NCAA Basketball: Biggest takeaways from the 2019 recruiting classes

2) The nation’s most important class

Of all the elite recruiting classes, Arizona‘s holds the clear distinction as being the most important.

The obvious cloud of the FBI and now NCAA investigation into the program and Sean Miller remains over the program, and the Wildcats missed out on the NCAA Tournament last year after finishing with a sub-.500 conference record for the first time since 1983-84 – Lute Olson’s first year as head coach.

Arizona desperately needs something positive to happen to turn the momentum around and expectations in Tucson are that this recruiting class will do just that.

The class is headlined by five-star prospects Nico Mannion and Josh Green, both of whom will start in the backcourt and are projected to be lottery picks in the 2020 NBA Draft. Expectations for those two in particular are extremely high and the Wildcats will only go as far as they will take them.

However, they aren’t the only ones who will make an immediate impact. Four-star big man Zeke Nnaji, the No. 39 overall prospect in the country according to the 247sports Composite, might be in the starting lineup as well. Terry Armstrong, another top 100 recruit, was supposed to play a significant role on the wing before opting to play overseas next season.

Then there’s UC-Irvine grad transfer Max Hazzard, who was the star of the Anteaters’ NCAA Tournament run. It remains to be seen if Miller will go small and play three guards in the starting lineup or if Hazzard will be the sixth man, but he’ll be a major player for Arizona regardless.

The Wildcats are projected to be a top-15 team in the preseason, which is the result of raised expectations from this class. With only a select couple of returners who can provide experience and leadership, Arizona’s ability to live up to those expectations depends almost solely on this group.