What could Virginia be getting if 4-star Elijah Gertrude commits?

Four-star Elijah Gertrude could today become Virginia’s second commitment in the 2023 class. The 2023 On3 Consensus No. 92 player is a 6-foot-3 guard out of Jersey City (NJ) Hudson Catholic.

Last week, I placed my expert pick into On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) with a 90 confidence. Behind this pick and other factors, RPM has Virginia with a 91 percent chance of landing Gertrude.

Gertrude’s recruitment took a massive step forward in May and culminated at Nike’s Peach Jam. The four-star averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals for the Albany City Rocks program this summer. Prior to May of 2022, Gertrude had a single offer from the old staff at St. Peter’s.

Iona came first on May 24, then Rutgers, Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Kansas, and others soon followed. Gertrude narrowed his list to five on August 6, Kansas, Seton Hall, Virginia, Rutgers, and St. John’s. He has taken official visits to St. John’s and Virginia.

Gertrude’s game

Gertrude has an aggressive and confident game. The 6-3 guard is a late bloomer, he will need to add weight and strength to his core and lower body, but he has a base skill set that is hard to deny.

Offensively, he has a crafty yet quick wing handle. He is smart in getting to his spots in an efficient manner, and he can rise up and knock it down from the second or third level with great balance and confidence. Gertrude will need to understand balance in his shot selection, which could come with the added strength.

Gertrude has range on his jumper. Standing 6-3, he has longer arms which allow him to play a little bigger than his listed height. Gertrude’s knocked down 1.406 points per possession on uncontested jumpers, where he shot 46.9 percent from three this summer.

Overall, Gertrude scored 1.00 points per possession on catch and shoot jumpers through 25 games for City Rocks this summer. His 50 percent effective field goal percentage on these shots shows he has the touch.

Gertrude is comfortable in the paint and is a willing passer. While he is not a dynamic type of playmaker, he is a more than capable secondary ball handler. His City Rocks team saw a lot of zone this summer, and, as the summer wore on, Gertrude showed patience and efficiency in picking his spots.

Gertrude on defense

Where Elijah Gertrude is most impressive is in the passing lanes. He has an innate instinct to shoot the gaps and create deflections and turnovers. His long arms and aggressive nature play into this, but he turned a lot of defense into easy offense this summer.

A quick look through Synergy, you also see that Gertrude’s man only scored 0.643 points per possession and shot 30.9 percent in 25 games this summer. That stat shifted to 0.544 points per possession when his team played man-to-man.

Virginia’s 2023 class

Gertrude would be the second commitment for Virginia. The Cavaliers locked in four-star center Blake Buchanan early.

They are trying to get visits from four-star PG Elmarko Jackson and four-star SG Andrej Stojakovic. Four-star SG Davin Cosby visited in August.