It's day two of an important four days in a row for the UA basketball program, and we'll start today's War Room with that...
Basketball:
* Thursday marked the beginning of a very important four days for Arizona basketball recruiting, as on Thursday Arizona began hosting Winchendon (Mass.) Prep 2011 small forward Angel Nunez on an unofficial visit that will last through Saturday morning.
The UA coaches won’t have much time to relax after Nunez leaves, as John A. Logan Community College 2010 power forward Jesse Perry will arrive on an official visit soon after. He’ll depart Tucson on Monday morning.
This will be Arizona’s best chance in a while to land one or two commitments, as both prospects favor UA but have yet to see the Wildcats’ campus.
* Nunez’ mentor, Eric Martinez, wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a commitment, but said that it was up to the recruit what he wanted to do.
UA was definitely in favorable shape before the visit began.
“We spoke about that and Arizona is at the top,” said Martinez. “He feels that it’s a great place for Hispanics to excel in. It’s right at the top. It’s the right time to go out there, see the school, see the environment, and get a good feel for the coaching staff.
“As far as his recruitment, it’s still up in the air right now, but Arizona is definitely at the top as far as schools that we’re both considering. But it’s his recruiting process; he’s going through it.”
Nunez’ coach at Winchendon, Mike Byrnes, told Rivals.com that the four-star prospect made a lot of strides in his first year at Winchendon.
"I would say he really made some huge strides,” Byrnes said. “Angel is a phenomenal kid. He's a little immature … but he's a phenomenal kid. The teachers love him, I love working with the kid. I would say for most of the year he really bought into what I was trying to do with him and he took a lot of pride in the strides he made in the classroom and on the basketball court."
* Perry had originally planned to visit South Carolina last weekend and Arizona this weekend, but that changed with USC asked for him to reschedule. That will give the UA coaches the opportunity to land him this weekend.
Should Perry not commit during or soon after the visit, he could opt to visit UCLA or others. However, it really seems like Arizona has put itself in position to have a good visit and seal him up.
* Perry and Nunez’ potential commitments, whatever the odds are on both, brings up Arizona’s scholarship situation, which will be worked out this spring and/or summer.
There are five public 2010 recruits on the Wildcats’ board, none of which UA would turn down, and there are also others that Arizona is looking into, some pretty seriously. Furthermore, other recruits could emerge via coaching changes and transfers from other universities.
Here’s Arizona’s 2010-11 scholarship roster as it stands today, without speculating on any transfers:
Seniors (1): Jamelle Horne
Juniors (4): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson, D.J. Shumpert
Sophomores (5): MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams
Freshmen (2): Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
That adds up to 12 scholarships, with Perry being the most likely to take the first one. However, Kadeem Jack, Doron Lamb, Josh Selby and Ray McCallum all remain on the board, as well as potentially others, so it’s clear that space will be made for others in the coming months.
That becomes even more apparent when looking at Arizona’s 2011-12 roster, which will be allowed 12 scholarships instead of the normal 13, due to the UA’s self-imposed penalty.
For the sake of discussion, we’ll add Perry and Nunez to this list.
Seniors (5): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson, D.J. Shumpert, Jesse Perry
Juniors (5): MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams
Sophomores (2): Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Freshmen (2): Sidiki Johnson, Angel Nunez
That adds up to 14, and considering the way Arizona is recruiting, more than two open rides is necessary, so transfers aren’t just possible, but imminent.
Even the list above is missing one key position, as looking at the position-by-position breakdown, Arizona still has to address its point guard situation.
Assuming the hypothetical scholarship breakdown above holds true (which it won’t, but again, for the sake of discussion):
2011-12 Position by Position:
Point Guard (0):
Combo Guard (2): MoMo Jones, Jordin Mayes
Shooting Guard (3): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Daniel Bejarano
Small Forward (3): Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Angel Nunez
Power Forward (4): Derrick Williams+, Jesse Perry, Sidiki Johnson, D.J. Shumpert
Center (2): Kyryl Natyazhko, Alex Jacobson
+Williams will probably be a four by his junior year, if he stays around that long.
It’s important to note that all D-I scholarships are renewed on a year-to-year basis, and that in order to compete for a Pac-10 title as soon as possible, Miller will need to shuffle the roster so he has a team filled with talented players who work hard and buy into his system. That isn’t the case right now, but should be either by this August or next August.
* Kadeem Jack’s list of schools he will officially visit continues to be up in the air, although it appears he’ll trip to Miami on April 9, with UConn and Arkansas also expecting trips.
"The Miami and Arkansas situations are being worked on," Jack’s mentor, Damian Leslie, told Rivals.com. "We are going to see how everything plays out in terms of the upcoming month."
Leslie said that a decision will be made “within the next 30 days” so any visits that Jack will take have to come soon.
Arizona remains the only school Jack has officially visited, and is still believed to be the team to beat until he says otherwise.
* Mayes scored 21 points on Saturday night as his Westchester High School team defeated Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 71-63 to win the Southern California Division I regional championship.
Westchester will take on Newark Memorial in Bakersfield (Calif.) on Saturday for the state finals.
Sean Miller attended the game, and earlier in the day was in Northern California to see two UA recruits face off in Sacramento’s Josiah Turner and Bishop O’Dowd’s Brandon Ashley.
* McCallum scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, leading his Detroit Country Day squad to an 86-81 state quarterfinals win over Flint Powers. Powers had defeated Country Day in the quarterfinals in each of the past two years.
"Tonight Ray had that look in his eyes. He was determined not to lose,” Country Day coach Kurt Keener told the Detroit News.
Up next is tonight’s game against Muskegon Heights in the state semifinals.
There's been increased speculation lately that McCallum will soon pull the trigger and play for his dad at Detroit, which of course has been believed would be the case for a while.
Football:
* Rob Gronkowski will finally have his chance in front of scouts on Saturday morning as he has his own personal NFL Pro Day.
Gronkowski said that he thinks "mostly all the teams" will have scouts there watching him, and that Willie Tuitama would be throwing to him.
Rob's brother, Chris Gronkowski will also go again in front of the scouts, as well as any other former players who want to join them.
"I'm ready to go out and perform," Rob said. "I feel great." (JG)
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* 6-foot-6, 263-pound Klein (Texas) Oak defensive end Nathan Hugheshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Nathan-Hughes-88846 is one of the highest regarded defensive ends in the country and is being recruited as such.
Arizona has some work to do with schools such as LSU and Oklahoma having offered already, but Hughes will continue to look at each option.
"Number one on my list of things I'll be looking at in choosing a school is the coaching staff," Hughes tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "Right now, I'm surrounded by coaches that I love. I want that same atmosphere in college. That's one thing I'll be measuring on all my trips - whether or not the school has coaches that I'd enjoy being around for the next four years.
"I also want to go to a school that wants to win as bad as I do and have a commitment towards making that happen."
* 6-foot-3, 270-pound San Diego (Calif.) Point Loma defensive lineman Christian Heywardhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=104599 is another player that has a ton of offers.
Heyward has no intentions of cutting his list down any time soon, so the UA has an opportunity to make an impression.
"Yeah, I really want to check out all the schools recruiting me before I narrow it down,” he tells HuskersIllustrated.com. “I just want make sure where I go is in a good area, and that they have a nice campus, a good learning environment, and good facilities. I just want to take my time."
Heyward has plans to take numerous visits and the UA will work hard to try to secure one.
* 6-foot-5, 265-pound Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral offensive lineman Andre Yruretagoyenahttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=101135 is seeing his recruitment begin to take shape.
"I used to live up north in Washington, so I'm used to the cold and I love the cold, actually," Yruretagoyena tells TheWolverine.com. "I want to get out of Arizona most likely, and traveling far away from home is not a problem.
“I don't think I would go any farther than Michigan, to be honest, but once I see some campuses I will be able to make a better decision on where I want to go. I'm pretty excited to see what the country is like."
Those comments certainly do not mean that Arizona is out of the recruitment, but that mindset does not help things. If Yruretagoyena does stay in state, it will very likely be Arizona. However, the coaching staff now has to convince him the benefits of doing so.
* 6-foot-2, 185-pound Livermore (Calif.) Granada athlete George Atkinson IIIhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/nebraska/football/recruiting/player-George-Atkinson III-104372 has Arizona as one of his favorites, but will not be making a decision any time soon.
"I definitely want to take all of my officials next fall before making a decision,” he tells HuskersIllustrated.com. “I want to make sure I make the right decision and don't pass up an opportunity.
“I'll look at the academic support system each of these schools has. I also want to go somewhere that has a good player/coach relationship. Finally, I'll look into how each program is doing and how I'll fit into that. I definitely plan to be thorough."
Arizona is going to be in it at the end, but it obviously gets more difficult as his offer list increases. We do expect him to stay in the Pac-10, especially with the whole conference competing for his services.
* 6-foot-4, 285-pound Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro defensive tackle Cyrus Hobbihttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=990392 hinted that he may be looking towards staying in the west.
"I really don't have any leaders right now but in general I like a lot of the West Coast teams because they'd be close to home," he tells BamaOnline.com. "Before the season starts this fall I plan on having my list down to about five schools and then shortly after the season I will have my decision ready.
“If I get invited to an all-star game I might make the announcement there but it's definitely a decision I will have made by the time the season is over."
Arizona has somewhat of a shot for Hobbi, but as his stock increases that shot decreases. Arizona State is in very good position for him for numerous reasons, but the UA can make a push with a strong season.
* 6-foot-2, 250-pound Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce College tight end Nate Ingramhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Nate-Ingram-110400 could be getting a look from Arizona.
"I like Oregon State and how they play," Ingram tells BeaverBlitz.com. "I am excited about them. Both Oregon State and Arizona said they are going to be coming around during the spring. Arizona said they are looking for a midyear tight end."
We will catch up with Ingram for details, but it is interesting to see that Arizona is interested in adding a tight end and it could be a sign of things to come in the future.
* 5-foot-9, 183-pound Goodyear (Ariz.) Millennium athlete DeAnthony Easleyhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=106262 reaffirmed the fact that he favors Arizona.
"Right now they're at the top," Easley tells Rivals.com. "The biggest thing I like about them is how everyone interacts with each other and how their football team is getting better. Their weight room coach is really good and their academics are really good there. The coaches are great.
"They said they'll help you with anything if you need help. If you're not doing good in school they'll get you more help and they'll send you to tutors more. I like that."
If Easley is able to improve his grades and get an offer, it would not be a surprise to see him become a Wildcat soon after.
*Texas offensive tackle Spencer Drangohttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Spencer-Drango-87848 unofficially visited Arizona last week. We haven't been able to get a hold of him yet, but will catch up with him about the trip when we can.
Basketball:
* Thursday marked the beginning of a very important four days for Arizona basketball recruiting, as on Thursday Arizona began hosting Winchendon (Mass.) Prep 2011 small forward Angel Nunez on an unofficial visit that will last through Saturday morning.
The UA coaches won’t have much time to relax after Nunez leaves, as John A. Logan Community College 2010 power forward Jesse Perry will arrive on an official visit soon after. He’ll depart Tucson on Monday morning.
This will be Arizona’s best chance in a while to land one or two commitments, as both prospects favor UA but have yet to see the Wildcats’ campus.
* Nunez’ mentor, Eric Martinez, wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a commitment, but said that it was up to the recruit what he wanted to do.
UA was definitely in favorable shape before the visit began.
“We spoke about that and Arizona is at the top,” said Martinez. “He feels that it’s a great place for Hispanics to excel in. It’s right at the top. It’s the right time to go out there, see the school, see the environment, and get a good feel for the coaching staff.
“As far as his recruitment, it’s still up in the air right now, but Arizona is definitely at the top as far as schools that we’re both considering. But it’s his recruiting process; he’s going through it.”
Nunez’ coach at Winchendon, Mike Byrnes, told Rivals.com that the four-star prospect made a lot of strides in his first year at Winchendon.
"I would say he really made some huge strides,” Byrnes said. “Angel is a phenomenal kid. He's a little immature … but he's a phenomenal kid. The teachers love him, I love working with the kid. I would say for most of the year he really bought into what I was trying to do with him and he took a lot of pride in the strides he made in the classroom and on the basketball court."
* Perry had originally planned to visit South Carolina last weekend and Arizona this weekend, but that changed with USC asked for him to reschedule. That will give the UA coaches the opportunity to land him this weekend.
Should Perry not commit during or soon after the visit, he could opt to visit UCLA or others. However, it really seems like Arizona has put itself in position to have a good visit and seal him up.
* Perry and Nunez’ potential commitments, whatever the odds are on both, brings up Arizona’s scholarship situation, which will be worked out this spring and/or summer.
There are five public 2010 recruits on the Wildcats’ board, none of which UA would turn down, and there are also others that Arizona is looking into, some pretty seriously. Furthermore, other recruits could emerge via coaching changes and transfers from other universities.
Here’s Arizona’s 2010-11 scholarship roster as it stands today, without speculating on any transfers:
Seniors (1): Jamelle Horne
Juniors (4): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson, D.J. Shumpert
Sophomores (5): MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams
Freshmen (2): Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
That adds up to 12 scholarships, with Perry being the most likely to take the first one. However, Kadeem Jack, Doron Lamb, Josh Selby and Ray McCallum all remain on the board, as well as potentially others, so it’s clear that space will be made for others in the coming months.
That becomes even more apparent when looking at Arizona’s 2011-12 roster, which will be allowed 12 scholarships instead of the normal 13, due to the UA’s self-imposed penalty.
For the sake of discussion, we’ll add Perry and Nunez to this list.
Seniors (5): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson, D.J. Shumpert, Jesse Perry
Juniors (5): MoMo Jones, Kyryl Natyazhko, Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams
Sophomores (2): Daniel Bejarano, Jordin Mayes
Freshmen (2): Sidiki Johnson, Angel Nunez
That adds up to 14, and considering the way Arizona is recruiting, more than two open rides is necessary, so transfers aren’t just possible, but imminent.
Even the list above is missing one key position, as looking at the position-by-position breakdown, Arizona still has to address its point guard situation.
Assuming the hypothetical scholarship breakdown above holds true (which it won’t, but again, for the sake of discussion):
2011-12 Position by Position:
Point Guard (0):
Combo Guard (2): MoMo Jones, Jordin Mayes
Shooting Guard (3): Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Daniel Bejarano
Small Forward (3): Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill, Angel Nunez
Power Forward (4): Derrick Williams+, Jesse Perry, Sidiki Johnson, D.J. Shumpert
Center (2): Kyryl Natyazhko, Alex Jacobson
+Williams will probably be a four by his junior year, if he stays around that long.
It’s important to note that all D-I scholarships are renewed on a year-to-year basis, and that in order to compete for a Pac-10 title as soon as possible, Miller will need to shuffle the roster so he has a team filled with talented players who work hard and buy into his system. That isn’t the case right now, but should be either by this August or next August.
* Kadeem Jack’s list of schools he will officially visit continues to be up in the air, although it appears he’ll trip to Miami on April 9, with UConn and Arkansas also expecting trips.
"The Miami and Arkansas situations are being worked on," Jack’s mentor, Damian Leslie, told Rivals.com. "We are going to see how everything plays out in terms of the upcoming month."
Leslie said that a decision will be made “within the next 30 days” so any visits that Jack will take have to come soon.
Arizona remains the only school Jack has officially visited, and is still believed to be the team to beat until he says otherwise.
* Mayes scored 21 points on Saturday night as his Westchester High School team defeated Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 71-63 to win the Southern California Division I regional championship.
Westchester will take on Newark Memorial in Bakersfield (Calif.) on Saturday for the state finals.
Sean Miller attended the game, and earlier in the day was in Northern California to see two UA recruits face off in Sacramento’s Josiah Turner and Bishop O’Dowd’s Brandon Ashley.
* McCallum scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, leading his Detroit Country Day squad to an 86-81 state quarterfinals win over Flint Powers. Powers had defeated Country Day in the quarterfinals in each of the past two years.
"Tonight Ray had that look in his eyes. He was determined not to lose,” Country Day coach Kurt Keener told the Detroit News.
Up next is tonight’s game against Muskegon Heights in the state semifinals.
There's been increased speculation lately that McCallum will soon pull the trigger and play for his dad at Detroit, which of course has been believed would be the case for a while.
Football:
* Rob Gronkowski will finally have his chance in front of scouts on Saturday morning as he has his own personal NFL Pro Day.
Gronkowski said that he thinks "mostly all the teams" will have scouts there watching him, and that Willie Tuitama would be throwing to him.
Rob's brother, Chris Gronkowski will also go again in front of the scouts, as well as any other former players who want to join them.
"I'm ready to go out and perform," Rob said. "I feel great." (JG)
Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting update:
* 6-foot-6, 263-pound Klein (Texas) Oak defensive end Nathan Hugheshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Nathan-Hughes-88846 is one of the highest regarded defensive ends in the country and is being recruited as such.
Arizona has some work to do with schools such as LSU and Oklahoma having offered already, but Hughes will continue to look at each option.
"Number one on my list of things I'll be looking at in choosing a school is the coaching staff," Hughes tells HuskersIllustrated.com. "Right now, I'm surrounded by coaches that I love. I want that same atmosphere in college. That's one thing I'll be measuring on all my trips - whether or not the school has coaches that I'd enjoy being around for the next four years.
"I also want to go to a school that wants to win as bad as I do and have a commitment towards making that happen."
* 6-foot-3, 270-pound San Diego (Calif.) Point Loma defensive lineman Christian Heywardhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=104599 is another player that has a ton of offers.
Heyward has no intentions of cutting his list down any time soon, so the UA has an opportunity to make an impression.
"Yeah, I really want to check out all the schools recruiting me before I narrow it down,” he tells HuskersIllustrated.com. “I just want make sure where I go is in a good area, and that they have a nice campus, a good learning environment, and good facilities. I just want to take my time."
Heyward has plans to take numerous visits and the UA will work hard to try to secure one.
* 6-foot-5, 265-pound Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral offensive lineman Andre Yruretagoyenahttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=101135 is seeing his recruitment begin to take shape.
"I used to live up north in Washington, so I'm used to the cold and I love the cold, actually," Yruretagoyena tells TheWolverine.com. "I want to get out of Arizona most likely, and traveling far away from home is not a problem.
“I don't think I would go any farther than Michigan, to be honest, but once I see some campuses I will be able to make a better decision on where I want to go. I'm pretty excited to see what the country is like."
Those comments certainly do not mean that Arizona is out of the recruitment, but that mindset does not help things. If Yruretagoyena does stay in state, it will very likely be Arizona. However, the coaching staff now has to convince him the benefits of doing so.
* 6-foot-2, 185-pound Livermore (Calif.) Granada athlete George Atkinson IIIhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/nebraska/football/recruiting/player-George-Atkinson III-104372 has Arizona as one of his favorites, but will not be making a decision any time soon.
"I definitely want to take all of my officials next fall before making a decision,” he tells HuskersIllustrated.com. “I want to make sure I make the right decision and don't pass up an opportunity.
“I'll look at the academic support system each of these schools has. I also want to go somewhere that has a good player/coach relationship. Finally, I'll look into how each program is doing and how I'll fit into that. I definitely plan to be thorough."
Arizona is going to be in it at the end, but it obviously gets more difficult as his offer list increases. We do expect him to stay in the Pac-10, especially with the whole conference competing for his services.
* 6-foot-4, 285-pound Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro defensive tackle Cyrus Hobbihttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=990392 hinted that he may be looking towards staying in the west.
"I really don't have any leaders right now but in general I like a lot of the West Coast teams because they'd be close to home," he tells BamaOnline.com. "Before the season starts this fall I plan on having my list down to about five schools and then shortly after the season I will have my decision ready.
“If I get invited to an all-star game I might make the announcement there but it's definitely a decision I will have made by the time the season is over."
Arizona has somewhat of a shot for Hobbi, but as his stock increases that shot decreases. Arizona State is in very good position for him for numerous reasons, but the UA can make a push with a strong season.
* 6-foot-2, 250-pound Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce College tight end Nate Ingramhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Nate-Ingram-110400 could be getting a look from Arizona.
"I like Oregon State and how they play," Ingram tells BeaverBlitz.com. "I am excited about them. Both Oregon State and Arizona said they are going to be coming around during the spring. Arizona said they are looking for a midyear tight end."
We will catch up with Ingram for details, but it is interesting to see that Arizona is interested in adding a tight end and it could be a sign of things to come in the future.
* 5-foot-9, 183-pound Goodyear (Ariz.) Millennium athlete DeAnthony Easleyhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=106262 reaffirmed the fact that he favors Arizona.
"Right now they're at the top," Easley tells Rivals.com. "The biggest thing I like about them is how everyone interacts with each other and how their football team is getting better. Their weight room coach is really good and their academics are really good there. The coaches are great.
"They said they'll help you with anything if you need help. If you're not doing good in school they'll get you more help and they'll send you to tutors more. I like that."
If Easley is able to improve his grades and get an offer, it would not be a surprise to see him become a Wildcat soon after.
*Texas offensive tackle Spencer Drangohttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Spencer-Drango-87848 unofficially visited Arizona last week. We haven't been able to get a hold of him yet, but will catch up with him about the trip when we can.
