Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett has returned to his Wisconsin roots to land the Cavaliers' first recruit for the 2011-2012 school year.

Paul Jesperson, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound wing player from Merrill, Wis., announced Thursday that he had picked UVa over Notre Dame, Minnesota and Northwestern.

Jesperson, rated the No. 1 prospect in Wisconsin by wissports.net, had offers from 17 Division I-A programs.

He averaged 20.5 points for Merrill High School during a 20-6 season in 2009-2010.

Jesperson recently traveled to Charlottesville for Virginia's Elite Camp and stayed in town for the NBA Top 100 Camp at John Paul Jones Arena.

He is rated the No. 30 small forward in the country by rivals.com, which has him at No. 140 on its list of the nation's top 150 seniors.

Bennett's Wisconsin ties run deep. He was born in Green Bay, Wis., and played at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Bennett later served as an assistant to his father, Dick, at Wisconsin.