Pac-12 Basketball: Who is the top 2017 recruit for every team?
By Bryan Mauro
Arizona
The Wildcats are one of the premier college basketball teams in the country every year. They always seem to get top notch talent and are usually always near the top of the rankings. Sean Miller and his crew are no exception this year. The Wildcats have a ton of key pieces returning as well as a massive haul of High School talent who should once again make Arizona a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12 conference. This talented crop of freshmen along with his returning starters should get coach Sean Miller to his first Final Four.
DeAndre Ayton- DeAndre was the No. 1 ranked recruit on a few recruiting sites. DeAndre went to Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona and is initially a native of the Bahamas. DeAndre has told some media outlets that he sees himself as a stretch-4 in this offense, much like former Wildcat Lauri Markkanen. Ayton is more of an inside threat than Markkanen is however, and probably won’t be as eager to shoot threes but may take a few. If Ayton is able to live up to the hype of his recruit ranking he should be a one and done player as he is already projected as a top 5 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
California
When a team loses Cuonzo Martin and two players to the NBA, they are going to have a rebuilding year almost immediately. Cal lost coach Martin to Mizzou and in the past two years have lost Jaylon Brown and Ivan Rabb to the NBA. Both of those players were the core of this team and made them better. Cal may struggle this year with so many new faces, but the Berkeley Bears should have no trouble being able to get top notch talent to come play their again.
Juhwan Harris-Dyson- Juhwan is an extremely athletic guard who should be a nice combo-guard for coach Wyking Jones. Juhwan can get to the rim and finish through contact and his quick feet make his first step deadly. Since he is so hard to keep in front of other players, he has a propensity to get fouled and is a good free throw shooter. Juhwan had some explosive dunks and is a decent shooter. Juhwan has also developed a really good friendship with Cal commit Justice Sueing.