Marquette’s loss is Virginia’s gain.
Onetime Marquette commit Marial Shayok pulled the trigger for Virginia on Tuesday, heading to play for the Cavs after he decommitted from Marquette in the wake of the coaching change.
Shayok will now play against Buzz Williams, the man who recruited him to Marquette but is now coaching at Virginia Tech.
“Happy to announce I’ve committed to the University of Virginia!” Shayok Tweeted.
“It’s a great school, program and coaching staff and Marial will be able to have an impact on the team his freshman year,” his father, Makur, told SNY.tv.
Virginia, a No. 1 seed in the recent NCAA Tournament, was in the mix for Shayok before he chose Marquette in the fall.
“I had a great visit to Virginia and me and coach [Tony] Bennett have a great relationship,” Shayok told SNY.tv Friday at the Jordan Regional Game.”I love the team and they’re on the right track right now, so that’s good.”
He also considered Marquette, Indiana, Michigan and Florida.
An athletic 6-foot-7 wing, Shayok will give the Cavs a player capable of scoring in a variety of different ways.
“Marial will bring a versatile skillset, an ability to play multiple positions and a willingness and capability to do whatever is necessary to help his team win,” Blair (N.J.) Academy coach Joe Mantegna previously told SNY.tv. “He has made a huge jump since last year and is only going to get better going forward.”
CIA Bounce coach Tony McIntyre added: “He’s an outstanding scorer. He’s a long , athletic, hard-worker with a great body and can score in a variety of ways.”
Meantime, Virginia continues to be active in the Garden State.
Assistant Jason Williford hit three different high schools in the state on Tuesday: St. Peter’s Prep for 2016 forward Veer Singh and his talented teammates; Gill St. Bernard’s for 2016 guard Tyus Battle, who was also seen by UConn; and Roselle Catholic for 2015 forward Chris Silva.
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