Potential Arizona recruit Eloy Vargas, formerly of Florida and now attending Miami-Dade Junior College, had an in-home visit Saturday night with UA coach Sean Miller and assistant coach Book Richardson.

With the NCAA-scheduled recruiting contact period finishing Wednesday, Miller and Richardson took advantage of the opportunity to meet Vargas and discuss the Arizona program.

Also attending the visit was Vargas’ AAU coach Kenny Gillion, who told me Sunday night that “Coach Miller did a good job of explaining what he’s trying to do with the Arizona program and Book did a good job talking about the school, the team and what kind of atmosphere is out there.”

Vargas, a 6-10, 230-pound power forward, will finish his classes April 30 and take an official visit to Arizona “possibly within a week after that,” Gillion said.

Vargas, who has two years of eligibility remaining, transferred to Miami-Dade from Florida last August shortly after Gators coach Billy Donovan announced that Vargas would potentially be academically ineligible for the 2009-10 season. According to Gillion, Vargas has focused on his academics this year and “right now, he’s a straight-A student.”

“I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Eloy will have no problem qualifying academically for a Division I program next year,” Gillion said. “There’s a misconception out there that Eloy is not a good student. The bottom line is he’s doing all the work necessary to be a good student.”

Gillion, the coach of Florida’s traditionally successful Team Breakdown in the AAU circuit, said that Arizona is the only school that has tentatively set up a campus visit. He added, however, that “more than 60 Division I schools have shown interest.” Some of the schools Gillion listed included UCLA, USC and St. Mary’s.

Vargas visited Kentucky after leaving the Florida program, mostly because of his close relationship with assistant coach Orlando Antigua, a fellow Dominican who tried to recruit the prospect to Pitt when he was part of the staff there. Vargas opted to attend Miami-Dade Junior College to concentrate on his schoolwork.

Gillion said that Kentucky is still a possibility for Vargas, “but things aren’t like the way they were before” between Vargas and John Calipari’s program.

“I know Kentucky is looking at different players right now,” Gillion said. “I think Eloy has been hot and cold with them. He is very close to Orlando, but he is not sure what direction they are taking with him right now.”

When asked if Vargas will sign by the end of the spring signing period May 19, Gillion said he could not provide a definite answer.

“With college kids you really never know,” Gillion said with a laugh. “He might go out to Arizona, fall in love with the school and what the program has to offer, and make a decision at that time. I’m not sure that will happen. But it’s a possibility. I think he might look at more of his options afterward, but like I said, you never know.”

In terms of Vargas’ work ethic — which was a question mark at Florida — Gillion said that notion was misconstrued similarly to his academic performance.

“The important thing about Eloy is that he’s always working hard to improve himself,” Gillion said. “We’re talking about a kid who five years ago moved here from the Dominican Republic and did not speak a word of English. He has made great strides with that. I believe he is very motivated; he plays that way.”

Gillion said Miller discussed during Saturday’s visit that Vargas fits his idea of a versatile forward. That means Vargas not only plays with his back to the basket. He is able to put the ball on the floor, pass efficiently, and extend the defense by stepping out for the 18- to 20-foot jumper.

“What Coach Miller has at Arizona is what is called a ‘West Coast’ style,” Gillion said. “Eloy fits that style perfectly. He is not the prototypical east coast style of power forward who only posts up and muscles his way around. Eloy can post up and rebound quite well (he averaged 21 points and 14 rebounds a game for Miami-Dade), but he is also quick on defense, which helps him block a lot of shots.

“He can also break a defender down off the dribble and either make a quick move to the hoop or find a teammate with the pass. On top of that he is very accurate from 16 to 18 feet, and he can extend even further to the college three-point line.”

Vargas’ athleticism, especially around the hoop, is particularly where the UA needs him the most offensively and defensively. He can take the pressure off Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Derrick Williams from having to post up, and defensively, he can be that stopper or intimidator the Wildcats lacked in Miller’s first season.

“Eloy has followed the Arizona program and he knows how he could fit in,” Gillion said. “Anybody who is good knows something about Arizona. He knows all about the tradition of that program and what Coach Miller is trying to do there.

“Book was part of the visit because he is familiar with Eloy with his AAU background as coach of the (New York) Gauchos. Book is also a close friend of mine. I respect him a great deal.”

That friendship with Gillion and other top AAU coaches can pay dividends for the UA program in the future. Gillion has coached the likes of Kentucky-bound Brandon Knight, the nation’s No. 1 Class of 2010 prospect according to Rivals.com, and Florida standout Kenny Boynton.

Gillion added that one of his up-and-coming guards, Class of 2011 prospect Daniel Sapp of Oakland Park (Fla.) Northeast High School, will likely attend the same school Vargas chooses. Sapp is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard who is rated a 3-Star prospect by Rivals.com.

“Daniel and Eloy are very good friends,” Gillion said. “I’m confident that whatever school Eloy chooses, Daniel will be right there with him. I know they would like to play together in college. Daniel has the ability to be one of the top guards I have coached.”

Rivals.com currently lists Sapp’s suitors as Georgia, Old Dominion, Murray State and Florida Atlantic. Sapp will be a freshman and Vargas a senior in their one year as potential college teammates.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 9:20 pm and is filed under Sports. Tags for this post: Book Richardson, Daniel Sapp, Eloy Vargas, Kenny Gillion, Sean Miller, Team Breakdown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.