Former UA guard Mustafa Shakur played in his first NBA game on Jan. 22 this year, nearly four years after completing his Wildcat career (US Presswire photo/Rafael Suanes)

So Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson are Five-Star recruits as rated by Rivals.com in its most recent rankings released Wednesday. Is that good news or bad for UA coach Sean Miller?

Turner, a point guard from Sacramento who finished his season at Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy, and Johnson, a guard-wing from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, become the third Wildcat duo to be listed as Five-Star prospects in the same year.

In 2003, forward Ndudi Ebi of Houston was rated the No. 4 prospect overall and guard Mustafa Shakur was rated No. 12. In 2007, guard Jerryd Bayless of Phoenix was the No. 13 prospect and forward Jamelle Horne was rated No. 21.

Turner is rated No. 11 by Rivals.com in the Class of 2011 and Johnson is at No. 18. Generally, the top 25 or 26 recruits garner Five-Star status.

Bayless, who only played one season at Arizona, has enjoyed the most success in his career, compared to Ebi, Shakur and Horne.

Of course, these rankings are always suspect. Keep in mind that former UA forward Derrick Williams, a potential No. 1 NBA draft pick, was not among the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects in 2009.

Ebi never played for Arizona, opting for the NBA draft instead. He was the 26th overall pick in the 2003 draft but his career never flourished at Minnesota, which waived him after two seasons. He was subsequently waived by Dallas in the next preseason camp and has only played in Europe since.

Shakur started all but two of his games at Arizona during his four-year career, but he was not drafted by NBA clubs in 2007. A point guard with decent height at 6-4, Shakur was co-MVP of the 2003 EA Sports Roundball High School Classic. The other MVP? LeBron James.

Shakur toiled in Europe for a couple of years and played in the NBA Developmental League before signing a 10-day contract with Oklahoma City at the end of last season. He returned to the D-League this season, playing for Tulsa and Rio Grande, before Washington signed him to a 10-day contract on Jan. 22. He played in his first NBA game that day, almost four years after leaving Arizona.

He finished the season with the Wizards, averaging 7.2 minutes a game in 22 games.

Bayless’ only season at Arizona in 2007-08 was tumultuous personally as he felt let down when Lute Olson took a leave of absence and was replaced by interim coach Kevin O’Neill. The 2007 McDonald’s All-American still averaged 19.7 points and four assists per game in the Wildcats’ 18-13 season. He was the 11th pick overall in the 2008 NBA draft, taken by Indiana, which traded his rights to Portland.

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RELATED LINK: Even if Derrick Williams leaves early, history shows the Wildcats can carry on

So what will happen if Derrick Williams leaves Arizona before his junior season and is chosen among the first five picks of the NBA draft in June? What will life be like at McKale Center in Year One of the post-Williams era? Is this the end of the world as we know it?

Will Arizona be Arizona without Derrick Williams next season if he goes to the NBA? (US Presswire photo/Gary A. Vasquez)

History tells us that Arizona will continue to have a heartbeat without Williams. In fact, the old ticker will continue to beat at a good rate.

This is how the Wildcats have fared after one of their stars was chosen among the first 10 picks of the NBA draft:

• 1979: Larry Demic, Sr. (9th pick). UA year later in 1979-80: 12-15
• 1989: Sean Elliott, Sr. (3rd pick). UA year later in 1989-90: 25-7
• 1991: Brian Williams, Jr. (10th pick). UA year later in 1991-92: 24-7
• 1995: Damon Stoudamire, Sr. (7th pick). UA year later in 1995-96: 27-6 (Sweet 16)
• 1998: Mike Bibby, Soph. (2nd pick). UA year later in 1998-99: 22-6
• 1999: Jason Terry, Sr. (10th pick). UA year later in 1999-2000: 27-7
• 2004: Andre Iguodala, Soph. (9th pick). UA year later in 2004-05: 30-7 (Elite Eight)
• 2005: Channing Frye, Sr. (8th pick). UA year later in 2005-06: 20-13
• 2009: Jordan Hill, Jr. (8th pick). UA year later in 2009-10: 16-15

That’s only one losing season after Demic’s departure when Fred Snowden was in the last stages of his coaching career. The other unimpressive mark is the 16-15 record after Hill left to the NBA after his junior season. That was Sean Miller‘s first season at Arizona. The transition after two interim coaches following Lute Olson‘s retirement was not easy.

Overall, in the season after these nine players departed (four of them prematurely), the UA posted a record of 213-83. That’s a winning percentage of 71.9. That’s also an average of 23.6 wins the season after the Wildcats were required to fill a significant void.

The combined 213-83 mark is only 14 games worse than the the record — 227-69 — of the season in which these nine players completed their Wildcat careers. That averages to only about 1.6 more losses in the season after a top 10 NBA draft pick departs Arizona.

The most significant dropoff is the amount of Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances. The Wildcats achieved a Sweet 16 (1995-96) and Elite Eight (2004-05) appearance in seasons after a high draft choice was taken. They achieved two Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights in the year these standouts completed their career.

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The addition of San Diego Hoover High School post player Angelo Chol boosts Arizona's Class of 2011 to a potential top five group, according to recruiting analysts (Team USA photo)

NOTE: Updates with quotes from San Diego Hoover High School coach Ollie Goulston.

If Class of 2011 post player Angelo Chol had his way, the Arizona basketball T-shirt he wore to Thursday’s press conference would be all that he needed to convey what program he’ll represent starting next season.

Chol, who announced he will play at Arizona at San Diego Hoover’s auditorium and in front of an Internet audience at KBCSports.com, would rather shy away from all of the attention.

“One of his biggest fears is public speaking,” Hoover coach Ollie Goulston told me via phone after the press conference. “He got the chance to work through that fear today.

“He is very unselfish, very humble.I told him, ‘You either have a press conference and get it out of the way, or expect the media to be calling you every day.’ He did not hesitate to have the press conference.”

Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff, who beat North Carolina, Kansas, Washington and Alabama for the prized recruit, knew of Chol’s intentions 10 minutes before the shot-blocker extraordinaire exposed his Arizona T-shirt for the world to see. Chol personally informed Kansas coach Bill Self and North Carolina coach Roy Williams — the two other finalists for his services — of his decision before contacting Miller.

“He called the coaches himself,” Goulston said. “He’s built some strong relationships with some of them so it was very difficult on him. It was one of those life lessons he had to experience.

“He learned an awful lot and gained a lot of maturity through this process.”

Chol said “Bear Down” at the press conference, when asked about his decision. For Miller and Arizona’s basketball fans, that’s all Chol had to say.

But he later mentioned that the likelihood for playing opportunities and the chance to join the heralded Class of 2011, which includes Rivals.com 5-star recruit Josiah Turner of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy, was a significant reason for his decision.

“I wanted to be in a situation where I can play and have a chance to win a (national) championship,” said Chol. “I feel we will have a good chance with the class coming in.”

A Sudanese refugee, who came to the United States in 2000 after a brief stop in Egypt, Chol is averaging 24.1 points, 14.9 rebounds and 8.0 blocked shots per game this season. In a December win over El Centro (Calif.) Southwest, Chol posted a line of 40 points, 19 rebounds and 15 blocked shots. He is also just 10 points shy of 2,000 for his career.

He has 224 blocked shots this season and 1,078 for his career. He set a single-season national record of 337 as a sophomore.

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