Consensus 4-star prospects Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Reece Beekman, and Carson McCorkle form the University of Virginia’s second-most highly rated recruited class of the Tony Bennett era, behind only the Cavaliers’ class of 2016 that included Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter and Jay Huff. As of this week, UVA’s 3-player class of 2020 is rated no. 13 in the nation by 247Sports and no. 14 in the nation by Rivals.com.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim signs an official letter of intent with the University of Virginia. ~ Photo courtesy of Abdur-Rahim

Jerome, Guy, and Hunter led the program to its first ever national championship. Naturally, with another potential “Big 3” on the horizon, high expectations are sure to follow. That doesn’t bother Abdur-Rahim, a 6’7.5” wing out of Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) and Virginia’s most highly rated recruit in the class of 2020.

“I usually don’t worry about expectations,” said Abdur-Rahim, whose is used to dealing with expectations as his father, Shareef, played in the NBA from 1996-2008 after being drafted third overall in the 1996 NBA Draft. “At the end of the day I play basketball because I love it. I love to compete and win.”

ESPN ranks Abdur-Rahim as the no. 33 overall prospect in the class of 2020. Rivals (40) and 247Sports (51) include him among the nation’s top senior prospects as well. He emerged as a top target of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett in the spring of 2019. Virginia offered a scholarship on May 16.

Less than two months later the Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) star verbally committed to the Hoos. Abdur-Rahim, Beekman, and McCorkle signed letters of intent with the Hoos during the Division 1 men’s basketball Early Signing Period this past November.

“I kind of always liked Virginia,” Abdur-Rahim said, discussing how he wound up selecting the University of Virginia. “[The spring of 2019] my recruitment kind of took off pretty well. I think it was because I was playing well on the EYBL circuit. Coach Bennett reached out and offered me. I took an unofficial, liked it, and then took an official and liked it even more. I felt it is a place I can see myself succeeding at. I went ahead and made my decision.”

In the months leading up to his commitment, Abdur-Rahim said he and Coach Bennett “talked a lot. I talked to everybody on the staff pretty often. He told me what he thinks of my game and how he could help. I did my homework. I watched a couple of games on YouTube. I saw spots I could see myself fitting into. I talked to Coach Bennett about that.”

Accompanied by his parents - he calls Shareef and his mother, Dee Dee, “the two most important people in my life” - Jabri took an official visit to UVA the weekend of June 28-30. He announced his verbal commitment to the Hoos on July 10.

“They were happy on the visit and they saw what I saw,” Abdur-Rahim said, referring to his parents’ reactions to UVA the official visit weekend. “If they are comfortable with a situation, I trust their judgement. I think my parents loved it, which made it really easy to decide.”

Former Virginia players Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris and Justin Anderson happened to be on Grounds the same weekend Abdur-Rahim made his official visit. Abdur-Rahim and Anderson had gotten to know each other weeks earlier during the 2019 NBPA Top 100 Camp, which is held annually at the John Paul Jones Arena. Anderson served as a coach at the event.

“I met a lot of guys in the position I want to be in one day,” said Abdur-Rahim, who noted that his father knew Ty Jerome as well. “That really attracted me to Virginia ... us being in similar positions.”

Abdur-Rahim recalled a comment from Brogdon that resonated with him.

“The reason Malcolm was there was because he was doing a charity event,” Abdur-Rahim said. “He told me Virginia is a place he feels he can always come back to. That’s what I’m looking for ... like a second home. I felt like Charlottesville is a place I could see myself coming back to.”

Abdur-Rahim returned to Charlottesville on an unofficial visit the weekend of September 13-15. He and McCorkle – Beekman visited on Saturday and Sunday - had the opportunity to watch UVA’s 2018-19 team return for the National Championship banner raising ceremony on Friday, September 13.

The banner-raising experience was an eye-opening one for Abdur-Rahim, who saw first-hand the support the Cavalier basketball program receives. He looks forward to returning to JPJ with his father on February 29, when UVA hosts Duke.

“It was really cool seeing how much the program meant to the community,” Abdur-Rahim said. “You could see that by how many people showed up. Watching all the tribute videos. It was nice for me to be there and seeing what those guys did. I hope to get to that point. It showed me how much the program meant to the fans. It showed they have a community that really supports the program.”

Senior Year

Jabri Abdur-Rahim was born in Atlanta, spent much of his childhood in Sacramento, and then moved to New Jersey five years ago. He began his high school career at Seton Hall Prep but transferred to Blair Academy for the 2018-19 school year. Despite being one of three new junior boys at the school, Abdur-Rahim quickly fit in.

“He’s a good citizen at Blair,” Bucs varsity basketball coach Joe Mantegna, who coached former Virginia players Mike Tobey and Marial Shayok, told The Sabre in an EDGE report. “We’re a boarding school with 400-plus students living in a community. He is beloved in just one year. His parents have a number of foundations, so he has done a lot of work with those various foundations. His mother hails from Oakland. He has done some service projects in Oakland. He has been raised the right way by two great parents. He’s a great teammate and community member.”

“Basketball was mainly the reason I made the move,” said Abdur-Rahim. “They push their players really hard. I love the culture of the team and the school. At Blair we play against the best prep teams weekly, we have high-level players I get to practice against every day, and Coach Mantegna’s coaching speaks for itself. My game has gotten a lot better and I’ve become more mature. I’ve grown into a mature player.”

“As far as preparing me for UVA, at a boarding school you have to manage your time,” Abdur-Rahim added. “You’re on your own. You don’t have your parents around. You have to step up maturity-wise. I think I’ve done that since I got here.”

A testament to his work on and off the court, Abdur-Rahim was named the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of New Jersey. In addition to his work in the classroom (B-plus average according to the Gatorade POY announcement) and in the community, the star prospect averaged 15.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while leading the Bucs to a 22-4 overall record and MAPL and Prep A state championships.

Abdur-Rahim played well in AAU and camp settings last spring and summer, averaging 25.2 points (39.8% field goals in 261 attempts, 75.8% free throws in 120 attempts and 30.8% 3-pointers in 91 attempts) and eight rebounds per game in 13 games with the New Jersey Playaz on the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit. At the 2019 NBPA Top 100 Camp he led all players in scoring with 17.3 points per game in six games, making 14 3s (second-best at the camp) and shooting 50% from beyond the arc.

“Two things he focused on [in the offseason] were being able to shoot the 3 at a high percentage and being able to finish with both hands around the rim,” Mantegna said. “His weak-hand stuff has improved. The guy is versatile. If you can score on three levels, that makes you awfully hard to guard.”

Blair Academy is unbeaten through 15 games of the 2019-20 season. Abdur-Rahim, who was just nominated to the 2020 McDonald’s All-American game (final rosters reportedly will be announced January 23), began his final season of high school basketball by scoring 25 points in a 41-point rout of Phelps School (Malvern, PA). The senior wing followed up with a 37-point performance in a 91-89 victory over New Hampton Prep (N.H.). Unfortunately, Abdur-Rahim has been sidelined for nearly a month with a foot injury – he says the doctors want him to be cautious of returning to quickly. He expects to return for Blair Academy’s playoff run that begins on February 7.