NCAA Basketball: Arizona, Kansas, and UNC among final 8 for PG Dylan Andrews

When it comes to the top programs out west, an argument can be made that in terms of consistency, Gonzaga and Arizona are 1 and 2, depending on your respect level of the Bulldogs’ WCC affiliation. Even with some fans having issues with head coach Sean Miller having his issues with not making the Final Four, there’s no doubt of how overall successful the program has been in the past decade.

It’s paid off on the recruiting trail, including last season. The Wildcats had three top-30 prospects join and lead the team last season, including point guard Nico Mannion. He’s off to be a projected first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. His replacement is a junior transfer from Georgetown in James Akinjo, who’ll have graduated by the time Andrews would potentially arrive.

The other points guards on the projected roster are currently four-star freshman Kerr Kriisa and  Kenneth Simpson, Jr., a four-star combo guard commit in the 2021 recruiting class. There certainly will be a big need for a talented guard to join the roster, particularly if the staff isn’t sold on Kriisa as a starter in the Pac-12.

The timing is interesting for the Wildcats, as they just recently received the long-awaited “notice of allegations” from the NCAA for alleged recruiting violations. There’s some talk about Arizona Basketball possibly accepting a postseason ban this year to get over the harshest punishments, while not having this affect future classes.

With Andrews being in the 2022 class, sanctions likely won’t hurt him if he picked Arizona. But this news certainly won’t the program and serves the other seven contenders with a major negative recruiting selling point.