School is closer to starting, which means team and recruiting news will heat up in both major sports.
Basketball:
There are several basketball notes of various degrees of importance to touch on this week.
* With questions surrounding how many conference games Pac-12 teams will play, the Wildcats' future scheduling has been pretty much stalled. However, here's what's known so far:
- In 2011-12, Arizona will participate in the Coaches vs. Cancer, which will include two home games and two games in New York. UA will also play at Florida, at New Mexico State, against Gonzaga in Seattle and at home against Bryant. The Wildcats will likely add three "guarantee games" - home games against a lesser opponent - and two series, which will could be home and homes or on neutral courts.
- In 2012-13, Arizona recently accepted an invitation to be a part of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Wildcats will also play Florida at home. Nothing is officially scheduled beyond that.
* Demolition of the basketball locker room has begun, so the Wildcats are currently using the visitor's locker room. It's expected that the renovated locker room will be done by December. Changes to the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium could also be completed by December as well.
In the future, UA will also undergo changes inside the basketball offices, as well as the hallway outside of them.
* Sean Miller spent the week vacationing in Hawaii with his family, while assistant Book Richardson vacationed with his family in San Diego.
* The players had been participating in pickup games in Richard Jefferson Gymnasium while the new courthttp://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/974/965613.jpg in McKale Center is finished. Those games are now on hold, as the players will finish the second summer session this week and next, then leave for about 10 days, before returning on Aug. 21.
* While pickup games were closed to the public, here are a couple notes from talking to observers:
- Jamelle Horne is noticeably stronger and appears to have made noted development on his ball handling ability and first step to the basket. Horne being able to handle the ball is one of the two biggest improvements he can make, along with consistent effort, and if pickup can translate to games, that will be a big step for him in taking his game to the next level.
- Like all freshmen, Daniel Bejarano has a ways to go physically. However, he's shown to be a very high level shooter.
* To get more on how pickup is going and other UA basketball notes, we caught up with new Arizona Graduate Assistanthttp://arizona.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=974&CID=1110080 Danny Peters for a Q&A.
GOAZCATS.com: What have the guys been doing?
Danny Peters: Well everyone has been in there to shoot. Each player has a goal of making 250 shots. You don't want the guys to kill themselves; obviously it's still the off-season and you don't want anyone to beat themselves down before the season. They come in and do spot shooting from three and not only from the college line but the NBA line so the guys have been even more eager to get in the gym.
The players work on shooting off the dribble. It's gone well. Everyone has been in the gym and they want to keep shooting. They text me on their own to go shoot which has not been the mentality here in the past I guess.
Once they enjoy the first few workouts they call you the fourth and fifth time to get in the gym and it's been going well. Now the issue is, is there enough time for each player to work out in the gym or do guys need to be moved around to make time? That's a good issue to have because guys want to get in there.
GOAZCATS.com: You're in an interesting position because you've seen the incoming guys and worked out with them, while the coaching staff hasn't. What are your impressions so far?
Danny Peters: They've been eager to get in the gym and they've been there. They've done their work. I told the leaders of the team, 'remember, when you were freshmen, you didn't have any idea what to do or how to do it. You needed to follow somebody. The new guys are young, they're moldable, they're easy to deal with. Grab them and show them the way because those are three other guys that will follow you. On a team of 12, that's a good percent of the team that's already behind you.'
They did that, and now those guys are calling me to get in the gym to shoot every day. Jordin (Mayes), Daniel and Jesse (Perry) have been great about that; they've all been in the gym.
GOAZCATS.com: When you say you approached the team leaders, who are you referring to?
Danny Peters: The older guys; I think Mello (Jamelle Horne) has done a good job of it, I think MoMo (Lamont Jones) and (Kyle) Fogg have said some things. Solo (Solomon Hill) has stepped up and so has Derrick (Williams). I can't say I've been here for games and seen them in game situations but all of those guys have stepped up as leaders.
GOAZCATS.com: Watching pickup games, what are your impressions of Jesse Perry so far?
Danny Peters: Tough, hard-nosed, hard working guy who is going to do the dirty work, he's going to clean up around the basket, he's a great rebounder, a very tough, physical defender. He's going to be a tough matchup because he can guard a big guy and a big guy will have to guard him on the other end. He's very good with the ball; he can get by and finish at the basket. He's capable of shooting the basketball. I think he's going to be good.
GOAZCATS.com: What are the main things you think he has to work on between now and games?
Danny Peters: Everything and it will all come out in practice. That's when everything is exposed. They put that spotlight on you and you can't hide. In an open gym it's a different setting; you don't have coach Miller on you, down your throat, making you compete at the highest level. You don't have a lot of the things that are impacting how you play. I know for sure I can go shoot right now and make a ton of shots but as soon as the lights come on and someone is guarding me, it's a different story.
GOAZCATS.com: What do you think about Daniel Bejarano so far?
Danny Peters: Daniel is by far one of our best shooters. He's a freshman and there are things you go through as a freshmen, being the man at your high school to being another player on a team at a program such as Arizona. The possibility of being the guy, as a freshman, are very small. Eventually you can be but right away it's tough. It will be interesting to see how everyone deals with that, not just D.B. but Jordin and even a walk-on will deal with it.
D.B. has done a good job of being in the gym, he shoots the ball well, and as soon as coach Miller gets a hold of him, he's just going to improve because he can learn so much. There's so much room for improvement I.Q. wise, in terms of how to guard - defensively he's going to make great improvements because he's willing to work at it. He's done a great job shooting the ball. After the first couple of open gyms he became much more comfortable and started shooting the ball really well.
GOAZCATS.com: And Jordin Mayes?
Danny Peters: He's talented; he's a really talented guy. He has a strong handle in one on one situations, he's capable of making shots, he finishes well around the basket and gets at the rim. Once coach (Chris) Rounds puts some muscle on him - obviously it's not going to happen overnight, he won't be LeBron (James) in three lifts - but with that progress, he has the ability to be very good. I think he can help us in situation; even in big situations. Down the line, he's definitely going to be a big asset to Arizona basketball.
GOAZCATS.com: Mayes didn't enter Arizona with a lot of hype in terms of recruiting rankings, but from what you've seen, you definitely think he's a UA level player?
Danny Peters: Yes, for sure. He's a freshman and is still learning the way to do things, and you've got leaders that have been here for multiple head coaches so they don't necessarily know the way. They're trying to find out that way, we're trying to help them find that way, and they're trying to take that and show the younger guys, who will do the same thing in three years to the players that are in their position.
Jordin is still learning how to go from Westchester to being essentially a professional at Arizona, because this is their job. These guys have the ability to make money at a minimum, overseas. I was talking with one of my teammates from our Final Four team at Ohio State and right now, I might be the only one not playing professional basketball. Everyone has the opportunity at this level; it's how you prepare for that opportunity.
GOAZCATS.com: I've heard that Jamelle has really improved his ball handling in the off-season. From watching him, where would you say that aspect of his game is?
Danny Peters: Jamelle has been in the gym working on it. He's asked for extra time. He's even said he doesn't need a (student) manager, that he'll do it on his own. He appreciates it. He's seen the progress and he's seen the progression. He is working on the moves that he's successful at and trying to master them. He's done that and in each open gym he's gotten better.
He's shooting better, he's attacking the rim better, he's rebounding better, he's defended very well, and he's even worked on being a leader. That may not put the ball in the basket but he's learning how to deal with his teammates, how to help his teammates, how to hold he and his teammates accountable. I'm very surprised with how well he's handled that.
GOAZCATS.com: When you have relayed everything you just told me to the coaching staff, what has their reaction been?
Danny Peters: A lot of excitement. Maybe a little bit of 'really?' and surprise, but they're excited. It hasn't been one day and then three days off of being a bad teammate. It's been very consistent improvement, every day. It's very good to see and it's refreshing to see that he knows he's a senior and this is his last time.
There's no worse feeling than being a senior and knowing that you blew it. You have to live with that your whole life and you don't have the opportunity to go back. You have constant reminders of that. It's not just Jamelle; it's anyone. If you have to live with the feeling of blowing it, that's very difficult to deal with.
GOAZCATS.com: Any other team-wide impressions you've gotten from working out with the team and watching pickup?
Danny Peters: There's a need and desire to win. There's a sense of urgency and there's a desire to get better. Not just as individuals but as a team. Guys are now holding themselves accountable and holding others accountable. They're showing up 15 minutes early to open gym so they can get their stuff done and play. They are starting to see the whole picture.
I told this to the coaches, too. On day one, nobody talked on offense or defense. Now we have guys saying, 'here comes a ball screen on the left, I'm hedging, I'm hedging,' and guys are talking. Not just on game point but on the first possession of open gym, and that's important.
When you watch professionals play, there is so much more communication compared to younger players. I realized that at Ohio State watching former players, they would say everything. It was almost like a clinic for me to listen and watch. I tried to carry that on to open gym when I played and it became part of our culture. These guys are doing the same thing and it's developing our culture, and I think it has the opportunity to make us a very good team this year.
* Finally, onto 2011 basketball recruiting. As a quick refresher, Arizona's goal in 2011 is to add two guards to its current commitment of Sidiki Johnson - Nick Johnson and one of Josiah Turner, Jahii Carson and Quinn Cook.
Jahii Carson visited Arizona State on Wednesday and says he's planning on taking an official visit the first week of September. We've heard that isn't an exact date, and he could visit the weekend before.
Nick Johnson has said he will visit Louisville officially on Sept. 11 but we're skeptical that his recruitment will last that long.
Josiah Turner is rumored to visit Louisville on Sept. 4, which is more likely than Johnson's visit, but he's yet to confirm that date. He's yet to set up a visit to Arizona but we feel will happen.
Quinn Cook still appears to be in the process of setting up visits and we're not aware of anything being set in stone with him yet.
There haven't been many public changes in these recruitments over the past week so there's no need rehashing everything said in the last War Room, but our feeling is that Arizona can meet its goal of adding two guards to Sidiki Johnson and calling it a class.
Football:
Fall Camp has officially begun but with practice only one day in, there's not a ton of detail to go into yet in terms of team news. Beginning next week and through the season, that will change. Until then, we'll go right into Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting report. (JG)
This past week was a bit quiet for recruiting, as many teams are focusing on starting the season. In fact, the week included numerous Arizona targets that made the decision to go to another school.
* Arizona has added 6-foot-2, 170-pound Los Alamitos (Calif.) cornerback Shaquille Richardsonhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=87051.
Richardson, originally signed with UCLA, but he was released from his Letter of Intent after being arrested for suspicion of theft with two Bruins teammates.
He is considered to be a significant addition due in large part to the fact that the Wildcats are lacking depth at cornerback.
* Vista (Calif.) cornerback Stefan McClurehttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=109227 continues to look at all of his options.
“I'm at 14 right now - the only one I have in there for sure is Washington - I have an official set up there - and UCLA," McClure tells CaneSport.com. "In mid August I'll decide on my officials."
Arizona is in there for McClure, but so are many other teams. At this point, the UA is working to get a visit, which will obviously decide how the rest of his recruitment plays out with the Wildcats.
* Chicago Curie defensive end James Adeyanjuhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=101227 admits that he is having some trouble narrowing his list of schools down.
"I'm having a tough time narrowing it down,” he tells SpartanMag.com. “I kind of just want to take some official visits. Even my official visits I haven't really narrowed it down.
"I have two official visits scheduled for Wisconsin and Nebraska, so I can fit three more in. So, I'm going to try figure out which ones I'm going to go to."
When he does figure it out, Adeyanju knows exactly what he will be looking at in each school.
"I just want a good school with good coaches that can help me reach my potential to be a good player," he said. "I want a good strength coach and good players around me. Good academics and nice campus and stuff like that."
Arizona is right in the thick of things, but it could be difficult to get Adeyanju out of the Big Ten. With that being said, the UA made a major impression on him during the unofficial visit and the Wildcats have a solid chance of getting a visit.
* 5-foot-11, 185-pound Folsom (Calif.) athlete Jordan Richardshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Richards-105627 is another player deciding on visits, but it seems Stanford has emerged as a major player.
"With the whole official visit process, that I don't know,” he tells CardinalReport.com. “I'd like to see the schools during the football season, and maybe try to get up to a game at Stanford, maybe at Cal, and maybe at Arizona.
“I want to see if I can check a couple of games out and be there for gameday. I don't have a specific time frame, but we will see."
Arizona has been on Richards for a while, but academics are going to play a major role in his recruitment.
At this time, UCLA, Cal, and Stanford are three schools that are likely going to be difficult for another school to beat.
* Chicago Urban prep defensive tackle Mason Fuller http://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=103594 is planning an official visit to Arizona.
“I don't have any officials set up yet, but I do know of two so far,” he tells OrangeandBlueNews.com. “I'm going to Nebraska once they offer me. They're just waiting on some video from my senior year. I'm also going to get out to Arizona for an official.”
Arizona looks to be in decent shape, but there seems to be plenty of time left in Fuller’s recruitment.
"I'm probably going to see how the teams I'm looking at start the season and end up this year,” he said. “I'll also see who sticks around as far as coaches after the year gets done. I should have my decision by late January or early February."
* Columbus (Ohio) Walnut Ridge defensive lineman Austin Traylor http://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=106929 has the Wildcats in his top nine.
"I kind of have a top nine and Michigan State is in it," the he tells SpartanMag.com. "The schools would be Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona, Kansas and Minnesota."
Traylor is going to visit as many of those nine as he can and getting him on campus would be huge.
Arizona, led by Tim Kish, is doing well in Ohio. It may not necessarily lead to any verbals, but Arizona is apparently making a big enough impact to be in the top schools for a four-star player in the Midwest, which is huge.
This post was edited on 8/6 7:23 AM by Jason_Scheer
This post was edited on 8/6 7:24 AM by Jason_Scheer
This post was edited on 8/6 7:28 AM by Jason_Scheer
Basketball:
There are several basketball notes of various degrees of importance to touch on this week.
* With questions surrounding how many conference games Pac-12 teams will play, the Wildcats' future scheduling has been pretty much stalled. However, here's what's known so far:
- In 2011-12, Arizona will participate in the Coaches vs. Cancer, which will include two home games and two games in New York. UA will also play at Florida, at New Mexico State, against Gonzaga in Seattle and at home against Bryant. The Wildcats will likely add three "guarantee games" - home games against a lesser opponent - and two series, which will could be home and homes or on neutral courts.
- In 2012-13, Arizona recently accepted an invitation to be a part of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Wildcats will also play Florida at home. Nothing is officially scheduled beyond that.
* Demolition of the basketball locker room has begun, so the Wildcats are currently using the visitor's locker room. It's expected that the renovated locker room will be done by December. Changes to the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium could also be completed by December as well.
In the future, UA will also undergo changes inside the basketball offices, as well as the hallway outside of them.
* Sean Miller spent the week vacationing in Hawaii with his family, while assistant Book Richardson vacationed with his family in San Diego.
* The players had been participating in pickup games in Richard Jefferson Gymnasium while the new courthttp://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/974/965613.jpg in McKale Center is finished. Those games are now on hold, as the players will finish the second summer session this week and next, then leave for about 10 days, before returning on Aug. 21.
* While pickup games were closed to the public, here are a couple notes from talking to observers:
- Jamelle Horne is noticeably stronger and appears to have made noted development on his ball handling ability and first step to the basket. Horne being able to handle the ball is one of the two biggest improvements he can make, along with consistent effort, and if pickup can translate to games, that will be a big step for him in taking his game to the next level.
- Like all freshmen, Daniel Bejarano has a ways to go physically. However, he's shown to be a very high level shooter.
* To get more on how pickup is going and other UA basketball notes, we caught up with new Arizona Graduate Assistanthttp://arizona.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=974&CID=1110080 Danny Peters for a Q&A.
GOAZCATS.com: What have the guys been doing?
Danny Peters: Well everyone has been in there to shoot. Each player has a goal of making 250 shots. You don't want the guys to kill themselves; obviously it's still the off-season and you don't want anyone to beat themselves down before the season. They come in and do spot shooting from three and not only from the college line but the NBA line so the guys have been even more eager to get in the gym.
The players work on shooting off the dribble. It's gone well. Everyone has been in the gym and they want to keep shooting. They text me on their own to go shoot which has not been the mentality here in the past I guess.
Once they enjoy the first few workouts they call you the fourth and fifth time to get in the gym and it's been going well. Now the issue is, is there enough time for each player to work out in the gym or do guys need to be moved around to make time? That's a good issue to have because guys want to get in there.
GOAZCATS.com: You're in an interesting position because you've seen the incoming guys and worked out with them, while the coaching staff hasn't. What are your impressions so far?
Danny Peters: They've been eager to get in the gym and they've been there. They've done their work. I told the leaders of the team, 'remember, when you were freshmen, you didn't have any idea what to do or how to do it. You needed to follow somebody. The new guys are young, they're moldable, they're easy to deal with. Grab them and show them the way because those are three other guys that will follow you. On a team of 12, that's a good percent of the team that's already behind you.'
They did that, and now those guys are calling me to get in the gym to shoot every day. Jordin (Mayes), Daniel and Jesse (Perry) have been great about that; they've all been in the gym.
GOAZCATS.com: When you say you approached the team leaders, who are you referring to?
Danny Peters: The older guys; I think Mello (Jamelle Horne) has done a good job of it, I think MoMo (Lamont Jones) and (Kyle) Fogg have said some things. Solo (Solomon Hill) has stepped up and so has Derrick (Williams). I can't say I've been here for games and seen them in game situations but all of those guys have stepped up as leaders.
GOAZCATS.com: Watching pickup games, what are your impressions of Jesse Perry so far?
Danny Peters: Tough, hard-nosed, hard working guy who is going to do the dirty work, he's going to clean up around the basket, he's a great rebounder, a very tough, physical defender. He's going to be a tough matchup because he can guard a big guy and a big guy will have to guard him on the other end. He's very good with the ball; he can get by and finish at the basket. He's capable of shooting the basketball. I think he's going to be good.
GOAZCATS.com: What are the main things you think he has to work on between now and games?
Danny Peters: Everything and it will all come out in practice. That's when everything is exposed. They put that spotlight on you and you can't hide. In an open gym it's a different setting; you don't have coach Miller on you, down your throat, making you compete at the highest level. You don't have a lot of the things that are impacting how you play. I know for sure I can go shoot right now and make a ton of shots but as soon as the lights come on and someone is guarding me, it's a different story.
GOAZCATS.com: What do you think about Daniel Bejarano so far?
Danny Peters: Daniel is by far one of our best shooters. He's a freshman and there are things you go through as a freshmen, being the man at your high school to being another player on a team at a program such as Arizona. The possibility of being the guy, as a freshman, are very small. Eventually you can be but right away it's tough. It will be interesting to see how everyone deals with that, not just D.B. but Jordin and even a walk-on will deal with it.
D.B. has done a good job of being in the gym, he shoots the ball well, and as soon as coach Miller gets a hold of him, he's just going to improve because he can learn so much. There's so much room for improvement I.Q. wise, in terms of how to guard - defensively he's going to make great improvements because he's willing to work at it. He's done a great job shooting the ball. After the first couple of open gyms he became much more comfortable and started shooting the ball really well.
GOAZCATS.com: And Jordin Mayes?
Danny Peters: He's talented; he's a really talented guy. He has a strong handle in one on one situations, he's capable of making shots, he finishes well around the basket and gets at the rim. Once coach (Chris) Rounds puts some muscle on him - obviously it's not going to happen overnight, he won't be LeBron (James) in three lifts - but with that progress, he has the ability to be very good. I think he can help us in situation; even in big situations. Down the line, he's definitely going to be a big asset to Arizona basketball.
GOAZCATS.com: Mayes didn't enter Arizona with a lot of hype in terms of recruiting rankings, but from what you've seen, you definitely think he's a UA level player?
Danny Peters: Yes, for sure. He's a freshman and is still learning the way to do things, and you've got leaders that have been here for multiple head coaches so they don't necessarily know the way. They're trying to find out that way, we're trying to help them find that way, and they're trying to take that and show the younger guys, who will do the same thing in three years to the players that are in their position.
Jordin is still learning how to go from Westchester to being essentially a professional at Arizona, because this is their job. These guys have the ability to make money at a minimum, overseas. I was talking with one of my teammates from our Final Four team at Ohio State and right now, I might be the only one not playing professional basketball. Everyone has the opportunity at this level; it's how you prepare for that opportunity.
GOAZCATS.com: I've heard that Jamelle has really improved his ball handling in the off-season. From watching him, where would you say that aspect of his game is?
Danny Peters: Jamelle has been in the gym working on it. He's asked for extra time. He's even said he doesn't need a (student) manager, that he'll do it on his own. He appreciates it. He's seen the progress and he's seen the progression. He is working on the moves that he's successful at and trying to master them. He's done that and in each open gym he's gotten better.
He's shooting better, he's attacking the rim better, he's rebounding better, he's defended very well, and he's even worked on being a leader. That may not put the ball in the basket but he's learning how to deal with his teammates, how to help his teammates, how to hold he and his teammates accountable. I'm very surprised with how well he's handled that.
GOAZCATS.com: When you have relayed everything you just told me to the coaching staff, what has their reaction been?
Danny Peters: A lot of excitement. Maybe a little bit of 'really?' and surprise, but they're excited. It hasn't been one day and then three days off of being a bad teammate. It's been very consistent improvement, every day. It's very good to see and it's refreshing to see that he knows he's a senior and this is his last time.
There's no worse feeling than being a senior and knowing that you blew it. You have to live with that your whole life and you don't have the opportunity to go back. You have constant reminders of that. It's not just Jamelle; it's anyone. If you have to live with the feeling of blowing it, that's very difficult to deal with.
GOAZCATS.com: Any other team-wide impressions you've gotten from working out with the team and watching pickup?
Danny Peters: There's a need and desire to win. There's a sense of urgency and there's a desire to get better. Not just as individuals but as a team. Guys are now holding themselves accountable and holding others accountable. They're showing up 15 minutes early to open gym so they can get their stuff done and play. They are starting to see the whole picture.
I told this to the coaches, too. On day one, nobody talked on offense or defense. Now we have guys saying, 'here comes a ball screen on the left, I'm hedging, I'm hedging,' and guys are talking. Not just on game point but on the first possession of open gym, and that's important.
When you watch professionals play, there is so much more communication compared to younger players. I realized that at Ohio State watching former players, they would say everything. It was almost like a clinic for me to listen and watch. I tried to carry that on to open gym when I played and it became part of our culture. These guys are doing the same thing and it's developing our culture, and I think it has the opportunity to make us a very good team this year.
* Finally, onto 2011 basketball recruiting. As a quick refresher, Arizona's goal in 2011 is to add two guards to its current commitment of Sidiki Johnson - Nick Johnson and one of Josiah Turner, Jahii Carson and Quinn Cook.
Jahii Carson visited Arizona State on Wednesday and says he's planning on taking an official visit the first week of September. We've heard that isn't an exact date, and he could visit the weekend before.
Nick Johnson has said he will visit Louisville officially on Sept. 11 but we're skeptical that his recruitment will last that long.
Josiah Turner is rumored to visit Louisville on Sept. 4, which is more likely than Johnson's visit, but he's yet to confirm that date. He's yet to set up a visit to Arizona but we feel will happen.
Quinn Cook still appears to be in the process of setting up visits and we're not aware of anything being set in stone with him yet.
There haven't been many public changes in these recruitments over the past week so there's no need rehashing everything said in the last War Room, but our feeling is that Arizona can meet its goal of adding two guards to Sidiki Johnson and calling it a class.
Football:
Fall Camp has officially begun but with practice only one day in, there's not a ton of detail to go into yet in terms of team news. Beginning next week and through the season, that will change. Until then, we'll go right into Jason Scheer's weekly recruiting report. (JG)
This past week was a bit quiet for recruiting, as many teams are focusing on starting the season. In fact, the week included numerous Arizona targets that made the decision to go to another school.
* Arizona has added 6-foot-2, 170-pound Los Alamitos (Calif.) cornerback Shaquille Richardsonhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=87051.
Richardson, originally signed with UCLA, but he was released from his Letter of Intent after being arrested for suspicion of theft with two Bruins teammates.
He is considered to be a significant addition due in large part to the fact that the Wildcats are lacking depth at cornerback.
* Vista (Calif.) cornerback Stefan McClurehttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=109227 continues to look at all of his options.
“I'm at 14 right now - the only one I have in there for sure is Washington - I have an official set up there - and UCLA," McClure tells CaneSport.com. "In mid August I'll decide on my officials."
Arizona is in there for McClure, but so are many other teams. At this point, the UA is working to get a visit, which will obviously decide how the rest of his recruitment plays out with the Wildcats.
* Chicago Curie defensive end James Adeyanjuhttp://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=101227 admits that he is having some trouble narrowing his list of schools down.
"I'm having a tough time narrowing it down,” he tells SpartanMag.com. “I kind of just want to take some official visits. Even my official visits I haven't really narrowed it down.
"I have two official visits scheduled for Wisconsin and Nebraska, so I can fit three more in. So, I'm going to try figure out which ones I'm going to go to."
When he does figure it out, Adeyanju knows exactly what he will be looking at in each school.
"I just want a good school with good coaches that can help me reach my potential to be a good player," he said. "I want a good strength coach and good players around me. Good academics and nice campus and stuff like that."
Arizona is right in the thick of things, but it could be difficult to get Adeyanju out of the Big Ten. With that being said, the UA made a major impression on him during the unofficial visit and the Wildcats have a solid chance of getting a visit.
* 5-foot-11, 185-pound Folsom (Calif.) athlete Jordan Richardshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/arizona/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Richards-105627 is another player deciding on visits, but it seems Stanford has emerged as a major player.
"With the whole official visit process, that I don't know,” he tells CardinalReport.com. “I'd like to see the schools during the football season, and maybe try to get up to a game at Stanford, maybe at Cal, and maybe at Arizona.
“I want to see if I can check a couple of games out and be there for gameday. I don't have a specific time frame, but we will see."
Arizona has been on Richards for a while, but academics are going to play a major role in his recruitment.
At this time, UCLA, Cal, and Stanford are three schools that are likely going to be difficult for another school to beat.
* Chicago Urban prep defensive tackle Mason Fuller http://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=103594 is planning an official visit to Arizona.
“I don't have any officials set up yet, but I do know of two so far,” he tells OrangeandBlueNews.com. “I'm going to Nebraska once they offer me. They're just waiting on some video from my senior year. I'm also going to get out to Arizona for an official.”
Arizona looks to be in decent shape, but there seems to be plenty of time left in Fuller’s recruitment.
"I'm probably going to see how the teams I'm looking at start the season and end up this year,” he said. “I'll also see who sticks around as far as coaches after the year gets done. I should have my decision by late January or early February."
* Columbus (Ohio) Walnut Ridge defensive lineman Austin Traylor http://arizona.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=106929 has the Wildcats in his top nine.
"I kind of have a top nine and Michigan State is in it," the he tells SpartanMag.com. "The schools would be Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona, Kansas and Minnesota."
Traylor is going to visit as many of those nine as he can and getting him on campus would be huge.
Arizona, led by Tim Kish, is doing well in Ohio. It may not necessarily lead to any verbals, but Arizona is apparently making a big enough impact to be in the top schools for a four-star player in the Midwest, which is huge.
This post was edited on 8/6 7:23 AM by Jason_Scheer
This post was edited on 8/6 7:24 AM by Jason_Scheer
This post was edited on 8/6 7:28 AM by Jason_Scheer
