Sharma, who is of Indian decent, visited UVA this past week and announced he had been offered by the Cavaliers on his Twitter account Monday evening.

He is a catch-and-shoot guard who can fire off the dribble and create his own shot when defenders overplay him. He has a high basketball IQ and makes good decisions on using ball screens.

Somewhat under the radar, Sharma has gotten interest from Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wyoming. Bennett wasted no time in making an offer once Sharma spent some time in Charlottesville this week.

Blessed to receive an offer from the University of Virginia 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/9HbVm5XKPH

— Ishan.S (@Ishan_sharma0) October 16, 2023

He represented Canada in the 2021 FIBA U16 Americas and the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup, when he averaged 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. During his UPLAY team’s five-game stint at Peach Jam, Sharma was 16 of 36 from behind the arc and scored 28 points in one game, going 8 of 14 from the field, including five 3-pointers. He had a game-high 34 points vs. The Rock School (Florida) in the Lighthouse Classic Prep Challenge.

Virginia is clearly in early on this prospect, who reportedly liked everything about his recent visit.

Sharma currently holds the lone remaining UVA offer for the ‘24 class. Three other uncommitted players who had been offered by the Cavaliers – Rakease Passmore, Travis Perry and David Punch – are (or appear to be) headed elsewhere.

Passmore recently committed to Kansas, while Perry and Punch are both expected to announce their college decisions in the near future.

Perry, the all-time leading scorer in the state of Kentucky, looks to be down to Kentucky, Ole Miss, Michigan, Cincinnati, Purdue, Missouri and Western Kentucky, while Punch will be revealing his choice between NC State, Penn State and TCU this weekend.

Click on the video below to see Sharma in action during last year’s U17 World Cup.