The hiring Friday of former UNLV coach Lon Kruger by Oklahoma could impact the Arizona Wildcats to varying degrees.

Lon Kruger's move to Oklahoma from UNLV could have an impact on Arizona in various ways (US Presswire photo/Christopher Hanewinckel)

The possibilities:

• Kruger and Arizona coach Sean Miller wanted the series between the two schools to resume, according to the Las Vegas Sun last year. With former Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in the same capacity with the Rebels, a series between the rivals remains a possibility. A game in Las Vegas benefits Arizona from a recruiting standpoint because nationally-recognized programs Findlay Prep and Bishop Gorman High School are in the area.
• Gorman includes Arizona Class of 2012 targets Rosco Allen, Ben Carter and Shabazz Muhammad. Gorman’s head coach is Grant Rice, brother of former UNLV player David Rice, a BYU assistant who has emerged as a top candidate.
• Findlay Class of 2013 shooting guard Nigel Williams-Goss verbally committed to UNLV earlier this season because of Kruger. Williams-Goss told me in November before that commitment that Arizona, Washington and UNLV were his leaders. He said that he maintained constant contact with Arizona’s coaches, especially assistant Archie Miller. He went so far as to say that he hoped to take an unofficial visit of the UA campus. Findlay assistant Todd Simon told me Saturday morning that Williams-Goss “is not sure what he will do yet.”

Kruger’s move also could impact former UA assistant coach Mike Dunlap, currently an aide at St. John’s who is mentioned as a candidate by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Don’t count on Livengood raiding Sean Miller’s staff, namely Archie Miller, who should have his own program within two years. When Livengood underwent a coaching search for UNLV’s football program before last season he purposely stayed away from Mike Stoops‘ staff, which included former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes at the time.

Former UCLA players Chace Stanback and Mike Moser, a former Arizona commit, transferred to UNLV because Kruger coached there. Stanback, who will be a senior, and Moser, a sophomore next year after having to sit out this season, did not attend a meeting with Kruger Friday night.

Moser, a 6-8 forward with a 7-foot wingspan from Portland, committed to Arizona in 2008 but changed his mind when former coach Lute Olson abruptly retired before the 2008-09 season. He played sparingly as a freshman at UCLA in 2009-10 before transferring to UNLV.

How snakebit do you think Moser feels right now?

Check out a video of a thunderous dunk by Josiah Turner Friday night at our partner site WILDABOUTAZCATS.com

Arizona's Class of 2011 point guard recruit Josiah Turner led his team in scoring in his first game in North Carolina on Friday night

Josiah Turner‘s debut with Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy was an impressive one Friday night as the Arizona-bound point guard led his team with 17 points in a 74-59 win over Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.

It was Turner’s first game with QEA (19-2) since his transfer two weeks ago from Sacramento High School, where he was dismissed from the team by coach Derek Swafford for missing practices and games while sorting out personal issues.

Reports have circulated that Turner and his mother Doris Ward were unhappy with how Turner was utilized at Sacramento, where his scoring average dropped from 27 points as a junior to 22 this season. Ward nor Turner, however, have publicly commented on the matter.

Turner started for QEA, which has six players destined for major-college programs. In addition to Turner, the others who will play for Division I programs are Wake Forest-bound point guard Anthony Fields, DePaul-bound shooting guard Charles McKinney and a pair of players headed to St. John’s — Dominique Pointer and Dwight Meikle.

The team’s leading rebounder, 6-foot-11 Lekan Ajayi is still undecided. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Ajayi is considering Wake Forest, Florida, Oklahoma, Seton Hall and Loyola-Marymount.

Arizona’s coaching staff has some history with QEA. Fields, who will now share time at the point guard spot with Turner, was ironically recruited by Arizona last year. The UA coaches went a different path and Fields ultimately decided to stay close to home and play for the Demon Deacons.

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Class of 2012 forward Grant Jerrett is a significant addition for 2012-13 for Arizona but he will need help on the frontcourt (WildcatSportsReport.com photo)

Arizona’s recruiting effort among Class of 2012 talent started as well as anybody could imagine for a program still in reloading mode under second-year coach Sean Miller.

The Wildcats received a verbal commitment last Nov. 27 from LaVerne (Calif.) Lutheran power forward Grant Jerrett, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound player who plays much larger than that with a 7-foot-1-inch wingspan. He still has another season to grow and mature into an even more dominant player before he heads to Tucson.

His teammate Eric Cooper Jr. is a Class of 2013 guard who has also verbally committed to play with the Wildcats.

By the 2012-13 season, the UA should have at least three scholarship spots to fill. The Wildcats will lose three seniors (possibly four) before that season: Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender and Jesse Perry are the three players who should exhaust their eligibility after the 2011-12 season.

Current four-year junior Alex Jacobson has not played much this season because he is outside the UA’s 10-player rotation. It’s not certain whether Jacobson will return next season.

Miller has recruited particularly strong at the guard position in the Class of 2011 with Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep’s Nick Johnson and Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy’s Josiah Turner signed and ready to arrive in Tucson by July.

The Class of 2011 also includes Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy power forward Sidiki Johnson, and potentially San Diego Hoover power forward Angelo Chol, who will officially visit the UA campus on Saturday and Sunday.

Chol, 6-9, 220, will also visit Washington the weekend of Feb. 12-13 before making a decision on Feb. 17. His finalists are Arizona, Washington, Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas.

Not yet including Chol, Arizona’s 2012-13 roster composition looks like this in terms of positions (with players currently under scholarship, except for Jacobson and Derrick Williams, who might head to the NBA before his senior season):

Point guards: Turner and Jordin Mayes

Shooting guards: Nick Johnson, LaMont “MoMo” Jones and Daniel Bejarano

Small forwards: Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom

Power forwards: Sidiki Johnson and Jerrett

Post players: Kyryl Natyazhko

Parrom — a projected senior that season along with Hill, Jones and Natyazhko — could evolve into a power forward. The position breakdown makes it obvious that Arizona is loaded on the perimeter and wing with players like Nick Johnson, Bejarano and Jones able to switch between the guard positions.

The void is on the frontcourt where Jerrett will be raw and so likely will Sidiki Johnson, who might need a year to become accustomed to the college game after missing most of this season at Oak Hill with a hairline stress fracture in his left foot.

At the post, the Wildcats will need more than Natyazhko, who could mature into a more productive player, but at the moment his playing time is dwindling. Chol’s inclusion would be very significant in making Miller’s frontcourt much more potent. Without question, Chol can have a similar impact with the Wildcats in 2012-13 as Williams is now having as a sophomore.

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