Spurlock to play for Virginia

By Dave Fawcett

Published: August 14, 2008

There wasn’t a college men’s basketball program that had recruited Tristan Spurlock harder or longer than the University of Virginia.
And yet when the Woodbridge resident informed Cavalier head men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao Wednesday night that he was committing to Virginia, Leitao was caught off-guard.
“He was ecstatic, but he couldn’t believe it,” said Spurlock who played as a freshman at Woodbridge High School before spending the last two seasons at Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md. “He asked me to say it again so he got the exact words. So I told him ‘I want to be a Cavalier.’ ”
Spurlock’s phone conversation on Wednesday with Leitao came at an opportune time.
Spurlock was prepared to call Leitao with the decision when Leitao called first to ask Spurlock how his trip out west went.
Spurlock had been in Arizona before returning home Sunday night.
Rated the 65th best player in the nation for the class of 2009 by Rivals.com, Spurlock had a number of offers, including ones from Georgetown, N.C. State, Louisville, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound swingman had narrowed his choices down to Virginia and Georgetown, but after cancelling his visit to the Hoyas last week because of his trip to Arizona, it became more obvious to Spurlock and his family that Virginia was the school for him.
He liked their up-tempo style of play. The chance to stay close to home also appealed to him.
The Cavaliers had first spotted him as an eighth grader while Spurlock was playing for the AAU team D.C. Blue Devils.
Virginia was also the first school he made an unofficial visit to when he travelled to the Charlottesville campus his freshman year of high school.
The Cavaliers were also the first school to extend an offer, but Spurlock couldn’t remember when that offer came because Virginia had been actively recruiting him for awhile.
“It seems like they were always there,” Spurlock said. “I definitely knew I was a priority.”
After talking to Leitao, Spurlock called Virginia’s other commitment for the class of 2009, Jontel Evans, who is a senior at Bethel High School in Hampton.
“He didn’t believe me,” said Spurlock, who could possibly start as a freshman since Virginia’s starting small forward Mamadi Diane will be a senior this season. 
Spurlock said he is currently enrolled at Montrose Christian, but is planning on transferring to another school.
Spurlock is still unsure what school that will be, but he wants it to be close to home. He did not rule out the possibility of returning to Woodbridge.
“Anything is possible right now,” Spurlock said.
He cannot sign his national letter-of-intent until the early signing period in November.