This week's War Room is basketball-heavy for a number of reasons.
But with National Signing Day this week, expect a heavy dose of stories on Arizona's 2014 commits as they fax over their letters of intent.
Basketball
* Arizona will now play its nine remaining regular-season games and go into the postseason without forward Brandon Ashley.
In a release, head coach Sean Miller announced Sunday night that the 6-8 sophomore is out with a right foot injury. It was not made clear whether the foot - which Ashley injured on a rebound attempt just 2:08 into Saturday's loss at Cal - is broken but that appears to be the case.
The weekly Monday afternoon news conference, scheduled prior to the game at Cal and subsequent injury, should clear things up.
But what it clear is that the Wildcats now have plenty to prove before March:
* Rebounding
Even without Ashley for most of the contest, Arizona regained its dominance on the boards. The Wildcats, who failed to win the rebounding battle at Stanford and tied USC and Colorado in three of the previous five games, owned the glass, 41-32.
Arizona was particularly effective on the offensive boards, 14-5.
Ashley was the Wildcats' fourth-best offensive rebounder this season. Now, the Pac-12 Conference leaders in most rebounding categories must now go on without one of its most instrumental cogs.
* Defense
This goes hand-in-hand with rebounding.
When Kaleb Tarczewski has exited games this season, Ashley has moved over to play center. The Wildcats must now figure out who will fill that role.
Matt Korcheck is the most likely candidate at 6-10 and 230 pounds. But the junior has appeared in just 10 of 22 contests - including a measly one minute of action against the Bears. Bigger opponents will likely mean more minutes for him.
If Korcheck cannot fill the void, either Tarczewski must play more minutes, Aaron Gordon will have to slide over and play center or, and least likely, Zach Peters must carve out a role.
Peters has played in just five games. Only Chris Johnson (1) has appeared in fewer contests.
The versatile Ashley's absence now gives the Wildcats one less different look against opposing wings, which was a strength in helping slow down Duke's Jabari Parker, among others, this season.
* Back-to-the-basket production
Tarczewski was just 3 of 8 from the field against the Bears, but made 12 of 12 free throws to tie a program record for percentage with at least that many attempts. Still, the Wildcats did not go to the 7-footer in either of the final two possessions with the score tied at 58.
Ashley was arguably the team's top post scorer. This is where the offensively limited Korcheck will not make an impact.
If you're looking for a silver lining, this also likely means Gordon will slide over to power forward and be forced to play closer to the basket. While the Wildcats will miss Ashley's improvement at the 3-point line - he made 11 of 29 attempts this season - and the threat of a forward who can space the floor, the team's top rebounder, Gordon, may now be more effective.
An underrated interior passer, Gordon collected a career-high six assists - including five in the first half - against Cal.
Gordon is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points to go with 8.1 boards. He is shooting 46.2 percent from the floor - including 7 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Gordon hasn't made a 3-pointer since Dec. 19 against Southern, missing his last eight attempts. He has not attempted more than two 3-pointers in a game in that span, and Cal sagged off him without a single hoist.
So, the idea of doing less from the perimeter has already been part of Gordon's game recently.
* Bench production
Most of all, the Wildcats must prove they have more on the bench than just Gabe York. As we've noted many times, the depth on this team is not in its number of bodies, even with the balanced scoring production.
Your likely new starter will be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who is averaging 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds - including 2.5 offensive boards, second to Gordon on the team - in 23.5 minutes per game.
Two of his appearances were starts, in place of an injured Tarczewski, in victories over Southern University and Northern Arizona. In those games, Hollis-Jefferson averaged 11 points on a combined 7-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds per contest.
After York's 7.0 points in 18.6 minutes off the bench, Jordin Mayes has earned the most minutes (5.1 average, 97 total). But the senior has done very little, received a DNP at Cal and logged just a minute at Stanford.
But Miller could turn to Elliott Pitts, who logged three minutes at Cal. Maybe it was more about the Dublin, Calif., native's return home to the Bay Area, but Miller did say Pitts' work ethic in practice recently has been encouraging.
The 6-5, 180-pound guard would be a downgrade in size, but a possible boost in perimeter shooting. Arizona is a middle-of-the-road 3-point shooting team in the 12-team league.
Pitts also would provide the Wildcats another capable ball handler, should they go away from playing Mayes altogether. Regardless, Nick Johnson is the primary backup to point guard T.J. McConnell and a three-guard lineup with Johnson, McConnell and York is more likely.
But Pitts could provide that four-minute "moment" Miller alluded to last week.
* Many are now wondering what this does to the Wildcats as an NCAA tournament team and Final Four contender. But the truth is nobody really knows until the above mentioned items get sorted out and we see how this team responds.
Right now, Arizona still looks like the No. 1 seed for the West Regional, barring a collapse.
As for the tournament itself, March Madness has always been more about the match-ups and always will be. The right team, riding the hot hand, could knock off anybody. There has not been a true, dominant team in college basketball this season - and that includes the Ashley-aided 21-0 Wildcats.
Luck plays a part in any tournament run, as former UA head coach Lute Olson has mentioned a few times over the years. But Arizona has time to adjust and figure out how to be successful without Ashey.
Michigan did so earlier this season with the early injury to Mitch McGary, and the Wolverines responded with a string of three consecutive wins over top-10 programs from Jan. 18-25.
A lot can still happen. The postseason hopes of the Wildcats will be much more clear come Selection Sunday.
* The other news to watch for Monday will be an update on Johnson, who re-aggravated a prior wrist injury in the loss.
The junior played through it but made just 1 of 14 shots, finishing with more turnovers (5) than points (4).
* Now, here is Matt Moreno's recruiting round-up, highlighted by his report from the Nike Extravaganza basketball showcase this past weekend in Santa Ana, Calif.:
Well the big day for football recruiting is nearly here and that means most programs have a good idea of what to expect for their 2014 classes. Arizona has continued to take a look at its class and for the most part what you see right now is what is expected to sign come Wednesday. However, there is a possible addition to the class that could come late in the process.
We'll have more on the possible additions to the class and where things stand as far as that goes heading into the next couple days. UA parted ways with one of its commitments over the weekend, so we'll also touch on what happened with that situation and what it means moving forward.
On the basketball side of things the Nike Extravaganza took place over the weekend and GOAZCATS.com was there to take in the action. There were numerous Arizona recruits participating in the event, so we'll have the latest with a few of those recruits.
With National Signing Day coming up, this week's recruiting portion of the War Room will be a little more brief than usual, but stay tuned all week for updated information on everything leading up to the big day in football recruiting.
Football recruiting
Arizona is just a couple days away from signing what is likely it's best class of the Rich Rodriguez era so far. A number of prospects are already on campus, but the rest of the group will be joining those prospects as official signees this week. For the Wildcats there likely aren't going to be too many late surprises come Wednesday, but there is always that chance.
That doesn't mean, however, that the Wildcats aren't in play for prospects coming down to the wire.
* Four-star defensive tackle Marcus Griffin has emerged as the big remaining target for the class and his decision will be coming this Wednesday. The Bellevue, Wash., standout is finished with his visits and he has his final four all ready to go. The Wildcats are among that group with Mississippi State, Cal, and Washington State - a school Griffin had been committed to earlier in the process.
Griffin took his last official visit over the weekend to Mississippi State and now he is in the process of making his choice. At this point the Wildcats have a very good shot of landing the much-needed four-star prospect.
Going into his visit with the Wildcats Cal had been considered the favorite and there was even some rumors that he was silently pledged to the Bears. However, after a very productive visit with the 'Cats those rumors have seemed to die down and Arizona felt pretty confident coming out of its official visit.
The defensive line prospect said as much himself after the trip.
"It was a really good visit," Griffin told Rivals.com. "I had a really good time in Tucson.
"I had a really good time sitting with the coaches one-on-one and learning more about them. I learned how coach Rodriguez operates and what he expects out of his players.
"I see a staff that's been together forever and that shows they have character and they bond together and they're as one. I don't feel like I have a favorite or a leader, but I would say they're in a good position with me right now."
Mississippi State could throw a wrench into the whole thing and by all accounts Griffin enjoyed his visit, but right now the Wildcats are in a good spot heading into his decision. While it still might be a little premature to call this one for UA, things are looking pretty good as things stand now two days before his choice.
* While Arizona could add a key piece later this week, the Wildcats decided to end things with one recruit who had been committed for quite some time. The UA coaching staff made the decision to part with three-star cornerback commit Naijiel Hale over the weekend with a multitude of things playing into that decision by the 'Cats.
The thing that really put it over the top was his official visit to Washington over the weekend. Shortly after that decision was made Hale made his next decision and committed to UW.
For Arizona things essentially got to be too much with the three-star recruit from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. When it comes to Hale's situation it really comes down to being what Arizona likes to refer to as being an "OKG." In its eyes, Hale was not that and decided to make the move.
While it certainly isn't a good thing to lose a prospect of Hale's caliber this late, it might end up being an addition by subtraction thing in the end. Because the Wildcats have so many defensive backs in the class, the impact might not be felt too much either.
It will take time to see how things really get impacted, but for now UA felt that was the right move.
* We first told you about Arizona kicker/punter commit Josh Pollack last week and the decision to bring him in as a walk-on as opposed to a scholarship player. That allows the Wildcats to have some more flexibility in the group and make sure it can fit everyone into things.
The likelihood that Pollack ends up receiving a scholarship early in his career is pretty high right now, so that has the future Wildcat not too concerned about his future.
"Getting this far is a pretty big accomplishment in my book," Pollack told GOAZCATS.com. "I just love Tucson so much and especially since all be able to train year round. So when you put all that together I'm still just as excited as I was. And I'm still 100 percent with Arizona."
* At this point there aren't expected to be any major surprises with the Wildcats when it comes to the class. While there is always that chance, things look to be pretty settled this year outside of a recruit like Griffin who will make his decision later this week.
Basketball recruiting
One of the big late winter basketball events is the Nike Extravaganza on the campus of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The 19th edition took place over the weekend and there were a number of Arizona targets participating in the event. With Tyler Dorsey now committed to the Wildcats for 2015, Arizona's staff will continue to look for pieces to fit with the five-star guard.
Some of the potential pieces played over the weekend in Southern California.
* One prospect who has plenty of ties to Arizona commits and signees is Sun Valley (Calif.) Village Christian forward Bennie Boatwright. The four-star recruit had a nice performance against one of those signees (Stanley Johnson) Friday night at the Nike Extravaganza, and knowing Johnson and fellow 2014 signee Parker Jackson-Cartwright is something that could end up being a big part of Boatwright's decision down the line.
"That's a great school, and a great program," Boatwright told GOAZCATS.com. "They're doing real well right now. And then Parker and Stanley are going there, and I played with Parker over the summer so I know what he can do."
Right now the Wildcat remain in a good spot with the versatile big man, and that will likely remain the case for quite some time.
* Another prospect the Wildcats have kept an eye on is Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman big man Chase Jeter. Five-star center Stephen Zimmerman gets plenty of attention himself at Bishop Gorman, but Jeter has emerged as another five-star big man at the school. The 6-foot-9 prospect had himself a very good game against San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra over the weekend and things are going well in his recruitment too.
Jeter has an official visit planned to Duke later this season, but that's it as far as official visits go - for now.
Arizona has continued to recruit Jeter as it looks to add some bigs for that 2015 class, and the Bishop Gorman standout plans on taking a closer look at the Wildcats later this spring.
"I talk to coach Book (Emanual Richardson) and coach (Sean) Miller quite frequently," he said. "We talk a lot about getting out there on an unofficial. There's no set date, but it looks like I'll be getting out there in March."
Although Jeter said the visit could take place in March, I've been told there's a chance it actually happens a little sooner than that. For right now, however, the Wildcats should receive a visit form the five-star big man soon.
* Another piece of news to come out from the weekend was that five-star power forward Ivan Rabb decided to trim his list down some to a more manageable group of schools. It should be no surprise that Arizona made the list with a number of others schools including: California, UCLA, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State and USC.
Arizona is going to remain a big piece of this recruitment up until the end of the process, and for now the Wildcats remain in a very good spot with the five-star big man.
But with National Signing Day this week, expect a heavy dose of stories on Arizona's 2014 commits as they fax over their letters of intent.
Basketball
* Arizona will now play its nine remaining regular-season games and go into the postseason without forward Brandon Ashley.
In a release, head coach Sean Miller announced Sunday night that the 6-8 sophomore is out with a right foot injury. It was not made clear whether the foot - which Ashley injured on a rebound attempt just 2:08 into Saturday's loss at Cal - is broken but that appears to be the case.
The weekly Monday afternoon news conference, scheduled prior to the game at Cal and subsequent injury, should clear things up.
But what it clear is that the Wildcats now have plenty to prove before March:
* Rebounding
Even without Ashley for most of the contest, Arizona regained its dominance on the boards. The Wildcats, who failed to win the rebounding battle at Stanford and tied USC and Colorado in three of the previous five games, owned the glass, 41-32.
Arizona was particularly effective on the offensive boards, 14-5.
Ashley was the Wildcats' fourth-best offensive rebounder this season. Now, the Pac-12 Conference leaders in most rebounding categories must now go on without one of its most instrumental cogs.
* Defense
This goes hand-in-hand with rebounding.
When Kaleb Tarczewski has exited games this season, Ashley has moved over to play center. The Wildcats must now figure out who will fill that role.
Matt Korcheck is the most likely candidate at 6-10 and 230 pounds. But the junior has appeared in just 10 of 22 contests - including a measly one minute of action against the Bears. Bigger opponents will likely mean more minutes for him.
If Korcheck cannot fill the void, either Tarczewski must play more minutes, Aaron Gordon will have to slide over and play center or, and least likely, Zach Peters must carve out a role.
Peters has played in just five games. Only Chris Johnson (1) has appeared in fewer contests.
The versatile Ashley's absence now gives the Wildcats one less different look against opposing wings, which was a strength in helping slow down Duke's Jabari Parker, among others, this season.
* Back-to-the-basket production
Tarczewski was just 3 of 8 from the field against the Bears, but made 12 of 12 free throws to tie a program record for percentage with at least that many attempts. Still, the Wildcats did not go to the 7-footer in either of the final two possessions with the score tied at 58.
Ashley was arguably the team's top post scorer. This is where the offensively limited Korcheck will not make an impact.
If you're looking for a silver lining, this also likely means Gordon will slide over to power forward and be forced to play closer to the basket. While the Wildcats will miss Ashley's improvement at the 3-point line - he made 11 of 29 attempts this season - and the threat of a forward who can space the floor, the team's top rebounder, Gordon, may now be more effective.
An underrated interior passer, Gordon collected a career-high six assists - including five in the first half - against Cal.
Gordon is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points to go with 8.1 boards. He is shooting 46.2 percent from the floor - including 7 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Gordon hasn't made a 3-pointer since Dec. 19 against Southern, missing his last eight attempts. He has not attempted more than two 3-pointers in a game in that span, and Cal sagged off him without a single hoist.
So, the idea of doing less from the perimeter has already been part of Gordon's game recently.
* Bench production
Most of all, the Wildcats must prove they have more on the bench than just Gabe York. As we've noted many times, the depth on this team is not in its number of bodies, even with the balanced scoring production.
Your likely new starter will be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who is averaging 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds - including 2.5 offensive boards, second to Gordon on the team - in 23.5 minutes per game.
Two of his appearances were starts, in place of an injured Tarczewski, in victories over Southern University and Northern Arizona. In those games, Hollis-Jefferson averaged 11 points on a combined 7-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds per contest.
After York's 7.0 points in 18.6 minutes off the bench, Jordin Mayes has earned the most minutes (5.1 average, 97 total). But the senior has done very little, received a DNP at Cal and logged just a minute at Stanford.
But Miller could turn to Elliott Pitts, who logged three minutes at Cal. Maybe it was more about the Dublin, Calif., native's return home to the Bay Area, but Miller did say Pitts' work ethic in practice recently has been encouraging.
The 6-5, 180-pound guard would be a downgrade in size, but a possible boost in perimeter shooting. Arizona is a middle-of-the-road 3-point shooting team in the 12-team league.
Pitts also would provide the Wildcats another capable ball handler, should they go away from playing Mayes altogether. Regardless, Nick Johnson is the primary backup to point guard T.J. McConnell and a three-guard lineup with Johnson, McConnell and York is more likely.
But Pitts could provide that four-minute "moment" Miller alluded to last week.
* Many are now wondering what this does to the Wildcats as an NCAA tournament team and Final Four contender. But the truth is nobody really knows until the above mentioned items get sorted out and we see how this team responds.
Right now, Arizona still looks like the No. 1 seed for the West Regional, barring a collapse.
As for the tournament itself, March Madness has always been more about the match-ups and always will be. The right team, riding the hot hand, could knock off anybody. There has not been a true, dominant team in college basketball this season - and that includes the Ashley-aided 21-0 Wildcats.
Luck plays a part in any tournament run, as former UA head coach Lute Olson has mentioned a few times over the years. But Arizona has time to adjust and figure out how to be successful without Ashey.
Michigan did so earlier this season with the early injury to Mitch McGary, and the Wolverines responded with a string of three consecutive wins over top-10 programs from Jan. 18-25.
A lot can still happen. The postseason hopes of the Wildcats will be much more clear come Selection Sunday.
* The other news to watch for Monday will be an update on Johnson, who re-aggravated a prior wrist injury in the loss.
The junior played through it but made just 1 of 14 shots, finishing with more turnovers (5) than points (4).
* Now, here is Matt Moreno's recruiting round-up, highlighted by his report from the Nike Extravaganza basketball showcase this past weekend in Santa Ana, Calif.:
Well the big day for football recruiting is nearly here and that means most programs have a good idea of what to expect for their 2014 classes. Arizona has continued to take a look at its class and for the most part what you see right now is what is expected to sign come Wednesday. However, there is a possible addition to the class that could come late in the process.
We'll have more on the possible additions to the class and where things stand as far as that goes heading into the next couple days. UA parted ways with one of its commitments over the weekend, so we'll also touch on what happened with that situation and what it means moving forward.
On the basketball side of things the Nike Extravaganza took place over the weekend and GOAZCATS.com was there to take in the action. There were numerous Arizona recruits participating in the event, so we'll have the latest with a few of those recruits.
With National Signing Day coming up, this week's recruiting portion of the War Room will be a little more brief than usual, but stay tuned all week for updated information on everything leading up to the big day in football recruiting.
Football recruiting
Arizona is just a couple days away from signing what is likely it's best class of the Rich Rodriguez era so far. A number of prospects are already on campus, but the rest of the group will be joining those prospects as official signees this week. For the Wildcats there likely aren't going to be too many late surprises come Wednesday, but there is always that chance.
That doesn't mean, however, that the Wildcats aren't in play for prospects coming down to the wire.
* Four-star defensive tackle Marcus Griffin has emerged as the big remaining target for the class and his decision will be coming this Wednesday. The Bellevue, Wash., standout is finished with his visits and he has his final four all ready to go. The Wildcats are among that group with Mississippi State, Cal, and Washington State - a school Griffin had been committed to earlier in the process.
Griffin took his last official visit over the weekend to Mississippi State and now he is in the process of making his choice. At this point the Wildcats have a very good shot of landing the much-needed four-star prospect.
Going into his visit with the Wildcats Cal had been considered the favorite and there was even some rumors that he was silently pledged to the Bears. However, after a very productive visit with the 'Cats those rumors have seemed to die down and Arizona felt pretty confident coming out of its official visit.
The defensive line prospect said as much himself after the trip.
"It was a really good visit," Griffin told Rivals.com. "I had a really good time in Tucson.
"I had a really good time sitting with the coaches one-on-one and learning more about them. I learned how coach Rodriguez operates and what he expects out of his players.
"I see a staff that's been together forever and that shows they have character and they bond together and they're as one. I don't feel like I have a favorite or a leader, but I would say they're in a good position with me right now."
Mississippi State could throw a wrench into the whole thing and by all accounts Griffin enjoyed his visit, but right now the Wildcats are in a good spot heading into his decision. While it still might be a little premature to call this one for UA, things are looking pretty good as things stand now two days before his choice.
* While Arizona could add a key piece later this week, the Wildcats decided to end things with one recruit who had been committed for quite some time. The UA coaching staff made the decision to part with three-star cornerback commit Naijiel Hale over the weekend with a multitude of things playing into that decision by the 'Cats.
The thing that really put it over the top was his official visit to Washington over the weekend. Shortly after that decision was made Hale made his next decision and committed to UW.
For Arizona things essentially got to be too much with the three-star recruit from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. When it comes to Hale's situation it really comes down to being what Arizona likes to refer to as being an "OKG." In its eyes, Hale was not that and decided to make the move.
While it certainly isn't a good thing to lose a prospect of Hale's caliber this late, it might end up being an addition by subtraction thing in the end. Because the Wildcats have so many defensive backs in the class, the impact might not be felt too much either.
It will take time to see how things really get impacted, but for now UA felt that was the right move.
* We first told you about Arizona kicker/punter commit Josh Pollack last week and the decision to bring him in as a walk-on as opposed to a scholarship player. That allows the Wildcats to have some more flexibility in the group and make sure it can fit everyone into things.
The likelihood that Pollack ends up receiving a scholarship early in his career is pretty high right now, so that has the future Wildcat not too concerned about his future.
"Getting this far is a pretty big accomplishment in my book," Pollack told GOAZCATS.com. "I just love Tucson so much and especially since all be able to train year round. So when you put all that together I'm still just as excited as I was. And I'm still 100 percent with Arizona."
* At this point there aren't expected to be any major surprises with the Wildcats when it comes to the class. While there is always that chance, things look to be pretty settled this year outside of a recruit like Griffin who will make his decision later this week.
Basketball recruiting
One of the big late winter basketball events is the Nike Extravaganza on the campus of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The 19th edition took place over the weekend and there were a number of Arizona targets participating in the event. With Tyler Dorsey now committed to the Wildcats for 2015, Arizona's staff will continue to look for pieces to fit with the five-star guard.
Some of the potential pieces played over the weekend in Southern California.
* One prospect who has plenty of ties to Arizona commits and signees is Sun Valley (Calif.) Village Christian forward Bennie Boatwright. The four-star recruit had a nice performance against one of those signees (Stanley Johnson) Friday night at the Nike Extravaganza, and knowing Johnson and fellow 2014 signee Parker Jackson-Cartwright is something that could end up being a big part of Boatwright's decision down the line.
"That's a great school, and a great program," Boatwright told GOAZCATS.com. "They're doing real well right now. And then Parker and Stanley are going there, and I played with Parker over the summer so I know what he can do."
Right now the Wildcat remain in a good spot with the versatile big man, and that will likely remain the case for quite some time.
* Another prospect the Wildcats have kept an eye on is Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman big man Chase Jeter. Five-star center Stephen Zimmerman gets plenty of attention himself at Bishop Gorman, but Jeter has emerged as another five-star big man at the school. The 6-foot-9 prospect had himself a very good game against San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra over the weekend and things are going well in his recruitment too.
Jeter has an official visit planned to Duke later this season, but that's it as far as official visits go - for now.
Arizona has continued to recruit Jeter as it looks to add some bigs for that 2015 class, and the Bishop Gorman standout plans on taking a closer look at the Wildcats later this spring.
"I talk to coach Book (Emanual Richardson) and coach (Sean) Miller quite frequently," he said. "We talk a lot about getting out there on an unofficial. There's no set date, but it looks like I'll be getting out there in March."
Although Jeter said the visit could take place in March, I've been told there's a chance it actually happens a little sooner than that. For right now, however, the Wildcats should receive a visit form the five-star big man soon.
* Another piece of news to come out from the weekend was that five-star power forward Ivan Rabb decided to trim his list down some to a more manageable group of schools. It should be no surprise that Arizona made the list with a number of others schools including: California, UCLA, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State and USC.
Arizona is going to remain a big piece of this recruitment up until the end of the process, and for now the Wildcats remain in a very good spot with the five-star big man.
