The AAU season has officially started and this is the time of year when the most basketball recruiting news comes in. Josh Gershon is in Cleveland at the King City Classic and there is plenty of news coming out of the tournament.
* 6-foot-4, 175-pound Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy guard Doron Lamb denies that his favorite is Kentucky. He told us that he currently has no leader and would enjoy playing with Lamont Jones. While he is still a longshot for the UA, it is still good to hear that Lamb is considering the Wildcats.
* It has been thought for a while that 6-foot-10, 215-pound Dayton (Ohio) Jefferson center Adreian Payne has wanted to stay in state, but recent comments to BuckeyeGrove.com says otherwise.
Brian Snow writes, “While Payne chose not to release the names of the eight schools that he has on his mind, he did offer a few surprising hints. Despite taking numerous unofficial visits to Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio State, and Xavier, the four in-state schools do not seem to be in a good position to land him. In fact, only one of them is on the list, and even they aren't in good shape.”
That school is Ohio State and while he will not name his top eight, it is a good assumption that Arizona remains in the thick of things, especially if the in-state schools are not on the list.
* 6-foot-8, 220-pound Portland Jefferson forward Terrence Jones continues to be open in his recruitment. He is one of Arizona’s biggest priorities and is aware of such, as he enjoys the fact that Sean Miller is recruiting him hard. There is currently no timetable on a decision, but Arizona is seemingly doing well.
* 5-foot-10, 155-pound Dallas Episcopal point guard Phil Pressey says that UConn is his leader and he could decide to commit after his visit there. However, he wants to give Arizona a chance and it seems the Wildcats would get an official before UConn, as he does not want to decide before visiting Tucson.
* 6-foot-5, 175-pound Compton (Calif.) Dominguez guard Keala King currently has a top three of Arizona, Stanford, and California. The combo guard seems intent on ending his recruitment sooner than later, which means Arizona will be right there in the end.
He has plans to visit Arizona at some point this summer and a decision could come soon after that if he follows through with his plans.
* 6-foot-1, 175-pound Detroit Country Day point guard Ray McCallum does not seem to be narrowing down his list, let alone making a decision. Arizona, Duke, Florida, and Kansas are still considered by many to be the schools to beat.
However, McCallum tells DevilsIllustrated.com, "I really don't know about a list and who will be on it. I thought I would already have a list narrowed down by now, but things started picking up more toward the end of the school year. I'll probably just look things over and end up taking all five official visits."
If everything remains the same as it is now, the UA will likely be one of those official visits.
* We hear that 6-foot-9, 195-pound Mission Viejo (Calif.) forward Kevin Panzer was impressive in front of Arizona coaches earlier in the week, thus you can expect to hear more about him in the future. Not much is known about his recruitment, but he has offers from Colorado and San Diego. It should be interesting to see how much Arizona gets involved in the near future.
* 6-foot-1, 170-pound Los Angeles Westchester point guard Jordin Mayes is a familiar name to Arizona fans. We have heard that he was a bit inconsistent in front of the coaching staff earlier in the week and there may be a handful of targets ahead of him on Arizona’s list. Of course, this could change suddenly, but there is likely some work to be done if he is going to be taken over such players as McCallum.
* Expect Arizona to pick up its recruitment of 6-foot-3, 180-pound Madison (Wisc.) Memorial point guard Vander Blue. Blue has been a bit inconsistent this past week, but has definitely had his impressive moments. He currently has no favorites at this time, but the Wildcats are expected to make a strong push for consideration.
* 5-foot-10, 170-pound Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege point guard Trevor Releford is another player that is in a similar position to Blue. He has been somewhat inconsistent in front of the staff, but we hear that he had at least one performance in which he was very impressive. At this point, you can probably expect Arizona to seriously consider offering Releford.
* You can also expect Arizona to take a look at 6-foot-8, 220-pound Glen Head (NY) Lutheran forward Tobias Harris. Harris is the cousin of Channing Frye and continues to improve. The rest of the country will likely recruit him as well and it will be tough to get him away from the east coast, but his familiarity with the Wildcats and skill level make him a worthy recruit.
* 6-foot-8, 235-pound 2011 Los Angeles Junipero Serra center Kevin Johnson is going to be a major prospect once more schools take a look at him. He has started to receive attention from the Wildcats and we would expect that the rest of the Pac-10 will follow. He is certainly one to keep an eye on, as his continued development suggests he is in pretty good shape to get an offer down the road.
* 6-foot-9, 200-pound 2011 Portland Jesuit forward Kyle Wiltjer is another player that is rapidly moving up the charts. He is very likely to get an offer from Arizona and many other schools. Due to the fact that he knows more offers are on the way, Wiltjer is still wide open in his recruitment.
* 6-foot-3, 170-pound Las Vegas Bishop Gorman shooting guard Shabazz Muhammad continues to be one of the more impressive players in the class. Arizona has made him a top priority, as evidenced by Sean Miller being the only head coach to watch him in his first AAU game earlier this week.
* Just to recap, here is the schedule of the coaching staff this past week:
Monday: Sean and Archie Miller were in Cincinnati for the adidas Take 5ive Classic.
They watched Releford, Mayes, Quinn Cook, Angelo Chol, and Muhammad.
James Whitford was in Milwaukee for one day at the NY2LASports.com Next Level Invitational to mainly watch Vander Blue.
Tuesday: Emmanuel Richardson joined the Millers in Cincinnati.
Wednesday: Whitford goes to Los Angeles in order to watch the Pangos Summer Sweet 16. Some of the prospects he is in attendance to watch are Richard Solomon, Bryce Jones, Damien Cain, Wesley Saunders, Byron Wesley, and Gabe York.
While in Cincinnati, Richardson watched Doron Lamb, Keala King, Ray McCallum, Gary Franklin, Trey Zeigler, Alex Kirk, Terrence Jones, Kyle Wiltjer, Phil Pressey, Nick Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Cameron Clark, Adreian Payne, and James Johnson.
Sean Miller watched Dominique Ferguson for an entire game and then joined Richardson the rest of the day.
Archie Miller watched McCallum, Zeigler, Franklin, Kirk, and Johnson.
Thursday: While Whitford remains in Los Angeles, Sean Miller and Richardson will head to Philadelphia for the Reebok event in the latter half of the day.
Friday: Sean and Richardson will remain in Philadelphia to watch Michael Cobbins and Sidiki Johnson among others. Whitford will continue in Los Angeles.
Football
There is plenty of recruiting news this week, as it seems there are numerous players that are starting to narrow down their recruitment.
* The big news of the week is the commitment of 5-foot-10, 170-pound Oceanside (Calif.) defensive back J.J. Whittaker. Most schools were recruiting him for offense, but Arizona likes him on the defensive side of the ball. His biggest attribute may be his speed and his excitement level for coming to Arizona is extremely high.
* While the Wildcats were never really in it for 6-foot-4, 260-pound Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure offensive guard Giovanni Di Poalo, the UA is definitely out of it now. He looks to be down to USC and Stanford and those two schools are very likely his final two.
* The longer it takes 6-foot-1, 215-pound Newbury Park (Calif.) running back Cameron Roberson to make a decision, the more uncomfortable you have to feel about Arizona’s chances. With the Notre Dame offer, there is now another school the UA will be competing with, as Roberson tells IrishIllustrated.com, "The whole four is all pretty even. I still have the same vibe about Notre Dame, but now I have more interest in them. Before I had lost interest because I hadn't received the offer, but now this brings my interest up.” Arizona will likely be right there among his top schools, but considering he was waiting for a Notre Dame offer, being a little worrisome is understandable.
* 6-foot-4, 305-pound Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde offensive lineman Avery Poates is starting to see his stock increase. Poates currently favors UTEP, but it is easy to assume that Arizona would be right there should it offer. He tells Rivals.com, "I was talking to coach Tim Kish, and he said he's close to offering and he wants to wait until next season and see a couple more games before he makes his final decision of whether he'll offer." Poates will likely take his time and should the UA show increasing interest, there is a good chance he will take a visit some time down the road.
* 6-foot-5, 210-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian defensive end Alani Fua has a top five and it seems Arizona has made the cut. He tells Rivals.com, “I'd say BYU, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and Ohio State would be the five at this point." Fua has teammates heading to Washington and BYU and he is Mormon, so while the UA is in his top five, it could still be somewhat of a longshot. Still, barring an early decision, it seems an official visit could be in store.
* 6-foot-2, 195-pound Goodyear (Ariz.) Millennium athlete Marquis Flowers continues to be recruited by many top notch schools and the Wildcats continue to be one of those schools recruiting him the hardest. IrishIllustrated writes, “He said most of the programs that have offered have been in touch, but Flowers singled out Arizona and USC as the two he's heard from the most. That doesn't mean those are the only programs on his mind.” Flowers is likely going to take his five official visits and Arizona probably will not be one of them due to location, but it is good to hear that the UA is recruiting him hard, as it has been for quite some time. Expect Arizona to be one of Flowers’ favorites when it comes time to narrow his list.
* 6-foot-3, 210-pound Kapolei (Hawaii) athlete Shaydon Akuna is starting to see his stock rise. Oregon State seems to be his current leader, but there is a good chance that he will play his recruitment out more. As for just how good he is, Rivals.com writes, "As far as upside and ceiling, Akuna was the most talented senior prospect in Honolulu. He is a tall, lengthy linebacker that flies around the football field. Akuna truly plays the game sideline to sideline and is very natural in pass coverage. In fact, he's versatile enough that he will be playing safety as a senior in high school, among several other positions. As Akuna adds weight in college and learns to play with a good pad level he has a chance to be an absolute star on the next level.”
* 6-foot-2, 255-pound Honolulu defensive tackle Sani Fuimaono was at the same combine and Rivals also gave him high reviews. “Fuimaono has scholarship offers from Arizona, Washington and Hawaii so he is not exactly an unknown to college coaches but he proved over the three days of camp that he is certainly deserving of a Pac-10 offer list. Despite somewhat limited size (6-2/255), Fuimaono is very tough to block. The state heavyweight wrestling champion makes great use of his hands, uses his leverage well and is very physical. His constant presence in the backfield was impossible to miss, even when he wasn't actually making the tackles.” Arizona continues to do well with him, but we also expect other schools to take notice shortly.
* 6-foot-2, 290-pound Chicago St. Rita defensive tackle Bruce Gaston Jr. was recently offered by Arizona and the interest definitely seems to be mutual. He tells EdgyTim.com, "We have this week for team camp and then we'll get some time off, so I'm planning to head out to see a few schools in person for unofficial visits. I really want to get out to both Virginia and Arizona if I can. I know those are long trips but I feel it's important for me to get to know these schools and to see them for myself this summer." It is definitely a good sign if Gaston does make the visit, especially considering that it will be on his own tab.
* 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back Jordon James is still planning on taking an official visit to Arizona. As far as when he will make a decision, he tells UDubSports.com, "I'm just enjoying the ride right now. I'm not making a decision until the Under Armour game. I found out that I was invited to play in the game in February, and I decided about a week later that I'd make my choice at the game.” We still believe this could wind up being a battle between Arizona and UCLA, but obviously a school like Florida is going to be tough to beat. In other words, plenty can change between now and when James is planning on making a decision.
* 6-foot-5, 275-pound Waialua (Hawaii) offensive lineman Micah Hatchie remains open in his recruitment. He tells Rivals.com, "Right now I'm just open to all options. Me and my parents and my counselors will narrow it down and figure out with school is the best to go to. I'll check out their surroundings and the team and how they act around each other and just have fun with football." Hatchie plans on taking his official visits, so there is still a ways to go before he makes a decision.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Corona (Calif.) cornerback Demetrius Wright seems to be a bit conflicted in a recent interview with USCFootball.com. He tells the site, "I've been laying low this summer with camps, but I'm in contact with my top schools, Washington, USC, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona. I've been picked for the Army All-American Bowl. I hope they let me pick the hats, because I think it might be a shocker. I might already know, but we'll have to see after my visit.” Later on in the interview he says that Washington and USC are his top two schools, so it is a bit difficult to truly know who is leading at this point. However, Arizona has been a constant in his recruitment and we would be surprised if he did not consider the Wildcats heavily.
* Arizona could be out of it for 5-foot-9, 180-pound Escondido (Calif.) running back Ricky Seale. Seale tells Rivals.com that Cal and Stanford are the schools to beat. Considering he now wants to decide by the end of the summer, we don’t see much reason why that will change.
* 6-foot-5, 285-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian offensive lineman Erik Kohler has a top three of Cal, Washington, and UCLA. While he would ideally like to decide by the end of the summer, he also may decide to expand his list, as he tells Rivals.com, "There's always a possibility so I would like to keep my mind open to that. I would still like to get to Notre Dame and the two Arizona schools. It is the same situation with the Arizona schools as it is with Notre Dame." Arizona is still in it with Kohler, but it definitely needs to get him on campus in order to be a factor.
* 6-foot-2, 182-pound Corona (Calif.) Eleanor Roosevelt receiver Tyler Slavin continues to plan on taking an official visit to Arizona. He tells HuskersIllustrated.com, "I don't necessarily have any favorites but, if I had to pick my visits right now I'd probably go to Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, and maybe Northwestern and Colorado." Slavin is looking mostly at the style of offense and depth chart, both of which will make the Wildcats tough to beat. We would be surprised if the UA was not on Slavin’s final list of schools.
* 5-foot-11, 160-pound Tucson Sabino athlete Keanu Nelson is going to USC later this month in anticipation of getting an offer. If he does not get one, he will be disappointed because he will be driving to Los Angeles. As far as what an offer from the Trojans would mean, we still expect UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona would be the big three to beat. Obviously USC will be right in there, but those three schools have been Nelson’s favorites for quite some time.
* As a final note, everything looks good in terms of the incoming freshmen qualifying. In fact, you can expect each member of the class to be on campus next week as they get set for summer ball.
This post was edited on 7/10 12:23 AM by Jason_Scheer
* 6-foot-4, 175-pound Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy guard Doron Lamb denies that his favorite is Kentucky. He told us that he currently has no leader and would enjoy playing with Lamont Jones. While he is still a longshot for the UA, it is still good to hear that Lamb is considering the Wildcats.
* It has been thought for a while that 6-foot-10, 215-pound Dayton (Ohio) Jefferson center Adreian Payne has wanted to stay in state, but recent comments to BuckeyeGrove.com says otherwise.
Brian Snow writes, “While Payne chose not to release the names of the eight schools that he has on his mind, he did offer a few surprising hints. Despite taking numerous unofficial visits to Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio State, and Xavier, the four in-state schools do not seem to be in a good position to land him. In fact, only one of them is on the list, and even they aren't in good shape.”
That school is Ohio State and while he will not name his top eight, it is a good assumption that Arizona remains in the thick of things, especially if the in-state schools are not on the list.
* 6-foot-8, 220-pound Portland Jefferson forward Terrence Jones continues to be open in his recruitment. He is one of Arizona’s biggest priorities and is aware of such, as he enjoys the fact that Sean Miller is recruiting him hard. There is currently no timetable on a decision, but Arizona is seemingly doing well.
* 5-foot-10, 155-pound Dallas Episcopal point guard Phil Pressey says that UConn is his leader and he could decide to commit after his visit there. However, he wants to give Arizona a chance and it seems the Wildcats would get an official before UConn, as he does not want to decide before visiting Tucson.
* 6-foot-5, 175-pound Compton (Calif.) Dominguez guard Keala King currently has a top three of Arizona, Stanford, and California. The combo guard seems intent on ending his recruitment sooner than later, which means Arizona will be right there in the end.
He has plans to visit Arizona at some point this summer and a decision could come soon after that if he follows through with his plans.
* 6-foot-1, 175-pound Detroit Country Day point guard Ray McCallum does not seem to be narrowing down his list, let alone making a decision. Arizona, Duke, Florida, and Kansas are still considered by many to be the schools to beat.
However, McCallum tells DevilsIllustrated.com, "I really don't know about a list and who will be on it. I thought I would already have a list narrowed down by now, but things started picking up more toward the end of the school year. I'll probably just look things over and end up taking all five official visits."
If everything remains the same as it is now, the UA will likely be one of those official visits.
* We hear that 6-foot-9, 195-pound Mission Viejo (Calif.) forward Kevin Panzer was impressive in front of Arizona coaches earlier in the week, thus you can expect to hear more about him in the future. Not much is known about his recruitment, but he has offers from Colorado and San Diego. It should be interesting to see how much Arizona gets involved in the near future.
* 6-foot-1, 170-pound Los Angeles Westchester point guard Jordin Mayes is a familiar name to Arizona fans. We have heard that he was a bit inconsistent in front of the coaching staff earlier in the week and there may be a handful of targets ahead of him on Arizona’s list. Of course, this could change suddenly, but there is likely some work to be done if he is going to be taken over such players as McCallum.
* Expect Arizona to pick up its recruitment of 6-foot-3, 180-pound Madison (Wisc.) Memorial point guard Vander Blue. Blue has been a bit inconsistent this past week, but has definitely had his impressive moments. He currently has no favorites at this time, but the Wildcats are expected to make a strong push for consideration.
* 5-foot-10, 170-pound Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege point guard Trevor Releford is another player that is in a similar position to Blue. He has been somewhat inconsistent in front of the staff, but we hear that he had at least one performance in which he was very impressive. At this point, you can probably expect Arizona to seriously consider offering Releford.
* You can also expect Arizona to take a look at 6-foot-8, 220-pound Glen Head (NY) Lutheran forward Tobias Harris. Harris is the cousin of Channing Frye and continues to improve. The rest of the country will likely recruit him as well and it will be tough to get him away from the east coast, but his familiarity with the Wildcats and skill level make him a worthy recruit.
* 6-foot-8, 235-pound 2011 Los Angeles Junipero Serra center Kevin Johnson is going to be a major prospect once more schools take a look at him. He has started to receive attention from the Wildcats and we would expect that the rest of the Pac-10 will follow. He is certainly one to keep an eye on, as his continued development suggests he is in pretty good shape to get an offer down the road.
* 6-foot-9, 200-pound 2011 Portland Jesuit forward Kyle Wiltjer is another player that is rapidly moving up the charts. He is very likely to get an offer from Arizona and many other schools. Due to the fact that he knows more offers are on the way, Wiltjer is still wide open in his recruitment.
* 6-foot-3, 170-pound Las Vegas Bishop Gorman shooting guard Shabazz Muhammad continues to be one of the more impressive players in the class. Arizona has made him a top priority, as evidenced by Sean Miller being the only head coach to watch him in his first AAU game earlier this week.
* Just to recap, here is the schedule of the coaching staff this past week:
Monday: Sean and Archie Miller were in Cincinnati for the adidas Take 5ive Classic.
They watched Releford, Mayes, Quinn Cook, Angelo Chol, and Muhammad.
James Whitford was in Milwaukee for one day at the NY2LASports.com Next Level Invitational to mainly watch Vander Blue.
Tuesday: Emmanuel Richardson joined the Millers in Cincinnati.
Wednesday: Whitford goes to Los Angeles in order to watch the Pangos Summer Sweet 16. Some of the prospects he is in attendance to watch are Richard Solomon, Bryce Jones, Damien Cain, Wesley Saunders, Byron Wesley, and Gabe York.
While in Cincinnati, Richardson watched Doron Lamb, Keala King, Ray McCallum, Gary Franklin, Trey Zeigler, Alex Kirk, Terrence Jones, Kyle Wiltjer, Phil Pressey, Nick Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Cameron Clark, Adreian Payne, and James Johnson.
Sean Miller watched Dominique Ferguson for an entire game and then joined Richardson the rest of the day.
Archie Miller watched McCallum, Zeigler, Franklin, Kirk, and Johnson.
Thursday: While Whitford remains in Los Angeles, Sean Miller and Richardson will head to Philadelphia for the Reebok event in the latter half of the day.
Friday: Sean and Richardson will remain in Philadelphia to watch Michael Cobbins and Sidiki Johnson among others. Whitford will continue in Los Angeles.
Football
There is plenty of recruiting news this week, as it seems there are numerous players that are starting to narrow down their recruitment.
* The big news of the week is the commitment of 5-foot-10, 170-pound Oceanside (Calif.) defensive back J.J. Whittaker. Most schools were recruiting him for offense, but Arizona likes him on the defensive side of the ball. His biggest attribute may be his speed and his excitement level for coming to Arizona is extremely high.
* While the Wildcats were never really in it for 6-foot-4, 260-pound Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure offensive guard Giovanni Di Poalo, the UA is definitely out of it now. He looks to be down to USC and Stanford and those two schools are very likely his final two.
* The longer it takes 6-foot-1, 215-pound Newbury Park (Calif.) running back Cameron Roberson to make a decision, the more uncomfortable you have to feel about Arizona’s chances. With the Notre Dame offer, there is now another school the UA will be competing with, as Roberson tells IrishIllustrated.com, "The whole four is all pretty even. I still have the same vibe about Notre Dame, but now I have more interest in them. Before I had lost interest because I hadn't received the offer, but now this brings my interest up.” Arizona will likely be right there among his top schools, but considering he was waiting for a Notre Dame offer, being a little worrisome is understandable.
* 6-foot-4, 305-pound Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde offensive lineman Avery Poates is starting to see his stock increase. Poates currently favors UTEP, but it is easy to assume that Arizona would be right there should it offer. He tells Rivals.com, "I was talking to coach Tim Kish, and he said he's close to offering and he wants to wait until next season and see a couple more games before he makes his final decision of whether he'll offer." Poates will likely take his time and should the UA show increasing interest, there is a good chance he will take a visit some time down the road.
* 6-foot-5, 210-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian defensive end Alani Fua has a top five and it seems Arizona has made the cut. He tells Rivals.com, “I'd say BYU, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and Ohio State would be the five at this point." Fua has teammates heading to Washington and BYU and he is Mormon, so while the UA is in his top five, it could still be somewhat of a longshot. Still, barring an early decision, it seems an official visit could be in store.
* 6-foot-2, 195-pound Goodyear (Ariz.) Millennium athlete Marquis Flowers continues to be recruited by many top notch schools and the Wildcats continue to be one of those schools recruiting him the hardest. IrishIllustrated writes, “He said most of the programs that have offered have been in touch, but Flowers singled out Arizona and USC as the two he's heard from the most. That doesn't mean those are the only programs on his mind.” Flowers is likely going to take his five official visits and Arizona probably will not be one of them due to location, but it is good to hear that the UA is recruiting him hard, as it has been for quite some time. Expect Arizona to be one of Flowers’ favorites when it comes time to narrow his list.
* 6-foot-3, 210-pound Kapolei (Hawaii) athlete Shaydon Akuna is starting to see his stock rise. Oregon State seems to be his current leader, but there is a good chance that he will play his recruitment out more. As for just how good he is, Rivals.com writes, "As far as upside and ceiling, Akuna was the most talented senior prospect in Honolulu. He is a tall, lengthy linebacker that flies around the football field. Akuna truly plays the game sideline to sideline and is very natural in pass coverage. In fact, he's versatile enough that he will be playing safety as a senior in high school, among several other positions. As Akuna adds weight in college and learns to play with a good pad level he has a chance to be an absolute star on the next level.”
* 6-foot-2, 255-pound Honolulu defensive tackle Sani Fuimaono was at the same combine and Rivals also gave him high reviews. “Fuimaono has scholarship offers from Arizona, Washington and Hawaii so he is not exactly an unknown to college coaches but he proved over the three days of camp that he is certainly deserving of a Pac-10 offer list. Despite somewhat limited size (6-2/255), Fuimaono is very tough to block. The state heavyweight wrestling champion makes great use of his hands, uses his leverage well and is very physical. His constant presence in the backfield was impossible to miss, even when he wasn't actually making the tackles.” Arizona continues to do well with him, but we also expect other schools to take notice shortly.
* 6-foot-2, 290-pound Chicago St. Rita defensive tackle Bruce Gaston Jr. was recently offered by Arizona and the interest definitely seems to be mutual. He tells EdgyTim.com, "We have this week for team camp and then we'll get some time off, so I'm planning to head out to see a few schools in person for unofficial visits. I really want to get out to both Virginia and Arizona if I can. I know those are long trips but I feel it's important for me to get to know these schools and to see them for myself this summer." It is definitely a good sign if Gaston does make the visit, especially considering that it will be on his own tab.
* 5-foot-10, 190-pound Corona (Calif.) running back Jordon James is still planning on taking an official visit to Arizona. As far as when he will make a decision, he tells UDubSports.com, "I'm just enjoying the ride right now. I'm not making a decision until the Under Armour game. I found out that I was invited to play in the game in February, and I decided about a week later that I'd make my choice at the game.” We still believe this could wind up being a battle between Arizona and UCLA, but obviously a school like Florida is going to be tough to beat. In other words, plenty can change between now and when James is planning on making a decision.
* 6-foot-5, 275-pound Waialua (Hawaii) offensive lineman Micah Hatchie remains open in his recruitment. He tells Rivals.com, "Right now I'm just open to all options. Me and my parents and my counselors will narrow it down and figure out with school is the best to go to. I'll check out their surroundings and the team and how they act around each other and just have fun with football." Hatchie plans on taking his official visits, so there is still a ways to go before he makes a decision.
* 6-foot-1, 185-pound Corona (Calif.) cornerback Demetrius Wright seems to be a bit conflicted in a recent interview with USCFootball.com. He tells the site, "I've been laying low this summer with camps, but I'm in contact with my top schools, Washington, USC, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona. I've been picked for the Army All-American Bowl. I hope they let me pick the hats, because I think it might be a shocker. I might already know, but we'll have to see after my visit.” Later on in the interview he says that Washington and USC are his top two schools, so it is a bit difficult to truly know who is leading at this point. However, Arizona has been a constant in his recruitment and we would be surprised if he did not consider the Wildcats heavily.
* Arizona could be out of it for 5-foot-9, 180-pound Escondido (Calif.) running back Ricky Seale. Seale tells Rivals.com that Cal and Stanford are the schools to beat. Considering he now wants to decide by the end of the summer, we don’t see much reason why that will change.
* 6-foot-5, 285-pound Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian offensive lineman Erik Kohler has a top three of Cal, Washington, and UCLA. While he would ideally like to decide by the end of the summer, he also may decide to expand his list, as he tells Rivals.com, "There's always a possibility so I would like to keep my mind open to that. I would still like to get to Notre Dame and the two Arizona schools. It is the same situation with the Arizona schools as it is with Notre Dame." Arizona is still in it with Kohler, but it definitely needs to get him on campus in order to be a factor.
* 6-foot-2, 182-pound Corona (Calif.) Eleanor Roosevelt receiver Tyler Slavin continues to plan on taking an official visit to Arizona. He tells HuskersIllustrated.com, "I don't necessarily have any favorites but, if I had to pick my visits right now I'd probably go to Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, and maybe Northwestern and Colorado." Slavin is looking mostly at the style of offense and depth chart, both of which will make the Wildcats tough to beat. We would be surprised if the UA was not on Slavin’s final list of schools.
* 5-foot-11, 160-pound Tucson Sabino athlete Keanu Nelson is going to USC later this month in anticipation of getting an offer. If he does not get one, he will be disappointed because he will be driving to Los Angeles. As far as what an offer from the Trojans would mean, we still expect UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona would be the big three to beat. Obviously USC will be right in there, but those three schools have been Nelson’s favorites for quite some time.
* As a final note, everything looks good in terms of the incoming freshmen qualifying. In fact, you can expect each member of the class to be on campus next week as they get set for summer ball.
This post was edited on 7/10 12:23 AM by Jason_Scheer
