While Arizona is dealing with a big recruiting scandal, the team lost a key recruit. How will it impact the Wildcat’s future?
Before the season started, Arizona was in a great position not only to compete for a national title this season, but also in the future. That’s because scoring wing Allonzo Trier surprisingly returned, along with the commitment of top player DeAndre Ayton.
But work was done for next year’s class as well, with three top recruits. The backcourt was secure with guards Brandon Williams and Jahvon Quinerly coming in, while Shareef O’Neal (son of Hall of Fame NBA center Shaquille O’Neal was going to be Ayton’s replacement.
But things changed after the FBI’s Investigation came into light with the arrest and firing of Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson due to bribery and corruption charges. That scared away Quinerly, who since has committed to Villanova.
Friday night became more bad news, with a report coming out that head coach Sean Miller was caught on wiretap talking about $100,000 going to star freshman Ayton. Although he claims his innocence, Miller elected to not be on the sidelines for Saturday’s game against Oregon.
That was enough for O’Neal, who after sending out a subliminal warning sent another message decommiting from Arizona.
This wasn’t a surprise, as there’s too much smoke going on with the program for a top player to stay there. He’s the 29th ranked recruit for 2018 according to 247sports, and has a host of programs to choose from.
That leaves Williams, one of the top point guards for 2018, as the lone recruit left for the Wildcats. He’s very likely in a wait and see mode to see what else happens, but one has to imagine that other options are quietly being looked at.
This has to make Arizona fans really nervous, as Parker Jackson-Cartwright is the only point guard on the roster, who’s graduating after this year. Ayton will go pro, and Trier’s college career is likely over. With the other seniors, that leaves at least four roster spots open for 2018. If Williams goes, that leaves no one set to come to the Wildcats.
Next: Why Sean Miller should have been fired by now
And that’s not likely to change, with Miller’s future uncertain, as well as the NCAA’s ability to drag out the investigation. And with the FBI involved, who knows what the timetable is. The present looks at best cloudy, which is better than what the future looks like.