Virginia makes cut for pair of nation’s top power forwards, Cofie and Punch

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Bennett’s Virginia program has made the cut for two of the elite power forwards in the country in Jacob Cofie of Sammamish, Wash., and David Punch from Texas. Both announced a list of their final schools on their Twitter accounts.

Cofie, a consensus 4-star from Sammamish, Wash., will choose between UVA, Southern Cal, Washington and Ohio State. Virginia didn’t offer Cofie until early July, the latest of the four to begin recruiting the big man, but the Cavaliers have made a good impression.

Cofie said this to On3’s Joe Tipton about UVA: “Virginia started recruiting me late and saw me at Peach Jam and loved my game. Since then, they have spent a lot of time viewing my tapes and truly believe I have a lot to bring to the UVA roster. Coach Tony Bennett sees things that they could do to help me expand my game and develop me to play at the next level. They have a program that wins many games.”

Cofie indicated he would like to commit to a school in late September or early October. He will be making his official visit to Charlottesville on Sept. 8.

Punch, another standout 4-star, has cut his list to seven schools: UVA, Virginia Tech, VCU, TCU, NC State, Penn State and Xavier. He has an official visit set for Virginia on Oct. 20.