Four-star center Favour Ibe is visiting Virginia basketball Thursday, Rivals’ Jamie Shaw first reported. Ibe is coming off a weekend official visit to Tennessee basketball.
Ibe ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 139 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. He also ranks as the No. 22 center in his class and the No. 5 overall prep prospect in Maryland.
A 7-foot-1 center with a 7-foot-8 wingspan, Ibe visited Tennessee basketball last weekend as the Vols look to add interior depth to their roster with their two remaining scholarships.
“The facilities, they got great coaching staff,” Ibe told RTI of his visit. “On the hospitality level was like very good. The hospitality level, like, they also decided to have me over there. And so Rick Barnes and the way he plays and stuff, so yeah.”
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Ibe is a true rim protector who can protect the basket but also score inside and provide a lob threat on the offensive end of the court. The Maryland native is a raw prospect who projects to only provide depth in his true freshman season. However, his size and athleticism gives him an extremely high basketball ceiling.
Tennessee is looking to add at least one more true big man to its roster after a near front court overhaul this offseason. Back is rising-sophomore DeWayne Brown while Tennessee has landed Loyola (Chicago) center Miles Rubin and Kennesaw State power forward Braedan Lue out of the transfer portal.
Four-star wing Chris Washington Jr and Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson are capable of playing as small ball four-men if need be, but Tennessee still needed to add more inside help to its roster.
The Vols returned just two scholarship players from last season’s team but have rebuilt using both the transfer portal and high school recruiting this offseason. Tennessee has signed five prep prospects and landed seven transfers including Rubin, Lue, Haralson, VCU combo guard Terrence Hill Jr, Cal combo guard Dai Dai Ames, Wake Forest guard Juke Harris and Belmont sharpshooter Tyler Lundblade.
