There’s little news to discuss this week, so this War Room will mostly go over the basketball and football recruits who were interviewed since last Friday.
Basketball:
It's been an uncharacteristically quiet week for basketball recruiting news and there's nothing really new to report. We'll go over the little news that did come out this week.
* 6-foot-8, 210-pound New York Rice power forward Kadeem Jack appears to have made a final decision that he'll head to prep school, as he will reclassify to 2011 and go to South Kent Prep next season.
Jack was leaning towards staying in 2010 once North Carolina and Kentucky got involved in his recruitment, but nothing materialized with either school.
Damian Leslie, Jack's mentor, said that Arizona remains very involved with the recruitment, and that he would decide between his previous finalists of UA, Miami, Connecticut and Arkansas, with possibly another school getting into the picture.
"It's the same four that have been there, and room for a possible one other," Leslie told GOAZCATS.com. "He'll come down to a conclusion soon enough. There's no real timetable...
"Arizona is good. Arizona is pushing hard, he respects it, and everything is pretty good with them."
Leslie also said that Jack plans on visiting Arizona again before making a decision.
"That's definitely a strong possibility," Leslie said. "It's more than likely. There are no dates or anything; right now he's just working on graduating."
Our feeling is that UA will try to get Jack back on campus sooner than later and while his recruitment has been controversial, he remains a serious target for Arizona.
* Arizona has been gradually picking up its recruitment of Jahii Carson and the interest appears mutual.
"I like U of A a lot," Carson told Rivals.com. "It's right in the backyard and they're a point guard school. They let the point guard run the offense and just play. I'm also building a relationship with coach (James) Whitford and coach (Sean) Miller so U of A is up there right now.
"Coach Miller being a point guard himself he understands how to coach guys as point guards and how to make them better players. He tells me that with Nic Wise if he would have had Nic Wise earlier he thinks he'd be in the NBA.
"When he tells me he can get me to the highest level, and tells me I have to be an overall good player, not just a point guard, that makes U of A really high for me."
Carson said that he's taking his time with his recruitment and is in no rush to make a decision.
Arizona has been recruiting Nick Johnson as its priority point guard in 2011, and that remains the case, but Carson has had a big spring. In a perfect world, UA could take both, but it's unknown if both recruits would be willing to commit in the same class.
* 2011 Detroit center Amir Williams doesn’t usually mention UA in interviews, and while we’ve maintained that he’s a long shot recruitment, the odds don’t seem any better.
"Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Duke, Kentucky, Texas, Purdue, Miami, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh [are showing the most interest]," Williams told PantherLair.com. "All of them except North Carolina have offered."
Williams was a teammate of Ray McCallum’s at Detroit Country Day and he’s a player we’ve mentioned because UA has recruited him to some extent, but it’s doubtful anything happens with him.
* Arizona has begun recruiting a local prospect in 6-foot-8, 190-pound 2012 Mountain View center Demetris Morant.
"Arizona told me they think I have a lot of potential and they'll be watching me in the future," Morant said. "They want me to come to the school, walk around and talk to me, meet the players and things like that."
UA will keep an eye on Morant this summer and will likely have him on campus for an unofficial visit soon. He's only played basketball for two years so he has a ways to go, but is definitely a player worth keeping an eye on.
* 2012 Las Vegas forward Rosco Allen holds an Arizona offer and says that he's not close to making a decision.
"I don't have favorites yet," Allen told Rivals.com. "I'm keeping my mind open to every school and hoping I can get to a good school. It's very encouraging, it's showing that hard work is paying off...
"It's going to be a little bit of everything when I decide to commit. Hopefully after my junior year I can commit, that's my goal, to commit after my junior season."
* 2012 forward Alex Murphy remains a top target of Arizona's and told Rivals.com that he's wide open right now.
"Honestly, there's just a lot of school showing interest, probably twenty or twenty-five. Everything is still wide open right now. I'm interested in the schools that are interested in me," he said.
"I've definitely learned a lot from watching my brother and Nate go through the process, and they both said that if you keep working hard it will happen for you. Now that I'm in that position, it's nice to know that they'll both be there to help me if I need it." (JG)
Football:
Jason Scheer’s weekly recruiting update:
May is always a quiet month for football recruiting. Players usually wait for camps in June to visit schools, the players are finishing junior year of high school, and coaches are evaluating.
The action is almost guaranteed to pick up in June and you should hear about plenty of new names in the next few weeks.
* 6-foot-2, 185-pound Desoto (Texas) wide receiver Cameron Whitehttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=95730 has opened up his recruitment and Arizona was quick to get involved again, although it remains to be seen how much of a player the UA will be in White’s recruitment.
"My decision will be TCU, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma State," he tells RedRaiderSports.com. "They are my final top three."
With that being said, White’s visit plans could make things interesting. The longer he takes to make a decision, the longer schools have to get involved. At this point, White remains as a player to keep an eye on.
* Arizona continues to recruit 6-foot-0, 180-pound Livermore (Calif.) Granada athlete Josh Atkinsonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Atkinson-108624.
"I just want a program where there is good academics and good football, a place where there are no cliques on the team and I fit in," Atkinson tells IrishIllustrated.com. "If it's a place where I can showcase my abilities and it fits me academically, that's what I'm looking for. I like to play a lot of press and man-to-man, so that's something I'm looking for."
A lot of Josh’s recruitment will be determined by how his brother, George is letting his recruitment play out. As of now, Arizona is in the picture, but to what extent remains to be seen.
* 5-foot-10, 171-pound Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary cornerback Doran Granthttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Doran-Grant-83996 remains a long shot, but a player that is at the top of Arizona’s priority list.
"I want to go to a school with good people from the coaches, professors and student-athletes to the general student body. I also am looking for a stable coaching staff that will be there with me for the 3-5 years I am on campus," he tells JacketsONline.com. "The other thing I am looking for is early playing time at either corner or even wide receiver.”
While Arizona likely meets that criteria, it is still going to be a tough pull considering Grant has an offer to basically go to any school in the country. The key will be whether or not the UA can somehow get him on campus sooner than later.
* Arizona has recently offered 5-foot-11, 165-pound Stockton (Calif.) Lincoln wide receiver Brandin Cookshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Brandin-Cooks-113489.
"We've been going over flights and seeing when is a good time to go," Cooks tells UDubSports.com. "It all comes down to financials, but I might make a trip to Arizona and one to Oregon if everything works out, but I just want to see what Oregon State and Washington are like."
Cooks has made no secret of the fact that Washington is the leader, but it still seems that he wants to go through the process a little bit. Cooks will not drag out his decision, so getting him on campus this summer will be vital for the Wildcats.
* Arizona has also offered 6-foot-2, 200-pound Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe linebacker Israel Marshallhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=113568.
"I talked to coach (Tim) Kish and he didn't really know much information about me before he came and visited the school," Marshall tells Rivals.com.
"He didn't know much about me but he was saying if he knew about me then he would have already been talking to me and getting through the process of recruiting me. Once he found out about me and watched my film he said he really liked me and was really excited to give me the offer and look forward to the future.”
Marshall is the type of player that is going to look at each school that offers, so it is hard to put too much stock into a favorite right now. However, Boise does have momentum due to the fact that it has been on him so long and it is Arizona’s job to make sure that momentum slows.
* Yet another player that receive an offer is 5-foot-11, 170-pound Vista (Calif.) cornerback Stefan McClurehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Stefan-McClure-109227.
"(Arizona has) been talking to me for a while but with the whole size thing they wanted to make sure face-to-face and size me up and then they offered me after that,” he tells Rivals.com. “They came here and said, 'OK, you're 5-11,' because they usually measure you to the coach they bring out here and he's 5-9 so they used that. It doesn't matter about the height really. It's more about how you play."
McClure has preliminary plans to visit Arizona for its camp this summer and considering he is in the process of narrowing his list down to five schools, that could be a very good sign for the Wildcats.
* 6-foot-2, 174-pound Klein (Texas) safety Eric Rowehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Eric-Rowe-110575 is evaluating his new offer from Arizona.
"Well, I've already been to A&M just to see the campus and I'm going to Rice on June 4th for a camp" he tells PurpleMenace.com. "As far as more visits, I plan on going to a few schools this summer. I'm going to try to go to Arizona, Utah, Louisville, TCU and a few others. I haven't really started making plans yet but those are some of the schools I would like to see."
Rowe is seeing his recruitment pick up in a big way, but it seems that the UA is right in the thick of things.
This post was edited on 5/28 1:02 AM by Josh Gershon
Basketball:
It's been an uncharacteristically quiet week for basketball recruiting news and there's nothing really new to report. We'll go over the little news that did come out this week.
* 6-foot-8, 210-pound New York Rice power forward Kadeem Jack appears to have made a final decision that he'll head to prep school, as he will reclassify to 2011 and go to South Kent Prep next season.
Jack was leaning towards staying in 2010 once North Carolina and Kentucky got involved in his recruitment, but nothing materialized with either school.
Damian Leslie, Jack's mentor, said that Arizona remains very involved with the recruitment, and that he would decide between his previous finalists of UA, Miami, Connecticut and Arkansas, with possibly another school getting into the picture.
"It's the same four that have been there, and room for a possible one other," Leslie told GOAZCATS.com. "He'll come down to a conclusion soon enough. There's no real timetable...
"Arizona is good. Arizona is pushing hard, he respects it, and everything is pretty good with them."
Leslie also said that Jack plans on visiting Arizona again before making a decision.
"That's definitely a strong possibility," Leslie said. "It's more than likely. There are no dates or anything; right now he's just working on graduating."
Our feeling is that UA will try to get Jack back on campus sooner than later and while his recruitment has been controversial, he remains a serious target for Arizona.
* Arizona has been gradually picking up its recruitment of Jahii Carson and the interest appears mutual.
"I like U of A a lot," Carson told Rivals.com. "It's right in the backyard and they're a point guard school. They let the point guard run the offense and just play. I'm also building a relationship with coach (James) Whitford and coach (Sean) Miller so U of A is up there right now.
"Coach Miller being a point guard himself he understands how to coach guys as point guards and how to make them better players. He tells me that with Nic Wise if he would have had Nic Wise earlier he thinks he'd be in the NBA.
"When he tells me he can get me to the highest level, and tells me I have to be an overall good player, not just a point guard, that makes U of A really high for me."
Carson said that he's taking his time with his recruitment and is in no rush to make a decision.
Arizona has been recruiting Nick Johnson as its priority point guard in 2011, and that remains the case, but Carson has had a big spring. In a perfect world, UA could take both, but it's unknown if both recruits would be willing to commit in the same class.
* 2011 Detroit center Amir Williams doesn’t usually mention UA in interviews, and while we’ve maintained that he’s a long shot recruitment, the odds don’t seem any better.
"Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Duke, Kentucky, Texas, Purdue, Miami, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh [are showing the most interest]," Williams told PantherLair.com. "All of them except North Carolina have offered."
Williams was a teammate of Ray McCallum’s at Detroit Country Day and he’s a player we’ve mentioned because UA has recruited him to some extent, but it’s doubtful anything happens with him.
* Arizona has begun recruiting a local prospect in 6-foot-8, 190-pound 2012 Mountain View center Demetris Morant.
"Arizona told me they think I have a lot of potential and they'll be watching me in the future," Morant said. "They want me to come to the school, walk around and talk to me, meet the players and things like that."
UA will keep an eye on Morant this summer and will likely have him on campus for an unofficial visit soon. He's only played basketball for two years so he has a ways to go, but is definitely a player worth keeping an eye on.
* 2012 Las Vegas forward Rosco Allen holds an Arizona offer and says that he's not close to making a decision.
"I don't have favorites yet," Allen told Rivals.com. "I'm keeping my mind open to every school and hoping I can get to a good school. It's very encouraging, it's showing that hard work is paying off...
"It's going to be a little bit of everything when I decide to commit. Hopefully after my junior year I can commit, that's my goal, to commit after my junior season."
* 2012 forward Alex Murphy remains a top target of Arizona's and told Rivals.com that he's wide open right now.
"Honestly, there's just a lot of school showing interest, probably twenty or twenty-five. Everything is still wide open right now. I'm interested in the schools that are interested in me," he said.
"I've definitely learned a lot from watching my brother and Nate go through the process, and they both said that if you keep working hard it will happen for you. Now that I'm in that position, it's nice to know that they'll both be there to help me if I need it." (JG)
Football:
Jason Scheer’s weekly recruiting update:
May is always a quiet month for football recruiting. Players usually wait for camps in June to visit schools, the players are finishing junior year of high school, and coaches are evaluating.
The action is almost guaranteed to pick up in June and you should hear about plenty of new names in the next few weeks.
* 6-foot-2, 185-pound Desoto (Texas) wide receiver Cameron Whitehttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=95730 has opened up his recruitment and Arizona was quick to get involved again, although it remains to be seen how much of a player the UA will be in White’s recruitment.
"My decision will be TCU, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma State," he tells RedRaiderSports.com. "They are my final top three."
With that being said, White’s visit plans could make things interesting. The longer he takes to make a decision, the longer schools have to get involved. At this point, White remains as a player to keep an eye on.
* Arizona continues to recruit 6-foot-0, 180-pound Livermore (Calif.) Granada athlete Josh Atkinsonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Atkinson-108624.
"I just want a program where there is good academics and good football, a place where there are no cliques on the team and I fit in," Atkinson tells IrishIllustrated.com. "If it's a place where I can showcase my abilities and it fits me academically, that's what I'm looking for. I like to play a lot of press and man-to-man, so that's something I'm looking for."
A lot of Josh’s recruitment will be determined by how his brother, George is letting his recruitment play out. As of now, Arizona is in the picture, but to what extent remains to be seen.
* 5-foot-10, 171-pound Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary cornerback Doran Granthttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Doran-Grant-83996 remains a long shot, but a player that is at the top of Arizona’s priority list.
"I want to go to a school with good people from the coaches, professors and student-athletes to the general student body. I also am looking for a stable coaching staff that will be there with me for the 3-5 years I am on campus," he tells JacketsONline.com. "The other thing I am looking for is early playing time at either corner or even wide receiver.”
While Arizona likely meets that criteria, it is still going to be a tough pull considering Grant has an offer to basically go to any school in the country. The key will be whether or not the UA can somehow get him on campus sooner than later.
* Arizona has recently offered 5-foot-11, 165-pound Stockton (Calif.) Lincoln wide receiver Brandin Cookshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Brandin-Cooks-113489.
"We've been going over flights and seeing when is a good time to go," Cooks tells UDubSports.com. "It all comes down to financials, but I might make a trip to Arizona and one to Oregon if everything works out, but I just want to see what Oregon State and Washington are like."
Cooks has made no secret of the fact that Washington is the leader, but it still seems that he wants to go through the process a little bit. Cooks will not drag out his decision, so getting him on campus this summer will be vital for the Wildcats.
* Arizona has also offered 6-foot-2, 200-pound Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe linebacker Israel Marshallhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=113568.
"I talked to coach (Tim) Kish and he didn't really know much information about me before he came and visited the school," Marshall tells Rivals.com.
"He didn't know much about me but he was saying if he knew about me then he would have already been talking to me and getting through the process of recruiting me. Once he found out about me and watched my film he said he really liked me and was really excited to give me the offer and look forward to the future.”
Marshall is the type of player that is going to look at each school that offers, so it is hard to put too much stock into a favorite right now. However, Boise does have momentum due to the fact that it has been on him so long and it is Arizona’s job to make sure that momentum slows.
* Yet another player that receive an offer is 5-foot-11, 170-pound Vista (Calif.) cornerback Stefan McClurehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Stefan-McClure-109227.
"(Arizona has) been talking to me for a while but with the whole size thing they wanted to make sure face-to-face and size me up and then they offered me after that,” he tells Rivals.com. “They came here and said, 'OK, you're 5-11,' because they usually measure you to the coach they bring out here and he's 5-9 so they used that. It doesn't matter about the height really. It's more about how you play."
McClure has preliminary plans to visit Arizona for its camp this summer and considering he is in the process of narrowing his list down to five schools, that could be a very good sign for the Wildcats.
* 6-foot-2, 174-pound Klein (Texas) safety Eric Rowehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Eric-Rowe-110575 is evaluating his new offer from Arizona.
"Well, I've already been to A&M just to see the campus and I'm going to Rice on June 4th for a camp" he tells PurpleMenace.com. "As far as more visits, I plan on going to a few schools this summer. I'm going to try to go to Arizona, Utah, Louisville, TCU and a few others. I haven't really started making plans yet but those are some of the schools I would like to see."
Rowe is seeing his recruitment pick up in a big way, but it seems that the UA is right in the thick of things.
This post was edited on 5/28 1:02 AM by Josh Gershon
