UVA hosted nation’s No. 1 center and top-30 prospect over weekend

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia is in the hunt for the nation’s No. 1 center and an in-state prospect who is considered among the top 30 overall recruits in the country in the recruiting class of 2026.

Coach Ryan Odom and staff hosted both on a huge recruiting weekend for Cavaliers basketball. 7-foot-1 Arafan Diane and 6-8 Latrell Allmond both made official visits to UVA over the weekend. Another prospect, 6-5 shooter Bo Ogden, committed to Texas, where his father is general manager of the Longhorns program.

If Odom could land Diane, Virginia would be getting a physical center who could be a dominant force in ACC basketball. The elite big man, nearly 300 pounds and who possesses a 7-foot-4 wingspan, is down to Virginia, Houston, Indiana, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Diane’s plan is to announce his choice on his birthday, Nov. 19.

He was joined on his visit by Allmond, who hails from Petersburg and is considered the No. 27 overall prospect in the nation regardless of position and the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Virginia.

Allmond has visited Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma State, and wants to wrap up his recruiting by Nov. 1, if not sooner.

The Petersburg prospect told Eric Bossi, a national writer for 247Sports, that his roots with UVA go way back.

“I’ve been knowing Coach Odom since I was in ninth grade when he was at VCU, which is right up the street from John Marshall High School where I was in the city of Richmond,” Allmond told Bossi. “He and his staff kept in touch even though they were feeling they probably couldn’t get a shot at VCU. Now that they are at Virginia during my senior year, it makes it like their plan is something that they spoke into existence.

“Just having that connection as the years and time goes on, they have seen me play and been there and I’ve known those guys for a minute. I feel comfortable with them and being able to see them at a higher level brings that extra consideration for them.”