Basketball
Top-ranked Arizona remained undefeated with a gritty, come-from-behind 72-70 road win over Michigan.
* With remaining nonconference games against Southern University and Northern Arizona, a 13-0 start looks likely. Then, considering the Wildcats open Pac-12 Conference play at home against both Washington schools, you're looking at a realistic 15-0.
The question now becomes: When will the Wildcats first lose?
- Jan. 9 at UCLA: This would prevent a 16-0 start and continue the headache after losing all three games to the Bruins last season - including the controversial Pac-12 tournament semifinal contest. The teams also play just once this season.
- Jan. 16 vs. Arizona State: Lose to the Sun Devils in basketball? And at home? The way UA is playing, an unbeaten home record looks like a possibility this season. But ASU is playing well this season and teams on a roll like Arizona will drop head scratchers sometimes.
- Jan. 23 vs. Colorado: Now, this game would make more sense. This is game No. 19 on the schedule and the one following ASU. This stretch of the schedule is not easy. The Buffaloes have played the Wildcats tough the last three seasons and already have a big win over then-No. 6 Kansas.
- Jan. 29 at Stanford: The Bay Area road trip is never easy to sweep but file this one under a head scratcher.
- Feb. 6 vs. Oregon: The Wildcats would be 22-0 if they survive and begin a ninth consecutive week at No. 1. The Ducks are the team that nobody is talking about but should be.
Beyond those five games, undefeated regular season would then become the discussion with eight games remaining. But three would be on the road against teams listed above, including the finale at Oregon on March 8.
But impressive performances like on the road in Ann Arbor make these discussions possible.
* Everyone - from national analysts to the radio spot we did for Yahoo - wants the focus to be on Aaron Gordon this season, dubbed the Year of the Freshman.
But most of that talk revolves around his athleticism and things he does on the offensive end of the floor. A lot of the attention is unwarranted, but to no fault of his own, and Brandon Ashley has actually looked like the more important player this season. There are stretches Gordon makes you think that another year in college would help him refine his flaws to play small forward at the next level, as he does not look like someone who has a natural position in the NBA right now.
But the one area that does not get talked about enough is Gordon's defense. Glenn Robinson III scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, and that's because UA head coach Sean Miller made the switch to put Gordon on him after the break.
As far as his offense is concerned, another overlooked aspect is his interior passing. The generously listed 6-9 forward's flip to Ashley, cutting the deficit to 58-56 at the 4:29 mark, is a play not many people his size can make.
Those are two of things, along with a nonstop motor, that truly make Gordon special.
* Among the many big stats in the win at Michigan none may be more important than this one:
In Arizona's final 11 possessions, down 8 in the final seven minutes, points were produced on each trip down. That is about as clutch as it gets on the road in a tough environment.
* Much like they did last season, the Wildcats are becoming an excellent second-half defensive team.
In the 11 games, Michigan's 47.6 percent shooting is the second-best anyone has shot after halftime but only Rhode Island and Long Beach State have had a better second-half mark when compared to the first 20 minutes.
Two teams have been limited to below 30 percent, including San Diego State.
* He said it: "You can't win a game like this unless you play the game." - Miller to CBS analyst Greg Anthony about the Wildcats' scheduling.
Football
* Arizona has yet to delve too much into the prep for Boston College. Head coach Rich Rodriguez said the setting in practice is similar to a spring camp.
Once two or three more practices and final exams are out of the way, the switch flips. About 20 to 25 minutes of practice has been "devoted to BC."
"It's ones, twos and threes getting the same kind of reps," Rodriguez said, adding that he did not want to "single out" any of the redshirts because the staff is not geared toward thinking that way until after the bowl game.
Right now, it is about teaching more technique to the younger players.
"We've got some redshirt receivers that have got a chance to be pretty good and a couple linemen," Rodriguez said of the redshirts. "I like a couple of our young guys on defense a little bit. But we're going to have a big recruiting class coming in, too."
* Quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said redshirts Anu Solomon and Connor Brewer are getting more reps now than they did in the fall, but it's still about balancing the opportunities because he knows they are not necessarily needed right now.
Thoughts about the spring are not being entertained until the bowl game, Smith said. But as for how someone like Solomon, a high school star, is handling the situation?
"It's not high school anymore," Smith said. "I don't know where the fairy tale came where out of high school, you go ready to be the guy at a major Division I college program. That very rarely happens.
"He's handled it well. Obviously, I'm going to expect more out of him in the spring, more of a work ethic, more to put on his plate."
* The durability of B.J. Denker also has caught Smith's attention this season, throwing for 2,241 yards and running for another 898 in the process.
"This might be the first year that I've ever had where my starter lasted the entire season," Smith said. "To me, that's a credit to B.J. Denker. That's a tough SOB.
"He may not be big in stature, but he took every rep and never missed a play due to injury."
* Going back to the redshirts waiting their turn, receiver Austin Hill said that teammates Davonte' Neal and Cayleb Jones are a confident pair who are "progressing really well."
Above all, the two have picked up the system quickly, Hill said.
"They take coaching," Hill said. "It's crazy how they've already really adapted into and grown into the system. It kind of reminds me how fast me and Dan (Buckner) kind of just grew into the system, how fast it happened.
"It's going to be exciting. They're good guys. I love hanging out with them, I love talking to them. It's fun because the third group - that's when I get to go - so it's me, Cayleb and Davonte' in practice and we're all playing with each other. It's always fun."
* Khari McGee, who signed as a quarterback, will remain at receiver moving forward.
* Third-string running back Jared Baker will miss the bowl game and likely all of spring camp with an undisclosed injury, running backs coach Calvin Magee said.
"Jared Baker, going into the spring, was going to have a heavy, heavy role," Magee said. "The best part about him is he's a veteran. He already knows the offense. He'll think about everything and go from there."
* Ka'Deem Carey will not be a unanimous first-team All-American after being left off the Sporting News' list in favor of Auburn's Tre Mason.
Magee isn't quite sure what the voters are not seeing in Carey.
"I wish I understood that," Magee said. "He's an All-American to us and I think he should be on every one of them. I do think he's the best back in the country, at least in the top."
And now here is Matt Moreno's recruiting portion of this week's War Room.
As the end of the year draws near so too does the end of Arizona's season on the football field and the end of the nonconference portion of the season for Sean Miller's basketball squad. However, the winter also means the thick of the recruiting season for basketball and nearly the end of the recruiting process for many prospects. Because of that Arizona continues to have visitors on campus as it looks to fill out its 2014 class.
On the basketball side all of Arizona's current signees are in the middle of their seasons and there are plenty of other recruits to keep an eye on this season as well. In this week's recruiting portion of the War Room we'll discuss both programs at UA and where things stand right now in their recruiting efforts.
On the football side the Wildcats had a handful of official visitors over the weekend, and while most were committed there were a couple who are still deciding. We'll touch on that group this week.
When it comes to Miller's basketball program there were quite a few Arizona prospects playing in the HoopHall West event in Phoenix this weekend, so we took some time to talk with those prospects about their recruitments.
After the busy weekend there is plenty to discuss, so let's get right to it.
Football recruiting
When it comes to Rich Rodriguez's program and the current class there were plenty of recruits who had successful senior seasons. By now most of the members of the group are finished with their seasons, but there is one important recruit in the class still alive.
* Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco is one of the nation's most talented teams with numerous players who hold college offers. Arizona has one commit on the team in three-star defensive back Naijiel Hale. The senior has not been able to put up huge stats this season because of the lack of passing to his side, however, he has put together a solid year.
He found an opportunity to get more involved over the weekend as St. John Bosco faced Corona (Calif.) Centennial in the California state playoffs. In that contest Hale returned an interception 70 yards to put his team inside the Centennial 10 yard line.
The future Wildcat defensive back's team eventually went on to win the game 70-49 to earn a spot in the Open Division title game this week.
* Arizona's first commit of the class was Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe standout Cam Denson. Since that time there has been plenty of talk about visits and potential visits with the four-star recruit. Outside of a stop by Arizona State not much has happened with his recruitment since he gave UA his pledge at the beginning of the year.
Schools continue to recruit the versatile recruit, and at this point he is listening but no decisions have been made. Arizona State had a few members of its coaching staff make their way to Tucson to watch Denson play basketball on Friday, but for now no decisions have been made on any potential visits.
"At the moment right now I'm not taking visits but I'm just hearing things out," Denson told ASUDevils.com. "I'm listening to what coaches are saying and thinking about whether I will decide to take any visits."
Denson was at Arizona's practice on Saturday and at this point not much has been discussed about visits with the Wildcats. Where things stand now I would say there's not much to worry about with the UA commit, especially now that his friend and Salpointe teammate Kaelin Deboskie is now committed to the 'Cats as well.
* Arizona had a few official visitors over the weekend as UA continues to prepare for its bowl game later this month. Among the non-committed prospects to visit Tucson over the weekend were three-star linebacker Ismael Murphy-Richardson from Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge as well as Tampa (Fla.) Sickles linebacker Josh Black.
At this point there are not too many spots left in the Wildcats class, so it's going to be a tight fit for whoever else UA looks to add. Right now Black looks to be a secondary option should things fall through with other linebacker prospects. However, Murphy-Richardson is a recruit the Wildcats are really giving a strong look at.
The two Southern California Pac-12 schools have been on the Arizona recruit for quite some time now and there has definitely been mutual interest on his part as well. At this point those are schools I would keep an eye on as the biggest opposition to Arizona in this recruitment.
That's not to say he won't end up at UA, because there is actually a good chance that happens. He has been to Tucson plenty of times and has visited with the Wildcats on numerous occasions. With his versatility there are a variety of ways I imagine Murphy-Richardson fitting into what UA does and that has certainly been a draw for the 6-foot-5 recruit.
His recruitment is certainly one to watch moving forward.
* While we were in Phoenix watching the HoopHall Classic we were able to spend some time chatting with four-star 2015 football recruit Keisean Lucier-South from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran. The 6-foot-6 prospect plays both sports, and he took some time to talk with us about his recruitment.
The Rivals100 recruit has always seemed to have pretty positive reviews of the Wildcats up to this point, and it certainly is a program he's continuing to look into.
"All my offers are the same right now, and I don't have any favorites or anything like that," Lucier-South told GOAZCATS.com. "But actually one of the coaches came down, and they've been telling me that they want me there. So I've been listening to them, and they say it's a really great place.
"I heard they have a new facility and it's really nice. So Arizona's not looking too bad right now. They're recruiting me really hard right now, and I really like them."
The 2015 prospect said that he would count Arizona as one of the three schools recruiting him the hardest along with UCLA and Texas. There is still plenty of time before Lucier-South has to decide, but Arizona is in a decent spot right now.
A visit back to the state of Arizona will likely happen after the season and there's a good chance the Rivals100 recruit will make a trip to Tucson when he has the return trip to the state.
* On another note the Wildcats should soon be getting their first batch of recruits officially signed within the next month as the JUCO signing period begins this week. Rodriguez mentioned after practice on Sunday that he believes his program will have seven or eight guys added during that time frame and ready to go for spring ball.
The eighth in that scenario could be five-star cornerback Jalen Tabor, who will make his decision public at the Under Amour game early next month. The Wildcats continue to recruit him and like his teammate Jonathan Haden the Rivals100 recruit is an early enrollee.
The other prospects to include in that group are Arizona's junior college recruits who are all looking to get in early as well.
Basketball recruiting
At this point in the year Arizona already has the bulk of its 2014 class signed, but that doesn't mean the work is done. UA continues to look at potential options for finishing out the current class, and as always it continues to evaluate the future groups as well.
* One recruit who was in Phoenix for the HoopHall West event is a big-time 2015 recruit for Arizona and he spent some time in Tucson prior to playing in the showcase. Five-star center Stephen Zimmerman is a big priority for a lot of programs, and Arizona is no exception. GOAZCATS.com video reporter Evyn Murray spoke with the UA target about his trip and this is what he had to say about his latest unofficial to Tucson.
"It was really fun and it was a great experience," Zimmerman told GOAZCATS.com. "You know I've been there before a couple times, but I think last time was my freshman year. The team and the coaches are really interested in me."
We'll have more with Zimmerman in a separate piece later, including what stood out to him most about his latest visit.
This was the first chance Zimmerman was able to see Tucson along with his family who came along on the trip this time around. Arizona is going to continue to stay involved with the big-man prospect who will have no shortage of options when he's ready to make his decision.
* Another big man prospect Arizona has offered is in the 2016 class and MJ Cage is certainly starting to gain some real steam with his recruitment as he enters his sophomore season at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The sophomore recruit has really started to transform himself into quite the front court player and he had an array of skills on display for Mater Dei at the HoopHall West event.
When it comes to his recruitment things are still in the early going, but he's happy to have his offer from the Wildcats.
"It was kind of a surprise," Cage told GOAZCATS.com about his offer. "Normally they're just watching Stanley play all the time, so I didn't really know they were looking at more or even wanted to offer me."
One of the things that will be important to Cage when it comes time to make his choice is the use of a program's big man. So moving forward watching how Kaleb Tarczewski continues to develop is going to be a big part of the process when it comes to how he views a school like Arizona.
* Keeping with the theme of front court players, Arizona is also involved with another Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman big man in the team's power forward Chase Jeter. The five-star recruit works alongside Zimmerman quite a bit, and he continues to look at the Wildcats as an option.
"They're pretty involved," Jeter told GOAZCATS.com's Evyn Murray about Arizona. "I talk to coach Sean Miller and coach Book (Emanuel Richardson) a lot. Those are the main coaches I talk to."
For now Jeter continues to work on cutting down his list to a more manageable group of schools, but it sounds like the Wildcats shouldn't be worried about not making that list when it gets released.
We will have more with Jeter in an update at a later time, including some of the other schools on his list.
* Stanley Johnson was certainly the crowd favorite at the HoopHall West event, and Evyn Murray caught up with him to talk more about his decision and his senior season. You can catch that video interview here.
Top-ranked Arizona remained undefeated with a gritty, come-from-behind 72-70 road win over Michigan.
* With remaining nonconference games against Southern University and Northern Arizona, a 13-0 start looks likely. Then, considering the Wildcats open Pac-12 Conference play at home against both Washington schools, you're looking at a realistic 15-0.
The question now becomes: When will the Wildcats first lose?
- Jan. 9 at UCLA: This would prevent a 16-0 start and continue the headache after losing all three games to the Bruins last season - including the controversial Pac-12 tournament semifinal contest. The teams also play just once this season.
- Jan. 16 vs. Arizona State: Lose to the Sun Devils in basketball? And at home? The way UA is playing, an unbeaten home record looks like a possibility this season. But ASU is playing well this season and teams on a roll like Arizona will drop head scratchers sometimes.
- Jan. 23 vs. Colorado: Now, this game would make more sense. This is game No. 19 on the schedule and the one following ASU. This stretch of the schedule is not easy. The Buffaloes have played the Wildcats tough the last three seasons and already have a big win over then-No. 6 Kansas.
- Jan. 29 at Stanford: The Bay Area road trip is never easy to sweep but file this one under a head scratcher.
- Feb. 6 vs. Oregon: The Wildcats would be 22-0 if they survive and begin a ninth consecutive week at No. 1. The Ducks are the team that nobody is talking about but should be.
Beyond those five games, undefeated regular season would then become the discussion with eight games remaining. But three would be on the road against teams listed above, including the finale at Oregon on March 8.
But impressive performances like on the road in Ann Arbor make these discussions possible.
* Everyone - from national analysts to the radio spot we did for Yahoo - wants the focus to be on Aaron Gordon this season, dubbed the Year of the Freshman.
But most of that talk revolves around his athleticism and things he does on the offensive end of the floor. A lot of the attention is unwarranted, but to no fault of his own, and Brandon Ashley has actually looked like the more important player this season. There are stretches Gordon makes you think that another year in college would help him refine his flaws to play small forward at the next level, as he does not look like someone who has a natural position in the NBA right now.
But the one area that does not get talked about enough is Gordon's defense. Glenn Robinson III scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, and that's because UA head coach Sean Miller made the switch to put Gordon on him after the break.
As far as his offense is concerned, another overlooked aspect is his interior passing. The generously listed 6-9 forward's flip to Ashley, cutting the deficit to 58-56 at the 4:29 mark, is a play not many people his size can make.
Those are two of things, along with a nonstop motor, that truly make Gordon special.
* Among the many big stats in the win at Michigan none may be more important than this one:
In Arizona's final 11 possessions, down 8 in the final seven minutes, points were produced on each trip down. That is about as clutch as it gets on the road in a tough environment.
* Much like they did last season, the Wildcats are becoming an excellent second-half defensive team.
In the 11 games, Michigan's 47.6 percent shooting is the second-best anyone has shot after halftime but only Rhode Island and Long Beach State have had a better second-half mark when compared to the first 20 minutes.
Two teams have been limited to below 30 percent, including San Diego State.
* He said it: "You can't win a game like this unless you play the game." - Miller to CBS analyst Greg Anthony about the Wildcats' scheduling.
Football
* Arizona has yet to delve too much into the prep for Boston College. Head coach Rich Rodriguez said the setting in practice is similar to a spring camp.
Once two or three more practices and final exams are out of the way, the switch flips. About 20 to 25 minutes of practice has been "devoted to BC."
"It's ones, twos and threes getting the same kind of reps," Rodriguez said, adding that he did not want to "single out" any of the redshirts because the staff is not geared toward thinking that way until after the bowl game.
Right now, it is about teaching more technique to the younger players.
"We've got some redshirt receivers that have got a chance to be pretty good and a couple linemen," Rodriguez said of the redshirts. "I like a couple of our young guys on defense a little bit. But we're going to have a big recruiting class coming in, too."
* Quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said redshirts Anu Solomon and Connor Brewer are getting more reps now than they did in the fall, but it's still about balancing the opportunities because he knows they are not necessarily needed right now.
Thoughts about the spring are not being entertained until the bowl game, Smith said. But as for how someone like Solomon, a high school star, is handling the situation?
"It's not high school anymore," Smith said. "I don't know where the fairy tale came where out of high school, you go ready to be the guy at a major Division I college program. That very rarely happens.
"He's handled it well. Obviously, I'm going to expect more out of him in the spring, more of a work ethic, more to put on his plate."
* The durability of B.J. Denker also has caught Smith's attention this season, throwing for 2,241 yards and running for another 898 in the process.
"This might be the first year that I've ever had where my starter lasted the entire season," Smith said. "To me, that's a credit to B.J. Denker. That's a tough SOB.
"He may not be big in stature, but he took every rep and never missed a play due to injury."
* Going back to the redshirts waiting their turn, receiver Austin Hill said that teammates Davonte' Neal and Cayleb Jones are a confident pair who are "progressing really well."
Above all, the two have picked up the system quickly, Hill said.
"They take coaching," Hill said. "It's crazy how they've already really adapted into and grown into the system. It kind of reminds me how fast me and Dan (Buckner) kind of just grew into the system, how fast it happened.
"It's going to be exciting. They're good guys. I love hanging out with them, I love talking to them. It's fun because the third group - that's when I get to go - so it's me, Cayleb and Davonte' in practice and we're all playing with each other. It's always fun."
* Khari McGee, who signed as a quarterback, will remain at receiver moving forward.
* Third-string running back Jared Baker will miss the bowl game and likely all of spring camp with an undisclosed injury, running backs coach Calvin Magee said.
"Jared Baker, going into the spring, was going to have a heavy, heavy role," Magee said. "The best part about him is he's a veteran. He already knows the offense. He'll think about everything and go from there."
* Ka'Deem Carey will not be a unanimous first-team All-American after being left off the Sporting News' list in favor of Auburn's Tre Mason.
Magee isn't quite sure what the voters are not seeing in Carey.
"I wish I understood that," Magee said. "He's an All-American to us and I think he should be on every one of them. I do think he's the best back in the country, at least in the top."
And now here is Matt Moreno's recruiting portion of this week's War Room.
As the end of the year draws near so too does the end of Arizona's season on the football field and the end of the nonconference portion of the season for Sean Miller's basketball squad. However, the winter also means the thick of the recruiting season for basketball and nearly the end of the recruiting process for many prospects. Because of that Arizona continues to have visitors on campus as it looks to fill out its 2014 class.
On the basketball side all of Arizona's current signees are in the middle of their seasons and there are plenty of other recruits to keep an eye on this season as well. In this week's recruiting portion of the War Room we'll discuss both programs at UA and where things stand right now in their recruiting efforts.
On the football side the Wildcats had a handful of official visitors over the weekend, and while most were committed there were a couple who are still deciding. We'll touch on that group this week.
When it comes to Miller's basketball program there were quite a few Arizona prospects playing in the HoopHall West event in Phoenix this weekend, so we took some time to talk with those prospects about their recruitments.
After the busy weekend there is plenty to discuss, so let's get right to it.
Football recruiting
When it comes to Rich Rodriguez's program and the current class there were plenty of recruits who had successful senior seasons. By now most of the members of the group are finished with their seasons, but there is one important recruit in the class still alive.
* Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco is one of the nation's most talented teams with numerous players who hold college offers. Arizona has one commit on the team in three-star defensive back Naijiel Hale. The senior has not been able to put up huge stats this season because of the lack of passing to his side, however, he has put together a solid year.
He found an opportunity to get more involved over the weekend as St. John Bosco faced Corona (Calif.) Centennial in the California state playoffs. In that contest Hale returned an interception 70 yards to put his team inside the Centennial 10 yard line.
The future Wildcat defensive back's team eventually went on to win the game 70-49 to earn a spot in the Open Division title game this week.
* Arizona's first commit of the class was Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe standout Cam Denson. Since that time there has been plenty of talk about visits and potential visits with the four-star recruit. Outside of a stop by Arizona State not much has happened with his recruitment since he gave UA his pledge at the beginning of the year.
Schools continue to recruit the versatile recruit, and at this point he is listening but no decisions have been made. Arizona State had a few members of its coaching staff make their way to Tucson to watch Denson play basketball on Friday, but for now no decisions have been made on any potential visits.
"At the moment right now I'm not taking visits but I'm just hearing things out," Denson told ASUDevils.com. "I'm listening to what coaches are saying and thinking about whether I will decide to take any visits."
Denson was at Arizona's practice on Saturday and at this point not much has been discussed about visits with the Wildcats. Where things stand now I would say there's not much to worry about with the UA commit, especially now that his friend and Salpointe teammate Kaelin Deboskie is now committed to the 'Cats as well.
* Arizona had a few official visitors over the weekend as UA continues to prepare for its bowl game later this month. Among the non-committed prospects to visit Tucson over the weekend were three-star linebacker Ismael Murphy-Richardson from Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge as well as Tampa (Fla.) Sickles linebacker Josh Black.
At this point there are not too many spots left in the Wildcats class, so it's going to be a tight fit for whoever else UA looks to add. Right now Black looks to be a secondary option should things fall through with other linebacker prospects. However, Murphy-Richardson is a recruit the Wildcats are really giving a strong look at.
The two Southern California Pac-12 schools have been on the Arizona recruit for quite some time now and there has definitely been mutual interest on his part as well. At this point those are schools I would keep an eye on as the biggest opposition to Arizona in this recruitment.
That's not to say he won't end up at UA, because there is actually a good chance that happens. He has been to Tucson plenty of times and has visited with the Wildcats on numerous occasions. With his versatility there are a variety of ways I imagine Murphy-Richardson fitting into what UA does and that has certainly been a draw for the 6-foot-5 recruit.
His recruitment is certainly one to watch moving forward.
* While we were in Phoenix watching the HoopHall Classic we were able to spend some time chatting with four-star 2015 football recruit Keisean Lucier-South from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran. The 6-foot-6 prospect plays both sports, and he took some time to talk with us about his recruitment.
The Rivals100 recruit has always seemed to have pretty positive reviews of the Wildcats up to this point, and it certainly is a program he's continuing to look into.
"All my offers are the same right now, and I don't have any favorites or anything like that," Lucier-South told GOAZCATS.com. "But actually one of the coaches came down, and they've been telling me that they want me there. So I've been listening to them, and they say it's a really great place.
"I heard they have a new facility and it's really nice. So Arizona's not looking too bad right now. They're recruiting me really hard right now, and I really like them."
The 2015 prospect said that he would count Arizona as one of the three schools recruiting him the hardest along with UCLA and Texas. There is still plenty of time before Lucier-South has to decide, but Arizona is in a decent spot right now.
A visit back to the state of Arizona will likely happen after the season and there's a good chance the Rivals100 recruit will make a trip to Tucson when he has the return trip to the state.
* On another note the Wildcats should soon be getting their first batch of recruits officially signed within the next month as the JUCO signing period begins this week. Rodriguez mentioned after practice on Sunday that he believes his program will have seven or eight guys added during that time frame and ready to go for spring ball.
The eighth in that scenario could be five-star cornerback Jalen Tabor, who will make his decision public at the Under Amour game early next month. The Wildcats continue to recruit him and like his teammate Jonathan Haden the Rivals100 recruit is an early enrollee.
The other prospects to include in that group are Arizona's junior college recruits who are all looking to get in early as well.
Basketball recruiting
At this point in the year Arizona already has the bulk of its 2014 class signed, but that doesn't mean the work is done. UA continues to look at potential options for finishing out the current class, and as always it continues to evaluate the future groups as well.
* One recruit who was in Phoenix for the HoopHall West event is a big-time 2015 recruit for Arizona and he spent some time in Tucson prior to playing in the showcase. Five-star center Stephen Zimmerman is a big priority for a lot of programs, and Arizona is no exception. GOAZCATS.com video reporter Evyn Murray spoke with the UA target about his trip and this is what he had to say about his latest unofficial to Tucson.
"It was really fun and it was a great experience," Zimmerman told GOAZCATS.com. "You know I've been there before a couple times, but I think last time was my freshman year. The team and the coaches are really interested in me."
We'll have more with Zimmerman in a separate piece later, including what stood out to him most about his latest visit.
This was the first chance Zimmerman was able to see Tucson along with his family who came along on the trip this time around. Arizona is going to continue to stay involved with the big-man prospect who will have no shortage of options when he's ready to make his decision.
* Another big man prospect Arizona has offered is in the 2016 class and MJ Cage is certainly starting to gain some real steam with his recruitment as he enters his sophomore season at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The sophomore recruit has really started to transform himself into quite the front court player and he had an array of skills on display for Mater Dei at the HoopHall West event.
When it comes to his recruitment things are still in the early going, but he's happy to have his offer from the Wildcats.
"It was kind of a surprise," Cage told GOAZCATS.com about his offer. "Normally they're just watching Stanley play all the time, so I didn't really know they were looking at more or even wanted to offer me."
One of the things that will be important to Cage when it comes time to make his choice is the use of a program's big man. So moving forward watching how Kaleb Tarczewski continues to develop is going to be a big part of the process when it comes to how he views a school like Arizona.
* Keeping with the theme of front court players, Arizona is also involved with another Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman big man in the team's power forward Chase Jeter. The five-star recruit works alongside Zimmerman quite a bit, and he continues to look at the Wildcats as an option.
"They're pretty involved," Jeter told GOAZCATS.com's Evyn Murray about Arizona. "I talk to coach Sean Miller and coach Book (Emanuel Richardson) a lot. Those are the main coaches I talk to."
For now Jeter continues to work on cutting down his list to a more manageable group of schools, but it sounds like the Wildcats shouldn't be worried about not making that list when it gets released.
We will have more with Jeter in an update at a later time, including some of the other schools on his list.
* Stanley Johnson was certainly the crowd favorite at the HoopHall West event, and Evyn Murray caught up with him to talk more about his decision and his senior season. You can catch that video interview here.
