Basketball
* The bracket has been revealed and Arizona now knows it will be the top seed in the West. The opponent will be No. 16 Weber State and tipoff is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego.
Here's what you need to know about Weber State:
-They share the same mascot name, so San Diego will be Wildcat Country one way or another.
-Weber State (19-11) is the regular season and tournament champion from the Big Sky Conference.
-The leading scorer is Davion Berry, the Big Sky Conference player of the year and unanimous first-team all-league selection. He averages 19.1 points on 47.7 percent shooting - including 38.3 percent at the 3-point line.
The 81.6 percent free throw shooter gets to the line frequently, averaging 8.1 attempts per game.
-Kyle Tresnak is the next guy to watch. Tresnak, the second-leading scorer at 11.8 points, is a 6-10, 240-pound senior center who shoots a team-high 60.5 percent.
-This is a team that can shoot 3-pointers, connecting on 39.2 percent for the season.
The highest volume shooter from beyond the arc is Jeremy Senglin, who shoots 40.4 percent on a team-high 151 attempts. Next is Berry (149 attempts), followed by Jordan Richardson (35 percent on 143 attempts).
But then there are the role players who don't shoot it as frequently but can be threats. Richaud Gittens, who has appeared in all 30 games, shot a team-high 46.9 percent on 32 attempts. Others who can stretch the floor include Kyndahl Hill (46.7 percent on 15 attempts) and Royce Williams (40 percent on 35 percent).
UA head coach Sean Miller likened Weber State to Belmont, last year's opponent to open the NCAA tournament. But Miller said this year's team is much better at defending the 3.
-Rebounding has been a strength for most of Arizona's season, and the challenge this time will be to keep Joel Bolomboy off the glass. The 6-9, 225-pound sophomore is averaging 10.8 boards per game and shoots 50 percent.
-Among its nonconference opponents this season, Weber State lost at BYU, 81-72, and at UCLA, 83-60.
* Jordin Mayes only logged three minutes in the Pac-12 Conference tournament championship game loss to UCLA.
But the reserve guard has stepped his game up of late, totaling 12 points - 6 in each contest - on a combined 5-of-9 shooting over 23 minutes in the first two games of the tournament.
"I think he shoots 80 percent in March," junior guard Nick Johnson said of his teammate's ability to rise to the occasion late in the season. "He's played great for us the last few games."
Added Mayes: "You want to keep on playing. I'm a senior. It's coming to an end for me."
Mayes was a freshman during the Elite Eight run in 2011, and he sees "a lot of similarities" in this year's team. That team, however, was centered around Derrick Williams, and Mayes said the balance is better on this year's 30-4 Wildcats.
"I think this year, we've got more guys we can go to offensively," Mayes said.
* I'm hearing it wouldn't be all too surprising to see Arizona make a staff change before next season. There have been a few departures and additions over each of the past few years.
A time for something to happen would be around the Final Four, but the farther Arizona gets in the tournament it becomes less likely to avoid a potential distraction. But the Final Four is essentially a mini convention of coaches and programs looking to make hires, etc.
It happened last year with Tony Bland, if you recall, as USC lured him away from San Diego State.
A change would then naturally point to someone like Miles Simon, or even perhaps Joseph Blair because of his work with Kaleb Tarczewski.
Blair is officially an undergraduate assistant right now, a position that is a revolving door for a staff, and he has become more interested in being an assistant coach with this experience.
But he also has a desire to continue working for his alma mater in some capacity. Arizona is at the top of his priority list and he wants to see if something can be worked out to remain part of the staff.
I spoke with Blair about his role this past season during the Pac-12 tournament, so I will have more on him and his work with Tarczewski in a story this week. But here's a preview of what he had to say about coaching, in general:
"I definitely have the coaching bug," Blair told GOAZCATS.com. "I definitely have the itch, that's for sure."
* The Pac-12 tournament also marked the induction of ex-Wildcats forward Luke Walton into the conference's Hall of Honor.
Walton was joined by his father, Bill, and former UA head coach Lute Olson.
"It's awesome," Walton said. "It was such a great time in my life, so many good memories, friendships I've made there, coach Olson - everything. Just to be honored for the time, the dedication, it's a great feeling."
Walton and Olson met for breakfast on the morning of his Friday induction.
But the start to the day had Walton jokingly fearing what Olson would say when he arrived late.
"We were joking about it at breakfast this morning," Walton recalled. "I was late to breakfast and I was afraid he was going to make me run five miles at 5 a.m. like he used to.
"He didn't care how talented anyone on the team was. If you were late you were going to either run or not start. If you acted the wrong way he was going to send you home. More than just basketball -- he was such a great teacher of the fundamentals of the game, but he also taught all of us how to be a man and how to act the right way."
Football
* Arizona is in the midst of an 11-day break before it resumes spring camp March 24.
Some players are off on vacation, others like Anu Solomon took the time to head back home and coach in the 7-on-7 this past weekend in Las Vegas, while some like Will Parks, Davonte' Neal and Tellas Jones have stuck around Tucson to get more work in.
* Before taking off, we caught up with Connor Brewer to discuss the early stages of the battle at quarterback.
"It's what I've been waiting for, for a long time," said Brewer, who sat out, per NCAA transfer rules, after leaving Texas. "Last year I was still competing, but I didn't have a shot to start."
Brewer ran the scout team last season, so he said the coaches were not looking at him too much. His job, then, was to prepare the defense for what was to come.
Now, he is running Arizona's offense and said it's nice not worrying about another team's scheme.
While at Texas, Brewer was not getting much of an opportunity to play with the first- or second-string. Now, the job is wide open with the Wildcats.
"Just getting those live reps, getting the feel back (have been an adjustment)," Brewer said.
Brewer said he got together with several members of the team during the offseason to get ready for the spring. Any edge, whether it be his previous relationships with Neal (high school teammate) and Cayleb Jones (teammate at Texas), or a little extra work when nobody is watching, could be the difference, Brewer said.
"I knew this spring was going to be real big for me," he added.
Looking around, he sees several different styles of quarterbacks. Jerrard Randall has the best legs of the signal callers, but the accuracy and touch on throws is not up to par with the others.
Jesse Scroggins and Randall have the arm strength, but Solomon may have the better blend of passing and running. Brewer may be more similar to Solomon than any other quarterback on the roster, and he is looking to show he is athletic enough to provide a balance.
"The coaches have a plethora to choose from," Brewer said. "But we've all got to run the same offense, all have got to run the same plays. So I think it's going to be a fun and a tough competition battle.
And it was a busy weekend on the football recruiting front as well, so here's recruitng editor Matt Moreno's recruiting breakdown:
Las Vegas was certainly the place to be last weekend as there were plenty of events taking place all over the city that had some tie in to college athletics. On the basketball front there were plenty of conference tournaments taking place over the course of the week culminating over the weekend.
And on the football side of things one of the big 7v7 events of the year took place over the weekend as well. Both involved Arizona in some way as the Wildcats made it the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament while there were numerous Arizona football targets participating in the 85-team 7v7 event.
GOAZCATS.com was at both events over the course of the week and weekend, and there was plenty for us to see at both. There were plenty of top football prospects at the Pylon Elite 7v7 event and Arizona was one of the schools being talked about quite a bit by those recruits.
We'll have more with some of the big-time recruits who were out at the event as well as some of the prospects who still have the Wildcats high on their lists.
When it comes to the basketball side things are certainly looking good for the 'Cats on the recruiting front heading into the spring evaluation period after the season. At this point UA already has five prospects committed for the 2014 class with four of them already signed to play in Tucson next year.
With Dusan Ristic recently joining that 2014 group that means another scholarship spot that will be needed next season. As we do from time to time, we'll take another look at the scholarship situation heading into next season with the new arrivals factored in.
After a busy weekend in Las Vegas, here is this week's recruiting portion of the War Room.
Football recruiting
There were plenty of prospects and even current college players out in Las Vegas last weekend at the Pylon 7v7 event with people like current Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon making the trip out. The focus for the weekend, however, was on the field with a number of the country's top prospects in action with their various teams participating in the two-day event.
* While there were plenty of prospects participating, one who wasn't participating in the 7v7 event or lineman challenge at the event was still one of the most popular among the media when it came to interviews. Rivals100 defensive tackle Jacob Daniel was in attendance at the event to support one of the Fresno-based teams at the event.
The Fresno (Calif.) Clovis North prospect, who is rated as a four-star recruit and No. 83 overall in the class took plenty of time to do interviews over the weekend. At this point Daniel is focusing on 11 schools despite an offer list that reads like a who's who of the college football elite. One of the schools Daniel continues to look at is Arizona and at this point the Wildcats remain in the conversation.
"What's really stood out about them (Arizona) with me is how loyal they've been to me," Daniel told GOAZCATS.com about the Wildcats. "Coach K (Bill Kirelawich) really likes me and I haven't really been able to talk to coach Rodriguez, but coach (Matt) Dudek and all them have really taking a liking to me."
With Arizona trying to make a push into the Fresno area with recruits like Nick Wilson and Devon Brewer already on board in 2014, the Wildcats have continued to focus on the area for the 2015 class. With so many prospects from that area now seeing the 'Cats as an option, that's something else that Daniel is looking at when it comes to the program.
"I'm friends with all those guys, you know," he said. "So it would be kind of cool to go to school with some people that I knew."
USC has been the emerging big option for Daniel at this point in the process, but he's still not ready to make his decision yet. The big 6-foot-5 recruit said he plans on having his list trimmed down to five schools by the start of his senior year and then go from there.
"If it doesn't happen by then, then it doesn't happen by then," he said. "I'm just going to take my time."
* Another recruit with a number of offers from California who has been watching his recruitment really take off in the recent months is four-star cornerback recruit Isaiah Langley. The Pleasanton (Calif.) Foothill standout is currently rated as the No. 129 prospect overall in the 2015 class, and his offer list continues to grow. Arizona is one of the newer schools to get involved with the 5-foot-11 recruit and it's a school he's hoping to get to know more about.
"Yeah, that was a huge surprise," Langley told GOAZCATS.com about getting an offer from Arizona. "I wasn't really talking with them, and one day they got a hold of me on Facebook and asked me to call them. So I gave them a call and they pulled the trigger."
At this point Langley isn't as familiar with Arizona as other programs, but he's hoping to get to know them some more as things move forward.
"You know, I consider all 25 of my offers," he said. "So I'm considering Arizona. I don't know much about them, but that is what the recruiting process is all about to get to know the coaching staff and what they have to offer.
With new schools continuing to enter into his recruitment pretty regularly Langley isn't in a big rush to make his decision, so Arizona certainly has time to make its presence known in his recruitment.
* Along with guys like Anu Solomon in attendance at the event over the weekend, there were prospects who will be in Tucson real soon in Las Vegas as well. Linebacker signee Jamardre Cobb made the trip from Los Angeles to watch his former team which features recruits like Arizona target Kyahva Tezino.
Another future Wildcat who made the trip out to watch the Tucson-based squad was four-star signee Cameron Denson. The two-way standout has been continuing to work this offseason with his focus remaining on both sides of the ball.
"It's going good," Denson told GOAZCATS.com about his offseason. "I've been working out and working on getting faster and stronger, and all the little things. I've just been working on getting in and out of my routes, and in case I have to play DB I've been working on those DB drills also.
"And they're in the spring right now, so things are going good as they're trying to find a quarterback - I'm just along for the ride."
Even though Denson has made a name for himself on the offensive side of the ball as a receiver, he may end up having a better chance to contribute right away on the defensive side of the ball as a defensive back. It's not something Denson is opposed to and that is one reason why he's preparing himself to be an early contributor.
"I'm always trying to get on the field in a hurry, " he said. "But then again I'm also trying to do what's best for the team, you know, and I just want to make plays for the team. So any way I can contribute to the team success I'd like to be a contributor."
Like the rest of the 2014 class the Tucson (Calif.) Salpointe star will officially arrive to campus this summer to begin workouts before starting up with fall camp.
* Prior to the big weekend in Las Vegas, the Wildcats earned another commitment but it didn't come in the 2015 class that the program is putting in a lot of work for right now. It came in the 2016 class when running back Trevor Speights gave the Wildcats his pledge during the week after an unofficial visit to Tucson.
The McAllen (Texas) McAllen Memorial standout became the second 2016 recruit to join the Wildcats after quarterback Shea Patterson made his choice as a freshman. In this instance Patterson had a part in Speights' decision as the two recruits are close friends and have known each other for quite some time.
Prior to moving out to Shreveport, La., Patterson played football in Texas and had been friends with Speights. That led to a connection that eventually landed the running back in Tucson. The new commitment should certainly help with what could be a crazy time on the recruiting front for Patterson, who is starting to see his options really open up with some big-time offers.
Keeping a commitment for a long time has its challenges but as Speights believes he will be playing his college football with Patterson in Tucson.
"I definitely want to grow as a running back," Speights told GOAZCATS.com shortly after his commitment. "I just want to be ready for the college experience. I'm going to work so that I can play as a freshman and hopefully me and Shea can do something big here."
At this point the Wildcats already have a very nice start to 2016 with almost two years to go until those prospects sign.
Basketball recruiting
There is still a long way to go until the 2013-14 season is decided with the NCAA Tournament beginning this week, but on the recruiting front things are well ahead of schedule for the Wildcats as the arrival of the 2014 class approaches this summer. Should Arizona make a deep run in the tournament there are going to be some members of the team who decide it's time to lace up their shoes for a professional team next year and that will open up some spots for the upcoming class.
Again, there is much to be decided but with how things stand now we'd thought it would be a good time to take another look at the scholarship situation heading into next season and where the Wildcats will need to make room for the five incoming 2014 prospects with the new addition of big man Dusan Ristic.
* So here's a rundown of each class as things stand now when it comes to who scholarships will be allocated to.
Arizona used 11 of its available 13 scholarships for the 2013-14 season, and will have Jordin Mayes coming off as the senior exits after this season. Sean Miller's program will have to fit in five more recruits in with the 2014 class for the 2014-15 season.
Seniors: Nick Johnson, TJ McConnell, and Matt Korcheck will all be seniors on next year's team should everyone stay put. Now that's a big "if" with Johnson who was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, but for the sake of the official numbers we'll leave him in. So that leaves Arizona with 10 more scholarships for the rest of the roster.
Juniors: One of the biggest recruiting classes Miller brought in during his time at Arizona was in 2012 and two of those prospects are still around. Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, and Gabe York all remain from that class and will be juniors next season along with newcomer Kadeem Allen from the junior college ranks.
Now Tarczewski has made some serious strides, so it will be interesting to see if he opts to turn pro or not, but for now we will leave him in as well. That puts the number of available scholarships down to six for the 2014-15 season.
Sophomores: The 2013 class was another impressive one for the Wildcats, and all three members of that group have proved to be important pieces for UA at times this year. Should everything stay the same the Wildcats would have Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Elliott Pitts as sophomores next season. You also have Zach Peters who will be a sophomore as well to count against this number.
At this point that doesn't seem likely with potentially a couple in that group, but for now we'll leave them in to take the number of available scholarships down to two.
Freshmen: Well that leaves us with just the freshman group to come in that includes prospects like five-star recruit Stanley Johnson, Craig Victor, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and now Ristic. With those four additions that would put Arizona at 15 players who were recruited with a scholarship in mind.
Meaning the 'Cats would be two over the limit.
* So with the Wildcats two over the 13-scholarship limit there is going to have to be something happen to make all those bodies fit. The most likely scenario right now is that Gordon and Johnson opt to turn pro after this season opening up those other two spots putting the Wildcats right at that magic number of 13.
While there are other moves that could take place - again you never know about a player like Tarczewski, or even Hollis-Jefferson for that matter - the scenario with Johnson and Gordon opting for the NBA seems like the most likely at this point.
So as you can see things still seem to be just fine for the Wildcats should a couple of guys make some decisions. If not then things could get tricky for the Wildcats, but as of now it looks like UA will end up right where it needs to be heading into next season when it comes to the scholarship situation.
* The bracket has been revealed and Arizona now knows it will be the top seed in the West. The opponent will be No. 16 Weber State and tipoff is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego.
Here's what you need to know about Weber State:
-They share the same mascot name, so San Diego will be Wildcat Country one way or another.
-Weber State (19-11) is the regular season and tournament champion from the Big Sky Conference.
-The leading scorer is Davion Berry, the Big Sky Conference player of the year and unanimous first-team all-league selection. He averages 19.1 points on 47.7 percent shooting - including 38.3 percent at the 3-point line.
The 81.6 percent free throw shooter gets to the line frequently, averaging 8.1 attempts per game.
-Kyle Tresnak is the next guy to watch. Tresnak, the second-leading scorer at 11.8 points, is a 6-10, 240-pound senior center who shoots a team-high 60.5 percent.
-This is a team that can shoot 3-pointers, connecting on 39.2 percent for the season.
The highest volume shooter from beyond the arc is Jeremy Senglin, who shoots 40.4 percent on a team-high 151 attempts. Next is Berry (149 attempts), followed by Jordan Richardson (35 percent on 143 attempts).
But then there are the role players who don't shoot it as frequently but can be threats. Richaud Gittens, who has appeared in all 30 games, shot a team-high 46.9 percent on 32 attempts. Others who can stretch the floor include Kyndahl Hill (46.7 percent on 15 attempts) and Royce Williams (40 percent on 35 percent).
UA head coach Sean Miller likened Weber State to Belmont, last year's opponent to open the NCAA tournament. But Miller said this year's team is much better at defending the 3.
-Rebounding has been a strength for most of Arizona's season, and the challenge this time will be to keep Joel Bolomboy off the glass. The 6-9, 225-pound sophomore is averaging 10.8 boards per game and shoots 50 percent.
-Among its nonconference opponents this season, Weber State lost at BYU, 81-72, and at UCLA, 83-60.
* Jordin Mayes only logged three minutes in the Pac-12 Conference tournament championship game loss to UCLA.
But the reserve guard has stepped his game up of late, totaling 12 points - 6 in each contest - on a combined 5-of-9 shooting over 23 minutes in the first two games of the tournament.
"I think he shoots 80 percent in March," junior guard Nick Johnson said of his teammate's ability to rise to the occasion late in the season. "He's played great for us the last few games."
Added Mayes: "You want to keep on playing. I'm a senior. It's coming to an end for me."
Mayes was a freshman during the Elite Eight run in 2011, and he sees "a lot of similarities" in this year's team. That team, however, was centered around Derrick Williams, and Mayes said the balance is better on this year's 30-4 Wildcats.
"I think this year, we've got more guys we can go to offensively," Mayes said.
* I'm hearing it wouldn't be all too surprising to see Arizona make a staff change before next season. There have been a few departures and additions over each of the past few years.
A time for something to happen would be around the Final Four, but the farther Arizona gets in the tournament it becomes less likely to avoid a potential distraction. But the Final Four is essentially a mini convention of coaches and programs looking to make hires, etc.
It happened last year with Tony Bland, if you recall, as USC lured him away from San Diego State.
A change would then naturally point to someone like Miles Simon, or even perhaps Joseph Blair because of his work with Kaleb Tarczewski.
Blair is officially an undergraduate assistant right now, a position that is a revolving door for a staff, and he has become more interested in being an assistant coach with this experience.
But he also has a desire to continue working for his alma mater in some capacity. Arizona is at the top of his priority list and he wants to see if something can be worked out to remain part of the staff.
I spoke with Blair about his role this past season during the Pac-12 tournament, so I will have more on him and his work with Tarczewski in a story this week. But here's a preview of what he had to say about coaching, in general:
"I definitely have the coaching bug," Blair told GOAZCATS.com. "I definitely have the itch, that's for sure."
* The Pac-12 tournament also marked the induction of ex-Wildcats forward Luke Walton into the conference's Hall of Honor.
Walton was joined by his father, Bill, and former UA head coach Lute Olson.
"It's awesome," Walton said. "It was such a great time in my life, so many good memories, friendships I've made there, coach Olson - everything. Just to be honored for the time, the dedication, it's a great feeling."
Walton and Olson met for breakfast on the morning of his Friday induction.
But the start to the day had Walton jokingly fearing what Olson would say when he arrived late.
"We were joking about it at breakfast this morning," Walton recalled. "I was late to breakfast and I was afraid he was going to make me run five miles at 5 a.m. like he used to.
"He didn't care how talented anyone on the team was. If you were late you were going to either run or not start. If you acted the wrong way he was going to send you home. More than just basketball -- he was such a great teacher of the fundamentals of the game, but he also taught all of us how to be a man and how to act the right way."
Football
* Arizona is in the midst of an 11-day break before it resumes spring camp March 24.
Some players are off on vacation, others like Anu Solomon took the time to head back home and coach in the 7-on-7 this past weekend in Las Vegas, while some like Will Parks, Davonte' Neal and Tellas Jones have stuck around Tucson to get more work in.
* Before taking off, we caught up with Connor Brewer to discuss the early stages of the battle at quarterback.
"It's what I've been waiting for, for a long time," said Brewer, who sat out, per NCAA transfer rules, after leaving Texas. "Last year I was still competing, but I didn't have a shot to start."
Brewer ran the scout team last season, so he said the coaches were not looking at him too much. His job, then, was to prepare the defense for what was to come.
Now, he is running Arizona's offense and said it's nice not worrying about another team's scheme.
While at Texas, Brewer was not getting much of an opportunity to play with the first- or second-string. Now, the job is wide open with the Wildcats.
"Just getting those live reps, getting the feel back (have been an adjustment)," Brewer said.
Brewer said he got together with several members of the team during the offseason to get ready for the spring. Any edge, whether it be his previous relationships with Neal (high school teammate) and Cayleb Jones (teammate at Texas), or a little extra work when nobody is watching, could be the difference, Brewer said.
"I knew this spring was going to be real big for me," he added.
Looking around, he sees several different styles of quarterbacks. Jerrard Randall has the best legs of the signal callers, but the accuracy and touch on throws is not up to par with the others.
Jesse Scroggins and Randall have the arm strength, but Solomon may have the better blend of passing and running. Brewer may be more similar to Solomon than any other quarterback on the roster, and he is looking to show he is athletic enough to provide a balance.
"The coaches have a plethora to choose from," Brewer said. "But we've all got to run the same offense, all have got to run the same plays. So I think it's going to be a fun and a tough competition battle.
And it was a busy weekend on the football recruiting front as well, so here's recruitng editor Matt Moreno's recruiting breakdown:
Las Vegas was certainly the place to be last weekend as there were plenty of events taking place all over the city that had some tie in to college athletics. On the basketball front there were plenty of conference tournaments taking place over the course of the week culminating over the weekend.
And on the football side of things one of the big 7v7 events of the year took place over the weekend as well. Both involved Arizona in some way as the Wildcats made it the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament while there were numerous Arizona football targets participating in the 85-team 7v7 event.
GOAZCATS.com was at both events over the course of the week and weekend, and there was plenty for us to see at both. There were plenty of top football prospects at the Pylon Elite 7v7 event and Arizona was one of the schools being talked about quite a bit by those recruits.
We'll have more with some of the big-time recruits who were out at the event as well as some of the prospects who still have the Wildcats high on their lists.
When it comes to the basketball side things are certainly looking good for the 'Cats on the recruiting front heading into the spring evaluation period after the season. At this point UA already has five prospects committed for the 2014 class with four of them already signed to play in Tucson next year.
With Dusan Ristic recently joining that 2014 group that means another scholarship spot that will be needed next season. As we do from time to time, we'll take another look at the scholarship situation heading into next season with the new arrivals factored in.
After a busy weekend in Las Vegas, here is this week's recruiting portion of the War Room.
Football recruiting
There were plenty of prospects and even current college players out in Las Vegas last weekend at the Pylon 7v7 event with people like current Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon making the trip out. The focus for the weekend, however, was on the field with a number of the country's top prospects in action with their various teams participating in the two-day event.
* While there were plenty of prospects participating, one who wasn't participating in the 7v7 event or lineman challenge at the event was still one of the most popular among the media when it came to interviews. Rivals100 defensive tackle Jacob Daniel was in attendance at the event to support one of the Fresno-based teams at the event.
The Fresno (Calif.) Clovis North prospect, who is rated as a four-star recruit and No. 83 overall in the class took plenty of time to do interviews over the weekend. At this point Daniel is focusing on 11 schools despite an offer list that reads like a who's who of the college football elite. One of the schools Daniel continues to look at is Arizona and at this point the Wildcats remain in the conversation.
"What's really stood out about them (Arizona) with me is how loyal they've been to me," Daniel told GOAZCATS.com about the Wildcats. "Coach K (Bill Kirelawich) really likes me and I haven't really been able to talk to coach Rodriguez, but coach (Matt) Dudek and all them have really taking a liking to me."
With Arizona trying to make a push into the Fresno area with recruits like Nick Wilson and Devon Brewer already on board in 2014, the Wildcats have continued to focus on the area for the 2015 class. With so many prospects from that area now seeing the 'Cats as an option, that's something else that Daniel is looking at when it comes to the program.
"I'm friends with all those guys, you know," he said. "So it would be kind of cool to go to school with some people that I knew."
USC has been the emerging big option for Daniel at this point in the process, but he's still not ready to make his decision yet. The big 6-foot-5 recruit said he plans on having his list trimmed down to five schools by the start of his senior year and then go from there.
"If it doesn't happen by then, then it doesn't happen by then," he said. "I'm just going to take my time."
* Another recruit with a number of offers from California who has been watching his recruitment really take off in the recent months is four-star cornerback recruit Isaiah Langley. The Pleasanton (Calif.) Foothill standout is currently rated as the No. 129 prospect overall in the 2015 class, and his offer list continues to grow. Arizona is one of the newer schools to get involved with the 5-foot-11 recruit and it's a school he's hoping to get to know more about.
"Yeah, that was a huge surprise," Langley told GOAZCATS.com about getting an offer from Arizona. "I wasn't really talking with them, and one day they got a hold of me on Facebook and asked me to call them. So I gave them a call and they pulled the trigger."
At this point Langley isn't as familiar with Arizona as other programs, but he's hoping to get to know them some more as things move forward.
"You know, I consider all 25 of my offers," he said. "So I'm considering Arizona. I don't know much about them, but that is what the recruiting process is all about to get to know the coaching staff and what they have to offer.
With new schools continuing to enter into his recruitment pretty regularly Langley isn't in a big rush to make his decision, so Arizona certainly has time to make its presence known in his recruitment.
* Along with guys like Anu Solomon in attendance at the event over the weekend, there were prospects who will be in Tucson real soon in Las Vegas as well. Linebacker signee Jamardre Cobb made the trip from Los Angeles to watch his former team which features recruits like Arizona target Kyahva Tezino.
Another future Wildcat who made the trip out to watch the Tucson-based squad was four-star signee Cameron Denson. The two-way standout has been continuing to work this offseason with his focus remaining on both sides of the ball.
"It's going good," Denson told GOAZCATS.com about his offseason. "I've been working out and working on getting faster and stronger, and all the little things. I've just been working on getting in and out of my routes, and in case I have to play DB I've been working on those DB drills also.
"And they're in the spring right now, so things are going good as they're trying to find a quarterback - I'm just along for the ride."
Even though Denson has made a name for himself on the offensive side of the ball as a receiver, he may end up having a better chance to contribute right away on the defensive side of the ball as a defensive back. It's not something Denson is opposed to and that is one reason why he's preparing himself to be an early contributor.
"I'm always trying to get on the field in a hurry, " he said. "But then again I'm also trying to do what's best for the team, you know, and I just want to make plays for the team. So any way I can contribute to the team success I'd like to be a contributor."
Like the rest of the 2014 class the Tucson (Calif.) Salpointe star will officially arrive to campus this summer to begin workouts before starting up with fall camp.
* Prior to the big weekend in Las Vegas, the Wildcats earned another commitment but it didn't come in the 2015 class that the program is putting in a lot of work for right now. It came in the 2016 class when running back Trevor Speights gave the Wildcats his pledge during the week after an unofficial visit to Tucson.
The McAllen (Texas) McAllen Memorial standout became the second 2016 recruit to join the Wildcats after quarterback Shea Patterson made his choice as a freshman. In this instance Patterson had a part in Speights' decision as the two recruits are close friends and have known each other for quite some time.
Prior to moving out to Shreveport, La., Patterson played football in Texas and had been friends with Speights. That led to a connection that eventually landed the running back in Tucson. The new commitment should certainly help with what could be a crazy time on the recruiting front for Patterson, who is starting to see his options really open up with some big-time offers.
Keeping a commitment for a long time has its challenges but as Speights believes he will be playing his college football with Patterson in Tucson.
"I definitely want to grow as a running back," Speights told GOAZCATS.com shortly after his commitment. "I just want to be ready for the college experience. I'm going to work so that I can play as a freshman and hopefully me and Shea can do something big here."
At this point the Wildcats already have a very nice start to 2016 with almost two years to go until those prospects sign.
Basketball recruiting
There is still a long way to go until the 2013-14 season is decided with the NCAA Tournament beginning this week, but on the recruiting front things are well ahead of schedule for the Wildcats as the arrival of the 2014 class approaches this summer. Should Arizona make a deep run in the tournament there are going to be some members of the team who decide it's time to lace up their shoes for a professional team next year and that will open up some spots for the upcoming class.
Again, there is much to be decided but with how things stand now we'd thought it would be a good time to take another look at the scholarship situation heading into next season and where the Wildcats will need to make room for the five incoming 2014 prospects with the new addition of big man Dusan Ristic.
* So here's a rundown of each class as things stand now when it comes to who scholarships will be allocated to.
Arizona used 11 of its available 13 scholarships for the 2013-14 season, and will have Jordin Mayes coming off as the senior exits after this season. Sean Miller's program will have to fit in five more recruits in with the 2014 class for the 2014-15 season.
Seniors: Nick Johnson, TJ McConnell, and Matt Korcheck will all be seniors on next year's team should everyone stay put. Now that's a big "if" with Johnson who was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, but for the sake of the official numbers we'll leave him in. So that leaves Arizona with 10 more scholarships for the rest of the roster.
Juniors: One of the biggest recruiting classes Miller brought in during his time at Arizona was in 2012 and two of those prospects are still around. Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, and Gabe York all remain from that class and will be juniors next season along with newcomer Kadeem Allen from the junior college ranks.
Now Tarczewski has made some serious strides, so it will be interesting to see if he opts to turn pro or not, but for now we will leave him in as well. That puts the number of available scholarships down to six for the 2014-15 season.
Sophomores: The 2013 class was another impressive one for the Wildcats, and all three members of that group have proved to be important pieces for UA at times this year. Should everything stay the same the Wildcats would have Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Elliott Pitts as sophomores next season. You also have Zach Peters who will be a sophomore as well to count against this number.
At this point that doesn't seem likely with potentially a couple in that group, but for now we'll leave them in to take the number of available scholarships down to two.
Freshmen: Well that leaves us with just the freshman group to come in that includes prospects like five-star recruit Stanley Johnson, Craig Victor, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and now Ristic. With those four additions that would put Arizona at 15 players who were recruited with a scholarship in mind.
Meaning the 'Cats would be two over the limit.
* So with the Wildcats two over the 13-scholarship limit there is going to have to be something happen to make all those bodies fit. The most likely scenario right now is that Gordon and Johnson opt to turn pro after this season opening up those other two spots putting the Wildcats right at that magic number of 13.
While there are other moves that could take place - again you never know about a player like Tarczewski, or even Hollis-Jefferson for that matter - the scenario with Johnson and Gordon opting for the NBA seems like the most likely at this point.
So as you can see things still seem to be just fine for the Wildcats should a couple of guys make some decisions. If not then things could get tricky for the Wildcats, but as of now it looks like UA will end up right where it needs to be heading into next season when it comes to the scholarship situation.
