Nation’s No. 1 center and pair of top 30 prospects visiting UVA this month

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The September 26-28 weekend is shaping as huge for Virginia basketball, with some of the nation’s highest-ranked prospects from the recruiting class of 2026 making official visits, including the country’s No. 1-ranked center, Arafan Diane.

Diane (we’ve seen him listed at 7-foot, 280 pounds, up to 7-1, 293) just cut his list to five schools: Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Indiana and Houston. He eliminated Kansas, UConn, Louisville and Oregon.

Also visiting that weekend are Latrell Allmond of Petersburg (Va.), ranked the No. 26 overall prospect in the nation, and Bo Ogden of Austin, Texas, rated the No. 31 overall prospect.

It happens to be the same weekend that Virginia football hosts Florida State in a Friday night game, which could create quite an atmosphere if the Cavaliers can win their next two games over William & Mary and Stanford.

Here’s a closer look at all three high-profile prospects:

Arafan Diane

A native of Guinea in West Africa, Diane attends Iowa United Prep and is ranked the No. 9 and No. 10 overall prospect in the country by two national recruiting services.

Playing on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit over the summer, the big man averaged 18.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game (1.5 blocks).

He has scheduled visits to all five finalists: Kentucky (Sept. 12-14); Arkansas (Sept. 19-21); Virginia (Sept. 26-28); Indiana (Oct. 17-18); Houston (Oct. 24-25).

Reports are that Kentucky is making a huge push for the nation’s top-rated big man.

Latrell Allmond

Home grown Allmond, starring at Petersburg High School, is a 6-8, 225-pound power forward who is down to nine finalists for his services: Virginia, Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State and Oklahoma State.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Allmond is rated the No. 26 overall prospect in the country in his class, the No. 6 power forward and the No. 2 prospect in the state of Virginia.

Playing for Team Loaded Virginia on the Adidas Circuit, Allmond averaged 15 points, 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 47 percent from the 3-point line.

Bo Ogden

One of the nation’s premiere shooters, Ogden is down to six schools: Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Purdue, Gonzaga and Kansas.

He’s the No. 31 overall prospect in the country as a 6-5 wing.

Also on the Adidas Circuit, Ogden averaged 20 points per game, shot 47 percent from the floor, 46 percent from the arc and 87 percent from the free-throw line.

Ogden averaged taking seven 3-point attempts per game and made 49 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts, and an eye-popping 58 percent when unguarded.

His father, Chris, played for Texas and is presently the GM for Texas basketball. Chris was also an assistant coach at Tennessee.