Portal Power Forward to visit UVA on Thursday; Another transfer PF has Wahoos on his list of five

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia is strong on the radar of two power forwards in the transfer portal, one of which will visit Charlottesville this week, with the other expected to schedule a trip to UVA soon.

Jordan Minor, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound grad transfer from Merrimack, announced he will visit Tony Bennett’s program this Thursday and Friday, one of four visits he has already scheduled since entering the portal. Originally a native of Chestnut Hill, Mass., Minor chose Merrimack over UMass and Brown.

At Merrimack this past season, Minor averaged 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 blocked shots per game, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field. Those feats earned Minor the NEC’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Following this week’s trip to Charlottesville, Minor has visits planned to Florida Gulf Coast University this weekend, to Iowa on April 14-15 and Seton Hall April 17-18.

Meanwhile, former Texas Tech reserve power forward Robert Jennings has already narrowed his list of five schools to Virginia, Maryland, Utah, Saint Louis and his previous school, Texas Tech, which has a new coach in former North Texas coach Grant McCasland.

Jennings is a 6-7, 225-pound forward with three years of eligibility remaining. He is expected to plan visits in the near future.

A native of DeSoto, Texas, he was rated the No. 52 power forward in the country coming out of high school and the No. 17 overall prospect in the Lone Star State for the recruiting class of 2022. He is presently rated the No. 131 player out of more than 1,000 players in the transfer portal, by 247Sports.

Last season for the Red Raiders, Jennings played in 30 games, started four. He averaged 2.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 8.7 minutes per game and scored a career-high 8 points on three occasions. During the 10 games he played 10 or more minutes a game, his projected averages per 40 minutes rose to 16.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest.

Jennings told Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports this week that he believes he can succeed at Virginia.

“Even outside of the program, I have the utmost respect for Tony Bennett and the staff he has around him,” Jennings said. “They expressed how they believe in me to come in and help them with their program. I know they lost a few players to the transfer portal and Coach called me to let me know that I can help by playing a role in getting them back to wining a national championship.

“I was also recruited by them coming out of high school, so I have always been saying that Coach Bennett is a God-fearing man. Every time I talk to his staff, it is nothing but positivity. The coaching staff is unmatched and one of a kind. Looking at Coach Bennett’s track record, he has had many pros at my size that he has developed. Now they are doing amazing things professionally. When I look at that, I knew it was a no-brainer with them.”

UVA could take both Jennings and Minor to rebuild a frontcourt that was wiped out by graduation and the transfer portal.

Check out highlights of each player from this past season below.

Jordan Minor:

Robert Jennings: