In this week's War Room, we talk about Arizona's big recruiting win in basketball, bowl game scenarios in football, and more.
Basketball:
* Sean Miller and staff have made perhaps their biggest recruiting statement yet at Arizona.
With the commitments of 6-foot-9, 210-pound La Verne (Calif.) Lutheran power forward Grant Jerrett and his teammate, 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard Eric Cooper, Miller's staff has accomplished something that was rare for even Lute Olson:
Arizona went into Los Angeles and stole a player from UCLA.
This accomplishment has been extremely rare at Arizona, making the commitments of Cooper and Jerrett - Rivals.com's 12th ranked prospect in 2012 - a huge statement by the UA staff.
Consider that the last time Arizona beat out UCLA for a kid in Los Angeles it was Hassan Adams. Before that, Olson didn't land a high school recruit from the L.A. area with an offer from the Bruins.
Arizona's lack of success against UCLA in Los Angeles makes the Wildcats' pickup that much more impressive, but maybe the bigger statement is the fact that the Bruins had every built in advantage in this recruitment.
Jerrett and Cooper grew up UCLA fans. Their high school coach, Eric Cooper, Sr., estimates they've been to 15 to 20 UCLA games the past few years. Jerrett's dad played for UCLA assistant Phil Mathews in college.
According to Cooper, Sr., the fan support at Arizona made a big impact in stealing both players away from the Los Angeles area.
"They saw them both," he said. "They saw the crowd support. We probably went to 15 to 20 games in UCLA the past few years. They went to one or two games at Arizona just to visit, and they're the only show in town.
"In L.A., you got the Lakers, the Clippers, you have so many people you're fighting over to get to games. It's far enough away that they can grow up but close enough that the parents can get there.
"Nothing against UCLA; they did their job recruiting and Ben Howland is a great coach. He did an excellent job of recruiting along with Phil Mathews, another great coach and recruiter. I just think this was the right choice for the kids."
For Miller and staff to accomplish something so historically rare at Arizona is a big statement according to Jerrett and Cooper's AAU coach, Dinos Trigonis.
"It's a big statement in Southern California and for a staff that doesn't have deep roots in Southern California, it helps them gets more acclimated in this area, which is a place they'll need a long term recruiting base," he said.
* For more on Jerrett's commitment, we caught up with Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer, who said it was a big pickup for the Wildcats.
"It's a significant commitment," said Meyer. "For one for how highly ranked he is. He's a definite five-star prospect, he gets Arizona on the board in a strong way in 2012. Arizona recruited well in 2011 and they continue that momentum. Arizona is playing well on the court right now so it's another a piece to a very positive puzzle."
Ranking Jerrett as a five-star prospect shows what Meyer thinks about him and he said the forward's length and versatility are what makes him such a good player.
"His length stands out and his ability to use that length," Meyer said. "Grant moves well, he has a great feel for the ball is going to be, where he needs to be on the court, he's a composed finisher, and he's a guy who is under control; he's not spastic with the ball, he knows what he wants to do with it.
"He's a versatile guy; I think he's definitely going to develop into a guy who is a threat inside and outside. He's a guy you can trust handling the basketball away from the basket, so when you play against pressure defense he brings a lot of great attributes to the court.
"The thing he needs to do is get stronger. I think he's going to be a good defensive player because of his length and intelligence. He'll be able to guard multiple positions."
While Meyer lists Jerrett as a power forward, he also feels he can play multiple positions on the court.
"I think that's the best description of him, as a four-man, but positions in basketball are so fluid, they're almost getting outdated the way we term players," Meyer said. "I think he can play the five in a smaller type lineup.
"You can maybe swing him out to the three if you want to go big, although I'm not sure about him guarding a three-man because I think the most important thing for Grant to maximize his ability is to put on weight. I think his ideal position is the four, a guy who can face up and make plays in the high post, and also go down and get rebounds and score as a low post scorer."
Arizona is putting all effort into adding fellow five-star post Brandon Ashley to the Wildcats' 2012 class, which would give UA the best frontcourt its ever signed in one class.
"It would be a great duo; any team in the country would love to have those guys at the five and four, and maybe they could even stretch out to play a little three," Meyer said.
"They're very similar players; very similar. They're also very talented and good players. The only thing you'd be concerned about is that there's not a lot of bulk there; they're both finesse type players and a little thin. It would be nice to have a bruiser in there with them. But they could definitely play together and they'd definitely be very good."
* With Jerrett added to Arizona's 2012 class, it's time to look at a breakdown for UA's next two rosters.
2011-12:
Seniors: Kyle Fogg, Jesse Perry, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson
Juniors: MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams*
Sophomores: Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Freshmen: Sidiki Johnson, Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner
By position:
Point Guard: Josiah Turner, Fr., Jordin Mayes, So.
Combo Guard: MoMo Jones, Jr., Nick Johnson, Fr.
Shooting Guard: Kyle Fogg, Sr., Brendon Lavender, Sr., Daniel Bejarano, So.
Small Forward: Solomon Hill, Jr., Kevin Parrom, Jr.
Power Forward: Derrick Williams*, Jr., Jesse Perry, Sr., Sidiki Johnson, Fr.
Center: Kyryl Natyazhko, Jr., Alex Jacobson, Sr.
Arizona only has 12 scholarships that season so two of the above players won’t be on the roster. Williams has an asterisk because he’s an obvious early entry candidate, and between that and the usual transfer or two, UA won’t have a problem getting to 12.
Of course, Arizona is trying to add Angelo Chol to its 2011 class, which would mean further turnover on the roster.
Here's a look at the extremely tentative 2012-13 roster (assuming Williams doesn't stay until his senior year):
Seniors: MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill
Juniors: Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Sophomores: Sidiki Johnson, Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner
Freshmen: Grant Jerrett and two more - probably another big and a wing
By position:
Point Guard: Josiah Turner, So., Jordin Mayes, Jr.
Combo Guard: MoMo Jones, Sr., Nick Johnson, So.
Shooting Guard: Daniel Bejarano, Jr.
Small Forward: Solomon Hill, Sr., Kevin Parrom, Sr.
Power Forward: Sidiki Johnson, So., Grant Jerrett Fr.
Center: Kyryl Natyazhko, Sr.
Football:
* With Arizona's loss to ASU on Thursday, the UA's postseason destination is now most likely going to be the Holiday Bowl. Here's a rundown of the scenarios, all of which assume that Oregon defeats Oregon State:
- Arizona would make the Alamo Bowl if Washington loses at Washington State on Saturday since the Huskies wouldn't be bowl eligible. In this scenario, Stanford must make a BCS game, as expected.
- Arizona would make the Holiday Bowl if Washington wins at Washington State and Stanford makes a BCS game. The Alamo Bowl would be expected to select Washington, and Arizona would go to San Diego for the second straight year.
- Arizona would make the Sun Bowl if Washington wins at Washington State and for some reason Stanford doesn't make a BCS game. Stanford would go to the Alamo Bowl, Washington most likely to the Holiday Bowl, and Arizona would fall to the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
* Arizona's official visitor list for this weekend:
Daxx Garmanhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Daxx-Garman-104867, QB (committed)
Jabral Johnsonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jabral-Johnson-102641, LB (committed)
Tamani Carterhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Tamani-Carter-85311, CB
Josh Hubnerhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Hubner-120238, P
Addison Bachmanhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Addison-Bachman-109172, OC
Jason Peacockhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jason-Peacock-109167, OT
Chris Bryanthttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=107605, OT
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* Arizona commit Joseph Carterhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=110584 took a visit to Nebraska this past weekend and now seems to be a bit more open in his recruitment.
“They are my top two schools at this point,” Carter texted us earlier in the week.
Carter’s visits may not be done and it seems it could be a bit of time before we truly know his intentions.
"That's just a verbal to Arizona, now I don't know," Carter tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "I'm kind of thinking right now. They've (Nebraska) got things set up academically and things that will help you get a job and get something out of life. They just have people that are going to help. It's more than just football there.
"I'm probably going to take three more trips, but I don't know yet. I'll probably take one to Rutgers. I might go to Florida State."
* Offensive lineman Jacob Fahrenkrughttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=112224 took an official visit to Florida State and is now close to ending his recruitment.
"We had a great time," Fahrenkrug tells Warchant.com. "It was a nice trip and nice to have a familiar face on the trip.
"I could definitely see myself playing in that atmosphere. It was better than I thought it would be."
Fahrenkrug will visit Auburn and then a final decision should come pretty soon after.
"I'm going to go to Auburn next, after that I'll make a decision," he said. "I'll sit down, think, and make a decision. I want to make it before signing day."
* It is no surprise that Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral quarterback Connor Brewerhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=93534 keeps adding offers.
He recently added one from Alabama and says he still plans on taking his time with the recruiting process.
"I really haven't put a deadline on anything yet,” he tells BamaOnLine.com. “I will try to narrow things down as soon as I can in the spring and try to start picking out some favorites just to make it a more manageable process. After that, I will start to look more heavily into each program and really dive into the process.
“Right now I'm planning to visit Alabama for spring practice so that could possibly be the start of the next phase of the recruiting process for me."
Landing Brewer is going to be very difficult for Arizona to do and the hope is that he takes his time and the Wildcats get off to a solid start next year to give him a bit more to think about.
* Safety Byron Moorehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Byron-Moore-116471 is looking to change his official visits. In fact, he told Rivals.com on Thursday that he would no longer take his visit to Arizona.
Earlier this week, he alluded to the possibility.
"I'm looking at the different situations and which ones feel most comfortable," Moore tells Rivals.com. "That's going to be the main thing on these visits is getting a feeling for each school.
"They're all pretty much even right now until I get out and see the different schools and then I can evaluate all the places. I'll get a better feel for all the schools and then I can decide on which one is best."
* Chicago Simeon offensive lineman Chris Bryant is looking for an offer from Ohio State.
"They were saying that they are really interested in me," Bryant tells BuckeyeGrove.com. "Everything was looking really good and they would get back to me in a week about where things stand with an offer.
“(Doc) went through their offensive line roster and told me who was leaving, who was coming back and who was coming in so I would know where I would fit in."
Bryant is unsure whether or not he will get an offer, but has now added Ohio State and Stanford to his list of schools that will get visits after he is at Arizona this weekend and Michigan the next.
"They said they were going through the process to make the offer," Bryant said. "(Doc said that they need to) show the film to the other coaches and people involved with recruiting to go through the process. Make sure everything is okay."
* Bryant’s junior teammate Jordan Diamondhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Diamond-112402 has also been offered by Arizona and numerous others.
"Pretty much they're all even," Diamond tells Rivals.com. "I haven't looked into it like I should. During the off-season I'm going to look into it even more. In a couple weeks I should have a list on what I want to do.
"If it comes down to me making an early decision I will but I'm just taking my time. It's hard to take my time but I don't really know what I want to do."
One factor that will not play a role in his final decision will be location.
"I'm willing to travel," he said. "If it's not the Big Ten then I'm willing to travel. My mom said it's OK for me to go west or south or wherever.
"I talk to (Arizona offensive line) coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh a lot. We have good conversations. I try to stay connected with all the coaches and get comfortable with them."
Basketball:
* Sean Miller and staff have made perhaps their biggest recruiting statement yet at Arizona.
With the commitments of 6-foot-9, 210-pound La Verne (Calif.) Lutheran power forward Grant Jerrett and his teammate, 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard Eric Cooper, Miller's staff has accomplished something that was rare for even Lute Olson:
Arizona went into Los Angeles and stole a player from UCLA.
This accomplishment has been extremely rare at Arizona, making the commitments of Cooper and Jerrett - Rivals.com's 12th ranked prospect in 2012 - a huge statement by the UA staff.
Consider that the last time Arizona beat out UCLA for a kid in Los Angeles it was Hassan Adams. Before that, Olson didn't land a high school recruit from the L.A. area with an offer from the Bruins.
Arizona's lack of success against UCLA in Los Angeles makes the Wildcats' pickup that much more impressive, but maybe the bigger statement is the fact that the Bruins had every built in advantage in this recruitment.
Jerrett and Cooper grew up UCLA fans. Their high school coach, Eric Cooper, Sr., estimates they've been to 15 to 20 UCLA games the past few years. Jerrett's dad played for UCLA assistant Phil Mathews in college.
According to Cooper, Sr., the fan support at Arizona made a big impact in stealing both players away from the Los Angeles area.
"They saw them both," he said. "They saw the crowd support. We probably went to 15 to 20 games in UCLA the past few years. They went to one or two games at Arizona just to visit, and they're the only show in town.
"In L.A., you got the Lakers, the Clippers, you have so many people you're fighting over to get to games. It's far enough away that they can grow up but close enough that the parents can get there.
"Nothing against UCLA; they did their job recruiting and Ben Howland is a great coach. He did an excellent job of recruiting along with Phil Mathews, another great coach and recruiter. I just think this was the right choice for the kids."
For Miller and staff to accomplish something so historically rare at Arizona is a big statement according to Jerrett and Cooper's AAU coach, Dinos Trigonis.
"It's a big statement in Southern California and for a staff that doesn't have deep roots in Southern California, it helps them gets more acclimated in this area, which is a place they'll need a long term recruiting base," he said.
* For more on Jerrett's commitment, we caught up with Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer, who said it was a big pickup for the Wildcats.
"It's a significant commitment," said Meyer. "For one for how highly ranked he is. He's a definite five-star prospect, he gets Arizona on the board in a strong way in 2012. Arizona recruited well in 2011 and they continue that momentum. Arizona is playing well on the court right now so it's another a piece to a very positive puzzle."
Ranking Jerrett as a five-star prospect shows what Meyer thinks about him and he said the forward's length and versatility are what makes him such a good player.
"His length stands out and his ability to use that length," Meyer said. "Grant moves well, he has a great feel for the ball is going to be, where he needs to be on the court, he's a composed finisher, and he's a guy who is under control; he's not spastic with the ball, he knows what he wants to do with it.
"He's a versatile guy; I think he's definitely going to develop into a guy who is a threat inside and outside. He's a guy you can trust handling the basketball away from the basket, so when you play against pressure defense he brings a lot of great attributes to the court.
"The thing he needs to do is get stronger. I think he's going to be a good defensive player because of his length and intelligence. He'll be able to guard multiple positions."
While Meyer lists Jerrett as a power forward, he also feels he can play multiple positions on the court.
"I think that's the best description of him, as a four-man, but positions in basketball are so fluid, they're almost getting outdated the way we term players," Meyer said. "I think he can play the five in a smaller type lineup.
"You can maybe swing him out to the three if you want to go big, although I'm not sure about him guarding a three-man because I think the most important thing for Grant to maximize his ability is to put on weight. I think his ideal position is the four, a guy who can face up and make plays in the high post, and also go down and get rebounds and score as a low post scorer."
Arizona is putting all effort into adding fellow five-star post Brandon Ashley to the Wildcats' 2012 class, which would give UA the best frontcourt its ever signed in one class.
"It would be a great duo; any team in the country would love to have those guys at the five and four, and maybe they could even stretch out to play a little three," Meyer said.
"They're very similar players; very similar. They're also very talented and good players. The only thing you'd be concerned about is that there's not a lot of bulk there; they're both finesse type players and a little thin. It would be nice to have a bruiser in there with them. But they could definitely play together and they'd definitely be very good."
* With Jerrett added to Arizona's 2012 class, it's time to look at a breakdown for UA's next two rosters.
2011-12:
Seniors: Kyle Fogg, Jesse Perry, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson
Juniors: MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams*
Sophomores: Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Freshmen: Sidiki Johnson, Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner
By position:
Point Guard: Josiah Turner, Fr., Jordin Mayes, So.
Combo Guard: MoMo Jones, Jr., Nick Johnson, Fr.
Shooting Guard: Kyle Fogg, Sr., Brendon Lavender, Sr., Daniel Bejarano, So.
Small Forward: Solomon Hill, Jr., Kevin Parrom, Jr.
Power Forward: Derrick Williams*, Jr., Jesse Perry, Sr., Sidiki Johnson, Fr.
Center: Kyryl Natyazhko, Jr., Alex Jacobson, Sr.
Arizona only has 12 scholarships that season so two of the above players won’t be on the roster. Williams has an asterisk because he’s an obvious early entry candidate, and between that and the usual transfer or two, UA won’t have a problem getting to 12.
Of course, Arizona is trying to add Angelo Chol to its 2011 class, which would mean further turnover on the roster.
Here's a look at the extremely tentative 2012-13 roster (assuming Williams doesn't stay until his senior year):
Seniors: MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill
Juniors: Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Sophomores: Sidiki Johnson, Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner
Freshmen: Grant Jerrett and two more - probably another big and a wing
By position:
Point Guard: Josiah Turner, So., Jordin Mayes, Jr.
Combo Guard: MoMo Jones, Sr., Nick Johnson, So.
Shooting Guard: Daniel Bejarano, Jr.
Small Forward: Solomon Hill, Sr., Kevin Parrom, Sr.
Power Forward: Sidiki Johnson, So., Grant Jerrett Fr.
Center: Kyryl Natyazhko, Sr.
Football:
* With Arizona's loss to ASU on Thursday, the UA's postseason destination is now most likely going to be the Holiday Bowl. Here's a rundown of the scenarios, all of which assume that Oregon defeats Oregon State:
- Arizona would make the Alamo Bowl if Washington loses at Washington State on Saturday since the Huskies wouldn't be bowl eligible. In this scenario, Stanford must make a BCS game, as expected.
- Arizona would make the Holiday Bowl if Washington wins at Washington State and Stanford makes a BCS game. The Alamo Bowl would be expected to select Washington, and Arizona would go to San Diego for the second straight year.
- Arizona would make the Sun Bowl if Washington wins at Washington State and for some reason Stanford doesn't make a BCS game. Stanford would go to the Alamo Bowl, Washington most likely to the Holiday Bowl, and Arizona would fall to the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
* Arizona's official visitor list for this weekend:
Daxx Garmanhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Daxx-Garman-104867, QB (committed)
Jabral Johnsonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jabral-Johnson-102641, LB (committed)
Tamani Carterhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Tamani-Carter-85311, CB
Josh Hubnerhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Hubner-120238, P
Addison Bachmanhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Addison-Bachman-109172, OC
Jason Peacockhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jason-Peacock-109167, OT
Chris Bryanthttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=107605, OT
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* Arizona commit Joseph Carterhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=110584 took a visit to Nebraska this past weekend and now seems to be a bit more open in his recruitment.
“They are my top two schools at this point,” Carter texted us earlier in the week.
Carter’s visits may not be done and it seems it could be a bit of time before we truly know his intentions.
"That's just a verbal to Arizona, now I don't know," Carter tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "I'm kind of thinking right now. They've (Nebraska) got things set up academically and things that will help you get a job and get something out of life. They just have people that are going to help. It's more than just football there.
"I'm probably going to take three more trips, but I don't know yet. I'll probably take one to Rutgers. I might go to Florida State."
* Offensive lineman Jacob Fahrenkrughttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=112224 took an official visit to Florida State and is now close to ending his recruitment.
"We had a great time," Fahrenkrug tells Warchant.com. "It was a nice trip and nice to have a familiar face on the trip.
"I could definitely see myself playing in that atmosphere. It was better than I thought it would be."
Fahrenkrug will visit Auburn and then a final decision should come pretty soon after.
"I'm going to go to Auburn next, after that I'll make a decision," he said. "I'll sit down, think, and make a decision. I want to make it before signing day."
* It is no surprise that Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral quarterback Connor Brewerhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=93534 keeps adding offers.
He recently added one from Alabama and says he still plans on taking his time with the recruiting process.
"I really haven't put a deadline on anything yet,” he tells BamaOnLine.com. “I will try to narrow things down as soon as I can in the spring and try to start picking out some favorites just to make it a more manageable process. After that, I will start to look more heavily into each program and really dive into the process.
“Right now I'm planning to visit Alabama for spring practice so that could possibly be the start of the next phase of the recruiting process for me."
Landing Brewer is going to be very difficult for Arizona to do and the hope is that he takes his time and the Wildcats get off to a solid start next year to give him a bit more to think about.
* Safety Byron Moorehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Byron-Moore-116471 is looking to change his official visits. In fact, he told Rivals.com on Thursday that he would no longer take his visit to Arizona.
Earlier this week, he alluded to the possibility.
"I'm looking at the different situations and which ones feel most comfortable," Moore tells Rivals.com. "That's going to be the main thing on these visits is getting a feeling for each school.
"They're all pretty much even right now until I get out and see the different schools and then I can evaluate all the places. I'll get a better feel for all the schools and then I can decide on which one is best."
* Chicago Simeon offensive lineman Chris Bryant is looking for an offer from Ohio State.
"They were saying that they are really interested in me," Bryant tells BuckeyeGrove.com. "Everything was looking really good and they would get back to me in a week about where things stand with an offer.
“(Doc) went through their offensive line roster and told me who was leaving, who was coming back and who was coming in so I would know where I would fit in."
Bryant is unsure whether or not he will get an offer, but has now added Ohio State and Stanford to his list of schools that will get visits after he is at Arizona this weekend and Michigan the next.
"They said they were going through the process to make the offer," Bryant said. "(Doc said that they need to) show the film to the other coaches and people involved with recruiting to go through the process. Make sure everything is okay."
* Bryant’s junior teammate Jordan Diamondhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Diamond-112402 has also been offered by Arizona and numerous others.
"Pretty much they're all even," Diamond tells Rivals.com. "I haven't looked into it like I should. During the off-season I'm going to look into it even more. In a couple weeks I should have a list on what I want to do.
"If it comes down to me making an early decision I will but I'm just taking my time. It's hard to take my time but I don't really know what I want to do."
One factor that will not play a role in his final decision will be location.
"I'm willing to travel," he said. "If it's not the Big Ten then I'm willing to travel. My mom said it's OK for me to go west or south or wherever.
"I talk to (Arizona offensive line) coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh a lot. We have good conversations. I try to stay connected with all the coaches and get comfortable with them."
