"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

Related topic — Nic Wise’s second blog video installment:

HOOPS LINKS

• Is “light bulb” turning on for Jamelle Horne?
• Chase Budinger threw out the first pitch tonight before the San Diego Padres game
• Nic Wise‘s second YouTube blog has been posted (includes Portsmouth Invitational highlights)
• Looks like Terrence Jones of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson will sign with Washington on Wednesday … or will he?

By Javier Morales

UA coach Sean Miller said depth will challenge players next year to improve their game

Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller wrapped up the spring signing period by discussing Tuesday at McKale Center those who have signed with the Wildcats and other topics of the day related to recruiting.

Most noteworthy in Miller’s half-hour meeting with local media:

• His reference to Class of 2010 signees Jordin Mayes and Daniel Bejarano coming from winning high school programs and strong family backgrounds. He mentioned their family backgrounds more than once, calling to mind when Lute Olson and his late wife Bobbi screened players to fit into a family atmosphere.
• His statement that senior Jamelle Horne will be challenged by Arizona’s added depth (namely JUCO recruit Jesse Perry) for playing opportunities.
• His comments about UA assistant coach Book Richardson‘s name popping up to fill vacancies (most recently at Kentucky).
• His amazement that some players — i.e. Kadeem Jack of Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice and Terrence Jones of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson) — have yet to make up their minds.
• His theory to replace three players a year, not “five to seven,” he said, “because in that case, you’re not developing upperclassmen.” This was an indirect reference to a program like Kentucky, which must replace nine scholarship spots, partly because four of its players entered the NBA draft after their freshman season.

Please read the rest of this entry at TucsonCitizen.com

Related link: Is the ‘light bulb’ turning on for Jamelle Horne?

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Five-Star perimeter shooter sounds sincere about Cats high on his list

Damien Leonard, rated the No. 14 prospect in the Class of 2011 by Rivals.com, is in Tucson this weekend taking an unofficial visit (J.L. Mann High School photo)

By Javier Morales

In the year since the inception of this Web site, I have interviewed a number of potential UA recruits and their parents and coaches. The one who I believed showed the most interest in Arizona before committing was Phoenix North shooting guard Daniel Bejarano, who talks as if he wants to wear the Arizona uniform yesterday. Another recruit has now surfaced who is showing a genuine interest in Arizona like Bejarano, and he happens to be a Class of 2011 Five-Star recruit according to Rivals.com. Although Greenville (S.C.) J.L. Mann wing player Damien Leonard told me Friday he remains “wide open” with his recruiting choice, he sounded like he is sincere about wanting learn about the advantages of attending the University of Arizona. Leonard is taking an unofficial visit of the UA campus this weekend with his traveling coach Willis Holliday. “I’m going over there wanting to learn everything I need to know about the school and the program,” Leonard told me. “I would not be going there if I didn’t think it was worth the trip. This visit is very important to us in this process.” …

Others who took visits to Arizona seem to treat it as an exercise, saying in essence that the visit would not sway their opinion one way or another. That’s not the case with Leonard, who is using the visit as a gauge to help narrow his choices to three schools after the summer high-profile events and AAU circuit of tournaments. The other schools high on his list include Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Clemson and Virginia Tech. “We’re hoping to take what we learn on this trip and use it as a future reference,” said Holliday, coach and director of the Carolina Cougars’ AAU program in South Carolina. Although news of Leonard’s visit surfaced last week, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound player has been on Arizona coach Sean Miller’s radar since last summer. “The way coach Miller has recruited Damien has been by the book, and he has developed a very good relationship with us,” Holliday said. “Damien has wanted to take this visit for a while because of his relationship with some of their coaches and now he finally gets that chance.” Leonard has played in Arizona before at the “Duel in the Desert” in Phoenix so he knows what to expect about Tucson’s weather. “Oh yeah, I’ve packed some T-shirts and shorts,” Leonard said with a laugh. “I’ve been in the desert before. I just haven’t been to Tucson before but I’m looking forward to seeing what the city and the school are all about.” Leonard and Holliday left Greenville, which will be in the 80s this weekend, but the humidity there is listed as almost 80 percent. Tucson could reach the 90s this weekend but as the saying goes, it’s a dry heat. …

(more…)

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Recruit has Florida AAU past similar to Vargas

Damien Leonard/Video of Leonard available at FloridaHoopsRecruits.com

By Javier Morales

The third Rivals.com Five-Star recruit in the last year will visit the UA campus next week, and the reality is the Wildcats might be facing another uphill battle to land such a highly-touted player. Class of 2011 shooting guard Damien Leonard of Greenville (S.C) J. L. Mann — the No. 14 prospect in his class according to Rivals.com — reportedly will take a trip to Tucson on an unofficial visit. Class of 2010 Five-Star recruits Doron Lamb (Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill Academy) and Josh Selby (Baltimore Lake Clifton) took official visits during the season. Lamb is headed to Kentucky and Selby to Kansas, and by some accounts, they eliminated Arizona from consideration long before they announced their decisions April 17. So why would UA coach Sean Miller want to go through the anguish of yet another high-profile recruit visiting Arizona, possibly all for naught? Moreover, why another shooting guard when the UA will already have Kyle Fogg, Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes and Brendon Lavender when Leonard is a freshman in 2011-12?

The best explanation is Miller does not take into account star systems and rotation issues when the best possible prospect shows an interest in Arizona. Does anybody want a head coach with a defeatist attitude? Memphis coach Josh Pastner, formerly of the UA as a player and coach, has the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class despite operating still in John Calipari’s shadow. Calipari had the No. 1 class last year after moving to Kentucky and his class is second this year to his former assistant at Memphis. Knowing Pastner, he never doubted he could recruit as well as Calipari did with the Tigers. In fact, Pastner takes it as a challenge to be better. “They did not hire me to fill a spot; they hired me to carry on what Coach Cal started, and I intend to build on that,” Pastner told me before his first season started. Pastner has never thought he has to recruit a lesser player because he’s not Calipari. Pastner has enjoyed more recruiting success at Memphis than Miller has at Arizona, based on the Rivals.com recruiting rankings. Pastner inked his first Five-Star recruit — Wolfboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy wing player Will Barton — last June, before he coached his first game with the Tigers. Barton reportedly showed interest in the UA program but he never visited Tucson. … Pastner’s Five-Star success — he has also signed top-notch wing player Jelan Kendrick of Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler — has a lot to do with his recruiting ability but also because of the aura Calipari gave that program. True, Lute Olson created the same type of appeal at Arizona, but by the time Miller arrived, Olson was two years removed the program. If Pastner coached Memphis under the same circumstances with Calipari already gone for two years would he be enjoying the same success? Something to think about. …

(more…)

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Latest TucsonCitizen.com Link: Former Florida power forward apparently on Arizona’s recruiting radar

• Arizona’s official release on the signing of Jordin Mayes and Jesse Perry
  
  Mike Dunlap headed to Colorado?
• New Wildcats could shake up UA coach Sean Miller‘s roster
• Oregon is in no rush to hire its coach, believe it or not, and former UA and Oregon assistant Mike Dunlap is rumored as a candidate at Colorado
• USC’s Kevin O’Neill inks a 7-foot transfer from a JC whose three years of eligibility starts in 2011-12
• Washington coach Lorenzo Romar also signs a 7-footer out of a JC
• Adam Zagoria reports that tampering claims against O’Neill and USC concerning Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario are not confirmed by Rutgers officials
• Rosario, a 2008 McDonald’s All-American shooting guard from Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony, reportedly has Kansas, Kentucky, USC and Florida on his wish list
• Currently, the number of players leaving Pac-10 schools is 13. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News thinks that number will increase because he believes Cal’s suspended forward Omondi Amoke will not return

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UA’s recent performance indicates NBA talent a plus

Read a complete analysis of Arizona’s recruiting classes since Fred Snowden was hired at Arizona in 1972 by visiting TucsonCitizen.com

Jerryd Bayless has emerged as the only NBA-skilled player in the classes of 2007 and 2008 for Arizona, which signed nine players in that stretch

By Javier Morales

The spring signing period starts Wednesday, opening another chapter in the UA’s recruiting effort to become one of the elite programs again.

Recent reports suggest the odds are against Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff landing Baltimore Lake County point guard Josh Selby, Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill combo guard Doron Lamb and Detroit Country Day School point guard Ray McCallum Jr.

The Wildcats, however, stand a good chance of signing Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice power forward Kadeem Jack, who said he will announce his choice between UA, Arkansas, Miami and UConn on April 28.

Miller already has Phoenix North shooting guard Daniel Bejarano in the fold (he signed a national letter of intent last November). Los Angeles Westchester point guard Jordin Mayes and Logan (Ill.) Junior College forward Jesse Perry are expected to sign Wednesday after offering verbal commitments.

A worthy question to ask: Will any of these players become capable of playing at the next level?

The two recruiting classes before Miller’s arrival last April included only one NBA player — Jerryd Bayless in the Class of 2007 who left after only one season — and a fair number of players struggling to find their niche (Jamelle Horne, Brendon Lavender and Alex Jacobson). Four of the nine players signed in 2008 and 2009 have also transferred (Laval Lucas-Perry, Jeff Withey, Zane Johnson and Garland Judkins).

Kyle Fogg, signed in 2008, has started most of his freshman and sophomore seasons. He is the best to emerge in these classes other than Bayless, but he is not considered NBA material at this point.

The sudden retirement of Lute Olson after he missed a year with a leave of absence has a lot to do with the recruiting shortfalls that ultimately kept Arizona out of its first NCAA tournament this season for the first time since 1984.

The 2003-2005 recruiting stretch was also uncommonly difficult for Arizona. Those years did not produce an NBA player of note. The only one two of the 10 signed in this stretch to advance to the next level were Marcus Williams (Class of 2005) and Mustafa Shakur (Class of 2003).

Williams played in only 13 NBA games over two seasons and is currently playing in China. Shakur, after stints in Poland, Spain and Greece, finally hit his stride this season but has yet to play for Oklahoma City despite signing a contract for the remainder of the season.

It is no wonder why in the last five years, Arizona’s overall record is 96-68 (a 58.5 winning percentage) and the Cats have not been ranked in the AP Top 10 since Jan. 8, 2007. Lute Olson’s overall winning percentage at Arizona was 75.9 percent (589-187 in 24 years), which is 17.4 points higher than what the UA has experienced since 2005.

Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, part of the UA’s Class of 2006 with Nic Wise, were drafted last year, increasing Arizona’s number of active NBA players to 10.

However, Hill and Budinger left after their junior seasons, which added to Miller’s rebuilding project this season. Hill was a late bloomer at Arizona and Budinger never reached his full potential as a Wildcat, mostly because he struggled with the fact that he did not have the opportunity to play for Olson after his freshman season.

Miller stresses attracting players who are team oriented, but history suggests some NBA talent is needed as well for the UA to become prominent once again.

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Link: Arizona subtracts a player with the departure of D.J. Shumpert

Jesse Perry is the first junior college prospect who has verbally committed to Sean Miller in Miller’s six years as a head coach

PAC-10 HOOPS LINKS:

• Two Washington State freshmen, including former UA target Xavier Thames, announce they are transferring
• UCLA’s Michael Roll, Cal’s Jerome Randle and Washington’s Quincy Pondexter will play in the Reese’s All-Star Game at the Final Four on Friday
• This sounds familiar, does it not: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo a candidate for the Oregon job?

By Javier Morales

Opponents will find it more difficult to defend Arizona next season because of the verbal commitment Sunday night of Logan (Ill.) Junior College forward Jesse Perry.

The Wildcats often became stagnant in their halfcourt sets this season, which is a significant reason why they finished 16-15 overall and without an NCAA tournament appearance for the first time in 26 years.

Perry, a 6-foot-8-inch versatile forward, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds for Logan this season. He also shot a reported 48 percent from three-point range and at one point this season made 27 consecutive free throws. He is an aggressive player who can create his own shot off the dribble.

“He has the ability to play both forward spots, has excellent ball skills and solid range on his jump shot,” reports Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com. “He can face at the arc and takes bigs off the dribble or roll and post, using his quicks and bounce to score in the paint.”

That description did not fit any of the current Wildcat wing players on a consistent basis this season.

Read much more about the verbal commitment of Jesse Perry at TucsonCitizen.com

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Might visit UCLA and South Carolina if he doesn’t commit to UA after visit

RELATED TOPIC: Video tribute of Los Angeles Westchester guard Jordin Mayes, who has verbally committed to Arizona. He led Westchester to a repeat CIF State Division I title Saturday.

By Javier Morales

Logan (Ill.) Junior College forward Jesse Perry will conclude his two-day official visit to Arizona on Monday morning with the possibility that he will still visit UCLA and South Carolina, according to Kyle Smithpeters, one of Logan’s assistants coaches.

“You could say it’s basically down to those three schools,” Smithpeters told me Sunday night. “He has some others still calling him, but it looks like if he takes more visits, it will be those two schools (UCLA and South Carolina).”

Smithpeters has assisted Perry during the recruiting process. He spoke to him over the phone after Perry arrived in Tucson.

“He’s taking everything in,” Smithpeters said. “He’s done a lot of talking with the academic people and the coaches. He’s learning a lot about the school and more about the program.”

Read the rest of this entry, including an analysis of the biggest needs for Arizona, South Carolina and UCLA at TucsonCitizen.com

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