Bear Down Wildcats

What people don't seem to realize is that Sean Miller's tenure has helped to maintain our 8th ranking. If the program had nosedived after Miller's hire, we wouldn't even be in the top 20.

I think the real problem is that the rebuild after the FBI scandal is taking longer than expected, and as blue blood fans we are notoriously impatient. But I suspect if we have average results for the next couple of years the situation will likely will work itself out.

What's hurting us more than the scandal is the fact that our 2017 class didn't work out (with the exception of Ayton). If those guys were what we expected we would have been top 10 last year. I have a weird feeling about this team, I think we will be better than expected.

I'm not sure if we have taken a hit on recruiting as much as the top players are going to lesser schools now (like Zaire, Christopher, Maker) or are going to the G league (like Kuminga and Jalen Green). We keep our standards the same as they were 20 years ago without calibrating to today's basketball climate. Even the Kentucky and Duke are not getting five stars across the board like they used to.

Analysis: that’s a lot of excuses

Which, at this point, is usually what it takes to get to “we should give Miller an extension.”

/shrug

We can do this for some more years until more people change their mind.

RawleArenas wrote:What people don't seem to realize is that Sean Miller's tenure has helped to maintain our 8th ranking. If the program had nosedived after Miller's hire, we wouldn't even be in the top 20.

I think the real problem is that the rebuild after the FBI scandal is taking longer than expected, and as blue blood fans we are notoriously impatient. But I suspect if we have average results for the next couple of years the situation will likely will work itself out.

What's hurting us more than the scandal is the fact that our 2017 class didn't work out (with the exception of Ayton). If those guys were what we expected we would have been top 10 last year. I have a weird feeling about this team, I think we will be better than expected.

I'm not sure if we have taken a hit on recruiting as much as the top players are going to lesser schools now (like Zaire, Christopher, Maker) or are going to the G league (like Kuminga and Jalen Green). We keep our standards the same as they were 20 years ago without calibrating to today's basketball climate. Even the Kentucky and Duke are not getting five stars across the board like they used to.

This is a good post, Rawle.

I think most here do recognize that Miller has *kept* us at a high level. Had he gotten some better luck in just one of those three E8s, our perception of him gets even more favorable. But even without a FF, he's won numerous Pac titles, landed numerous elite classes and has had several sexy OOC wins. Miller's tenure at AZ has been largely a success. Not Lute-level, but that's not a fair comparison.

I agree that this year's team may surprise people. We're sneaky deep. Think Akinjo is gonna be fun to watch.

Beachcat97 wrote: I agree that this year's team may surprise people. We're sneaky deep. Think Akinjo is gonna be fun to watch.

On paper, it is an intriguing roster, if not an under-the-radar one. It should be interesting, especially if Miller takes advantage of the depth -- he seems reluctant to take advantage of deep rosters (to be fair, he hasn't had many in recent years).

Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

ChooChooCat wrote:Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

Well that’s a bummer Choo on Gregg. Of those others who do you feel good about? Isn’t Dunn the kid from Tucson now in NC? One would think NC would be his choice

ChooChooCat wrote:Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

CCC, are you familiar enough with Nowell/Dunn/Mashack to compare/contrast games and fit. Mashack on paper sounded like one of the most Milleresque recruits in awhile.

azcat49 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

Well that’s a bummer Choo on Gregg. Of those others who do you feel good about? Isn’t Dunn the kid from Tucson now in NC? One would think NC would be his choice

Feel confident in Nowell and Holmes. Dunn likely goes to UNC and I’m unsure on what the staff’s plan is with Sharp (not sure if a backup option if we miss out on Holmes or what).

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

CCC, are you familiar enough with Nowell/Dunn/Mashack to compare/contrast games and fit. Mashack on paper sounded like one of the most Milleresque recruits in awhile.

Dunn is all shooter, Mashack is all athlete, and Nowell has a great midrange game with a lot of Dalen Terry in him in regards to great passing ability and good on the boards. I’m not sure why we prioritized Nowell over Mashack honestly, my guess is to build Jason Terry’s recruiting rep and go from there.

ChooChooCat wrote:Gregg is headed to Zaga.

Remaining recruits to focus on for the fall signing period are Daron Holmes, Shane Nowell (props to Scheer and his crew for being way out ahead on this one), D’marco Dunn, and Jamarion Sharp.

Bummer about Gregg...

Whoa, that Sharpe kid looks huge! He could fill the middle LOL

So the Holmes kid is from Phoenix? Reminds me of a right handed Deron Johnson way back when

Can the Nowell kid be another RHJ? Besides for both bring left handed would love for him to be a plus defender

azcat49 wrote:Whoa, that Sharpe kid looks huge! He could fill the middle LOL

So the Holmes kid is from Phoenix? Reminds me of a right handed Deron Johnson way back when

Can the Nowell kid be another RHJ? Besides for both bring left handed would love for him to be a plus defender

Holmes is from the Phoenix area, yes. Has been to U of A multiple times.

Nowell isn’t the athlete Rondae was.

FWIW Holmes may wait for the Spring to decide, so we may leave the fall with only two commits.

So it sounds like the expectations are that we should get 3 of the 4 kids you outlined with Dunn being the least likely. I like the Holmes kid. Looks long. Would fit the Miller system very well. Bummer he might wait but who could blame him

So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

gronk4heisman wrote:So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

We’re going to land the wing we prioritized after Watson literally any day now. Silva and Mashack weren’t really swings and misses, since we didn’t swing much to begin with. Watson hurt and so does Gregg. The Aussie guys decided going pro was more worth their time and we didn’t invest a lot of time into those recruitments. We’ll walk out of the fall with two commits, prioritize an Arizona native in the Spring, and keep our options open in case of any unexpected defections.

Chances of landing Hardy? He has crystal ball picks for Kentucky. Says he’s mulling the g-league path as well.

ChooChooCat wrote:

gronk4heisman wrote:So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

We’re going to land the wing we prioritized after Watson literally any day now. Silva and Mashack weren’t really swings and misses, since we didn’t swing much to begin with. Watson hurt and so does Gregg. The Aussie guys decided going pro was more worth their time and we didn’t invest a lot of time into those recruitments. We’ll walk out of the fall with two commits, prioritize an Arizona native in the Spring, and keep our options open in case of any unexpected defections.

Do you think Nowell has the size and athleticism to play on the wing?

Any thoughts on KJ Allen? Insurance losing Mathurin?

I like what I've seen from the little tape I could find from KJ Allen. My biggest question is how many spots do we think will be open next year? Do we think Azuolas Tubelis will be a oad? Without him leaving I see probably 3 or 4 spots open as someone is always bound to rather leave early or transfer but if Tubelis leaves we'll have a lot of spots open I think. I guess we'll see

BeardownZonaZona wrote:I like what I've seen from the little tape I could find from KJ Allen. My biggest question is how many spots do we think will be open next year? Do we think Azuolas Tubelis will be a oad? Without him leaving I see probably 3 or 4 spots open as someone is always bound to rather leave early or transfer but if Tubelis leaves we'll have a lot of spots open I think. I guess we'll see

Lee Graduates
Terrell Brown Graduates
Tubelis seems to be projected as OAD
Tubelis does he hang if his brother goes?
Mathurin will have all the opportunity to showcase and blowup
Terry as well, although less likely
Baker could be in line to GT if his role is not what he wants
Also who the hell knows what kids might do

Seems unlikely more than 4 but see final line above.

KJ Simpson
Shane Nowell
DaRon Holmes (ideally)

If Mathurin is the 4th Scholarship, going to need an experienced ready wing.

IndianaZonaFan wrote:Chances of landing Hardy? He has crystal ball picks for Kentucky. Says he’s mulling the g-league path as well.

He’ll likely commit to UCLA and then end up going pro before ever reaching campus.

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

gronk4heisman wrote:So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

We’re going to land the wing we prioritized after Watson literally any day now. Silva and Mashack weren’t really swings and misses, since we didn’t swing much to begin with. Watson hurt and so does Gregg. The Aussie guys decided going pro was more worth their time and we didn’t invest a lot of time into those recruitments. We’ll walk out of the fall with two commits, prioritize an Arizona native in the Spring, and keep our options open in case of any unexpected defections.

Do you think Nowell has the size and athleticism to play on the wing?

Any thoughts on KJ Allen? Insurance losing Mathurin?

By the wing do you mean the 3? He’s definitely going to play the 2/3 at Arizona. As far as Allen goes he’s pretty much an undersized 4, not sure that’s what you’d want.

ChooChooCat wrote:

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

gronk4heisman wrote:So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

We’re going to land the wing we prioritized after Watson literally any day now. Silva and Mashack weren’t really swings and misses, since we didn’t swing much to begin with. Watson hurt and so does Gregg. The Aussie guys decided going pro was more worth their time and we didn’t invest a lot of time into those recruitments. We’ll walk out of the fall with two commits, prioritize an Arizona native in the Spring, and keep our options open in case of any unexpected defections.

Do you think Nowell has the size and athleticism to play on the wing?

Any thoughts on KJ Allen? Insurance losing Mathurin?

By the wing do you mean the 3? He’s definitely going to play the 2/3 at Arizona. As far as Allen goes he’s pretty much an undersized 4, not sure that’s what you’d want.

Thanks CCC. Yes just questioning Nowell playing the 3. Good to know on Allen. Hope there is an international 3 out there the staff is evaluating.

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

gronk4heisman wrote:So Mashack is off the board, how far down the list are we now? That is at least 6 swings (Mashack, Silva, Watson, Hickman, Gregg [likely], Banchero [reach], Australian guys and the other guys with limited interest) and misses of various degrees and has me a little worried. I am sure we will get quality players at the end of the day based on history but I would think every spot down the list would be a slightly less favorable fit.

We’re going to land the wing we prioritized after Watson literally any day now. Silva and Mashack weren’t really swings and misses, since we didn’t swing much to begin with. Watson hurt and so does Gregg. The Aussie guys decided going pro was more worth their time and we didn’t invest a lot of time into those recruitments. We’ll walk out of the fall with two commits, prioritize an Arizona native in the Spring, and keep our options open in case of any unexpected defections.

Do you think Nowell has the size and athleticism to play on the wing?

Any thoughts on KJ Allen? Insurance losing Mathurin?

By the wing do you mean the 3? He’s definitely going to play the 2/3 at Arizona. As far as Allen goes he’s pretty much an undersized 4, not sure that’s what you’d want.

Thanks CCC. Yes just questioning Nowell playing the 3. Good to know on Allen. Hope there is an international 3 out there the staff is evaluating.

We are.

This one?


https://twitter.com/mattgoazcats/status ... 40832?s=10" target="_blank

NickyBCats wrote:This one?


https://twitter.com/mattgoazcats/status ... 40832?s=10" target="_blank

Yup.

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

NickyBCats wrote:Nathan Bittle just transferred to Prolific Prep. Mark Phelps was just hired as the head coach there yesterday. Choo, 2 questions. How is the relationship with Miller and Phelps? Does this help our chances in any way? Any feedback is appreciated.

Miller and Phelps are still more than cool. Nah, Phelps will have literally zero impact on a recruitment that’s literally about over.

So no chance on Bittle? He looks good.

Oregon.

He just made it official. Good call Choo.

Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

Yeah. I'm not sure how Miller gets his recruiting mojo back in regions he's traditionally done well. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turn to the international scene plays out. I think 6 of our 7 freshmen are from outside the U.S. And now we're courting this French player in the '21 class.

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

So much for JeT bringing in PNW recruits.

Merkin wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

So much for JeT bringing in PNW recruits.

He’s about to land one literally any day now. He wasn’t involved with Bittle or Gregg either. He’s a Seattle guy not an entire PNW guy.

The Nowell kid is a Seattle/Terry recruit and he looks to be ours

azcat49 wrote:The Nowell kid is a Seattle/Terry recruit and he looks to be ours

Shane Nowell has the crystal ball at 100% Arizona. Let's hope he moves up in the rankings. His other top tier schools recruiting him are OK & UW.

Hopefully someone can find some better video of him

Brandon Jennings?

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

Sort of reminder where things are presently at with the program; that would not have happened 8 years ago.

dmjcat wrote:

1 of those schools does not look like the others...

Actual has other decent offers too. https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/ ... -interests" target="_blank

Justin Gainey connection there for Marquette. Cal and Dayton have immediate PT. I doubt we lose him to any of those schools, but I’ve seen weirder recruitments.

So are we thinking we end up with Simpson, Nowell, Holmes, and Traoré?

Would mean we lose both seniors and then 2 transfers or early departures for the pros?

IndianaZonaFan wrote:So are we thinking we end up with Simpson, Nowell, Holmes, and Traoré?

Would mean we lose both seniors and then 2 transfers or early departures for the pros?

Simpson, Nowell, and Holmes. My guess is if another spot opens we fill it with a transfer.

ChooChooCat wrote:

IndianaZonaFan wrote:So are we thinking we end up with Simpson, Nowell, Holmes, and Traoré?

Would mean we lose both seniors and then 2 transfers or early departures for the pros?

Simpson, Nowell, and Holmes. My guess is if another spot opens we fill it with a transfer.

Thanks Choo! Appreciate you as always Sir.

midnightx wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

Sort of reminder where things are presently at with the program; that would not have happened 8 years ago.

True, but I also don't think our recruiting strategy is the same as 8 years ago.

UNC

Beachcat97 wrote:

midnightx wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Altman and Few have a nice little rivalry going.

Just to be clear Oregon landed Arizona’s top post priority and Gonzaga landed its second. On to #3!

Sort of reminder where things are presently at with the program; that would not have happened 8 years ago.

True, but I also don't think our recruiting strategy is the same as 8 years ago.

2020 and 2021 have been much heavier on development. Whatever's driving it, we're getting guys who should be 3-4 year players. We have to hope they stay like that.

Terry, Mathurin and Nowell could be formidable on the wing by the time Terry and Mathurin are juniors. I hope we have the patience to see if Miller's recruiting shift pays those sort of dividends.

Caleb Houstan announces his commitment the 7th. Any chances there?

BeardownZonaZona wrote:Caleb Houstan announces his commitment the 7th. Any chances there?

I think he’s only narrowing down to 4 teams. I doubt we’re in contention as he hasn’t really been mentioned much on here

Yeah we’re not involved here.

Top 30 guard Bryce McGowans decomitted from FSU. Borzello reporting we’ve reached out. There any connection there?