Love Nate Wolters -love Louisville @rick_pitinoto win Big East – love MSUin Big 10love VCU in A-10love Arizona PAC 12 #dickievpicks

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 13, 2013

LAS VEGAS — Random analysis of the Pac-12 while wondering if Nike CEO/Oregon high-profile booster Phil Knight will spend as much time in the high-roller areas of the MGM Grand as he will at the arena. Also, this city is known for a famous pack, the Rat Pack. Will the Pac-12 and its fans add to the luster of the town? …

Team That Can Come Out of Nowhere:

Watch out for Stanford, which has three very capable players in power forward Dwight Powell, wing Josh Huestis and point guard Chasson Randle. The Cardinal know how to win in the postseason, taking the NIT crown last season. They finished 9-9 in the Pac-12 but four of those losses were by five points or less and they swept Cal. Stanford opens the Pac-12 tournament against ASU at noon today.

Arizona is counting on Mark Lyons’ postseason experience

Team Flaming Out:

USC lost four of its last six games after going on a four-game winning streak, including a victory over regular-season champ UCLA. The Trojans have also lost top player Dewayne Dedmon, starting 7-foot center, because of disciplinary reasons. USC is only a shadow of the team that swept Arizona and ASU at home only two weeks ago. Utah, at the bottom of the conference most of the season, can realistically win its third consecutive game tonight by beating the Trojans after starting 3-13 in conference play.

Top Three Players to Watch:

1. Andre Roberson, forward, Colorado. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year missed last weekend’s games against the Oregon schools because of a viral illness. He is cleared to play and has practiced with the Buffaloes in Las Vegas.

2. C.J. Wilcox, guard, Washington. Wilcox disappeared after emerging as one of the league’s best players in the first couple of weeks of the Pac-12 season. If he can find his shooting stroke, starting against Washington State tonight, the Huskies can provide Oregon a challenge if they get past the Cougars.

3. Mark Lyons, guard, Arizona. Although Lyons is in his first and only season with the Wildcats after playing with Xavier, he has played more games (seven) in the NCAA tournament than anybody on the UA’s roster. Experience counts for something, although in those seven games, he averaged only 6 points and 2.6 assists per game. The time is now for Lyons to roar (pardon the pun).

Washington State’s Royce Woolridge made the most impressive improvement over the course of the Pac-12 season

Players on the Rise:

Spencer Dinwiddie, wing, Colorado — After the midway point of the Pac-12 season, Dinwiddie has played his best games in wins over Arizona, Stanford and Oregon. His productivity rating has improved from .607 to .673 in that time frame. The WILDABOUTAZCATS.net productivity rating is productivity points divided by minutes played. Productivity points are positive stats (made field goals and free throws, assists, rebounds, scoring) subtracted by negative stats (missed field goals and free throws, turnovers and personal fouls).

Royce Woolridge, guard, Washington State — The Phoenix product has improved from a productivity rating of .393 in the first half of the conference season to .529, the largest leap among the league starters. Woolridge, a sophomore transfer from Kansas, averaged only 10.2 points per game in the first nine Pac-12 games. He averaged 17.3 in the last nine, including the most points scored by a conference player this season — 36 in an overtime loss to Oregon.

Justin Cobbs, guard, California — Cobbs is right behind Woolridge for the most dramatic improvement over the second half of the season. He went from a productivity rating of .429 in the first half of the conference season to .559. His emergence coincided with Cal’s impressive run in the last two months of the season. He failed to score in double figures three times in the first nine Pac-12 games but was all double figures in the last nine. He shot 35.8 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent in the second.

UCLA’s Jordan Adams has a supporter in Arizona coach Sean Miller

Jordan Adams, guard, UCLA — Adams has a notable supporter in Arizona coach Sean Miller and the numbers prove what Miller is talking about. Adams’ productivity rating improved from .513 at the midway point of the league season to .589 currently. In the last five games, Adams has a remarkable 18 steals. He also has three games with at least 20 points (against Stanford, USC and ASU) in the last month after not breaking the 20-point barrier in the first half of the season.

Eric Moreland, forward, Oregon State — Moreland is a significant reason why the Beavers went from only one win in the first half of the conference season to three in the second half. His productivity rating improved from .487 to .557 in that time frame. Moreland missed three games against ASU, Arizona and UCLA because of disciplinary reasons in January. In the last half of the Pac-12 season, Moreland had rebounding efforts of 15 against Utah and 14 against Cal and Washington State.

Players In Need of Breakout:

Nick Johnson is in need of a breakout performance in the Pac-12 tourney

Nick Johnson, guard, Arizona — Johnson’s productivity rating dipped from .614 at the midway point of the Pac-12 season to .507 currently. He showed signs of life against ASU in the regular-season finale with 17 points, his highest total in the last 13 games since he scored 23 points against UCLA on Jan. 24. Normally a stout defender, Johnson had only three steals in a four-game stretch before tallying three against the Sun Devils last Saturday.

Jordan Bachynski, center, ASU — He had one of the most dominating performances against UCLA with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots on Jan. 26. His highest rebounding total since is only seven against Washington State and in the rematch with UCLA. He was basically a non-factor in six of ASU’s last 11 games after that spectacular first game against the Bruins.

John Gage, forward, Stanford — He was clearly the best sixth man of the league at the midway point of the conference season. In the first nine Pac-12 games, Gage made 68 percent (17 of 25) of his three-point attempts. In the last half of the conference season, Gage shot only 34.4 percent (10 of 29) from beyond the arc. He went through one stretch against USC and UCLA at home missing all eight of his three-point attempts.

Players Returning to Las Vegas:

Shabazz Muhammad leads a group of six former Vegas-area products in the Pac-12

Shabazz Muhammad, wing, UCLA — The standout from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School returns home. He led all high school seniors by averaging 29.4 points per game. He also recorded 10.1 rebounds per game as a senior (2011-12), leading Bishop Gorman to a 28-4 record and the 2012 Nevada 4A State Championship.

Johnson, Arizona — Starred at Las Vegas suburb Henderson at Findlay Prep, a national powerhouse. He averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game as a senior, leading his team to a 28-4 record. He ranked as the No. 40 overall prospect in the country and the No. 8 shooting guard by Rivals.com to go with a grade of 96 out of 100 by ESPN.com. Johnson attended Highland High School in Gilbert for two years before transferring to Findlay Prep prior to his junior year.

Brandon Ashley, forward, Arizona — Ashley came to Findlay the season after Johnson left for Arizona. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior. He helped Findlay to a 32-1 record and ESPN NHSI national championship. He posted 31 points, including 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, in the championship game, an 86-83 overtime win over Montverde. He became a 2012 Parade magazine All-American and McDonald’s All-American.

Johnathan Loyd, guard, Oregon — Also hails from Bishop Gorman. He led Bishop Gorman High School to 102 wins in four seasons, culminating in 2010. He was named 2009-10 Class 4A Boys Basketball Player of the Year according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. He guided Bishop Gorman to a 30-2 record and a second consecutive Class 4A state championship as a senior.

Ben Carter, forward, Oregon — A one-time Arizona recruiting target, Carter was a teammate of Muhammad’s at Bishop Gorman. He averaged 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a senior but was sidelined most of the year with a knee injury. Aside from Arizona, Carter was also recruited by USC, UNLV, San Diego State, Utah and New Mexico.

Rosco Allen, forward, Stanford — Another Bishop Gorman product, he was also recruited by Miller. He was listed as the No. 16-ranked small forward, No. 66 player overall and a four-star recruit in ESPNU’s 100 national ranking. As a senior last season, Allen averaged 14.1 points, 7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

WILDABOUTAZCATS.net publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner

Solomon Hill reacts after scoring a basket against UCLA with teammate Nick Johnson looking on. Hill and Johnson are the lone remaining consistent starters from Sean Miller's first three recruiting classes (US Presswire photo/Kevin Kuo)

Of Sean Miller‘s first three recruiting classes since 2009 — which consisted of 12 players — only five remain. Of those five who are slated to be part of the 2012-13 roster, only two have consistently started in their careers. And one of those is a player who just completed his freshman season: Nick Johnson. The other is senior-to-be Solomon Hill.

Gone prematurely from Miller’s first class are Derrick Williams (Miller’s biggest catch who jumped to the NBA after his sophomore season), Lamont “MoMo” Jones (transferred to Iona after his sophomore season), and Kyryl Natyazhko (who announced Wednesday that he will not return for his senior season so he can pursue a professional career overseas).

Daniel Bejarano, from Miller’s second class in 2010, transferred to Colorado State after playing minimal minutes as a freshman. And no longer around from last year’s heralded class is five-star point guard Josiah Turner (who announced Wednesday his intention to transfer) and Sidiki Johnson (who transferred to Providence early this season after spending time in Miller’s doghouse).

Jesse Perry, from the Class of 2010, completed his two-year career after transferring from John A. Logan (Ill.) Community College.

Other than Hill and Nick Johnson, the others who have remained on board include Kevin Parrom from the Class of 2009, Jordin Mayes from the Class of 2010 and Angelo Chol from the Class of 2011.

With Perry going the distance, that means six players — or 50 percent of Miller’s first three classes — left early. Despite this alarming rate of turnover, Miller’s team will be ranked in the top 20 next year. That’s largely because of Miller’s coaching and recruiting ability. His class of 2012 — highlighted by promising big men such as Brandon Ashley, Grant Jarrett and Kaleb Tarczewski — is rated by some experts as the best in the nation.

Will it be the best class Arizona has featured in the last 40 years? Time will tell.

As has become an annual ritual here, I have updated the ratings for each UA recruiting class since the late Fred Snowden was hired in 1972.

The ratings are based on how the recruits fared three years after starting their Wildcat careers (future NBA draft picks are italicized, transfers from other programs such as Chris Mills and recruits who never played at Arizona, i.e. Brandon Jennings are not included). Transfers were not included because their addition does not take into account an all-encompassing scouting and recruiting effort from coaches from start to finish to land a prospect:

Head coach: Fred Snowden

• 1972: Ron Allen, Dave Burns, Al Fleming, John Irving, Eric Money, Coniel Norman, Jim Rappis and James Wakefield. Three years later (1974-75): The UA finishes 22-7 and is selected to the National Commissioner’s Invitational Tournament. You can argue that Money, Norman, Fleming and Rappis are the best foursome recruiting class the Wildcats have ever seen based on pure talent. Rating (scale 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest): 9.
  

  Fred Snowden's first two recruiting classes at Arizona included seven NBA draft picks

• 1973: Bob Aleksa, Bob Elliott, Jerome Gladney, Len Gordy, Herman Harris, Gary Harrison and Steve Kanner. Three years later (1975-76): The UA finishes 24-9, wins the WAC title and loses in the 1976 Elite Eight to UCLA. Elliott is the UA’s career scoring leader before Sean Elliott (no relation) breaks his record. Herman Harris’ scoring average might have increased by four points if a three-point line exists back then. Rating: 8.
• 1974: Tom Ehlmann, Mitch Jones, Tim Marshall, Gilbert Myles, Phil Taylor. Three years later (1976-77): The UA finishes 21-6 and loses in the first round of the 1977 NCAA tournament (the last time the UA made the NCAA tournament under Snowden). Rating: 4.
• 1975: Larry Demic, Ron Fuller, Brian Jung and Sylvester Maxey. Three years later 1977-78): The UA finishes 15-11. Demic is a first-round draft pick in 1979. Rating: 6.
• 1976: Kenny Davis, Joe Nehls and Tommy Williams. Three years later (1978-79): The UA finishes 16-11, the last time the Wildcats have a winning record for six years. Rating: 3.
• 1977: Russell Brown, Robby Dosty, Steve Lake and John Smith. Three years later (1979-80): The UA finishes 12-15. Brown remains the school’s career leader in assists with 810 (no other player has more than 700). Rating: 6.
• 1978: John Belobraydic, Ray Donnelly, Greg Hawthorne, John Hutcherson, Donald Mellon, Charles Miller and Michael Zeno. Three years later (1980-81): The UA finishes 13-14. Hawthorne, Mellon and Zeno are highly-regarded recruits but nothing materializes from this group.Rating: 3.
• 1979: Ron Davis, David Mosebar, Frank Smith Jr. and Leon Wood. Three years later (1981-82): The UA finishes 9-18 in Snowden’s last season. Wood transfers to Cal State-Fullerton after his freshman year and is later drafted in the first round. After extremely impressive recruiting classes his first couple of seasons, Snowden never really sustains that level of success and the UA gradually declines. This class is decent, however, with Davis, Smith and Wood. Rating: 6.
• 1980: Jeff Collins, Greg Cook and Ricky Walker. Three years later (1982-83): The UA finishes 4-24 in Ben Lindsey’s only season at Arizona. None of these recruits are around for that debacle. Rating: 1.
• 1981: Brock Brunkhorst, Mark Jung, Jack Magno and John Vlahogeorge. Three years later (1983-84): The UA finishes 11-17 in Olson’s first season. The only player from this class on Olson’s first team is Brunkhorst. Rating: 1.

Head coach: Ben Lindsey

• 1982: Troy Cooke, Ken Ensor, David Haskin, Todd Porter, Greg Scott, Greg Taylor, Morgan Taylor and Puntus Wilson. Three years later (1984-85): The UA finishes 21-10 and returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1977. Only Haskin and Morgan Taylor are there to experience it. Scott, Wilson and Porter are not retained by Olson. Rating: 2.

Head coach: Lute Olson

• 1983: Van Beard, Steve Kerr, Eddie Smith, Michael Tait and Pete Williams. Three years later (1985-86): The UA finishes 23-9 and wins its first Pac-10 title with Kerr as a captain. Olson credits Williams as being one of the best rebounders he’s ever coached. Smith is one of the most consistent players to don a Wildcat uniform. Rating: 8.
• 1984: Jon Edgar, Bruce Fraser, Rolf Jacobs, Craig McMillan and Joe Turner. Three years later (1986-87):The UA finishes 18-12 partly because Kerr is forced to redshirt with a knee injury. McMillan is first McDonald’s All-American recruited by Olson to Arizona. Rating: 5.
• 1985: Anthony Cook, Eric Cooper, Sean Elliott, Ken Lofton and Bruce Wheatley. Three years later (1987-88): The UA finishes 35-3 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10. It reaches its first Final Four in school history. Elliott is the Pac-10 Player of the Year. He eventually breaks Lew Alcindor’s conference scoring record. Elliott and Cook are drafted in the first round in 1989. Note: Cooper’s son, Eric Cooper Jr., is a Class of 2013 prospect who has verbally committed to Arizona. Rating: 9.
  

  Sean Elliott headlined a group in 1985 that included Anthony Cook and Kenny Lofton

• 1986: Jud Buechler, Brian David, Harvey Mason and Tom Tolbert. Three years later (1988-89): The UA finishes 29-4 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10 the second straight year. Buechler goes on to the NBA and wins three titles with the Bulls. Rating: 7.
• 1987: Matt Muehlebach, Sean Rooks and Mark Georgeson. Three years later (1989-90): The Wildcats become co-champs of the Pac-10 regular season and the conference tournament titlist. Muehlebach, one of Olson’s most steady captains, never loses a home game in his career. Georgeson transfers to Pepperdine after freshman season. Rooks evolves into an All-Pac-10 center his senior year followed by 12 seasons in the NBA with Dallas, Minnesota, Atlanta, the Lakers, the Clippers, New Orleans and Orlando. Rating: 7.
• 1988: Ron Curry, Matt Othick and Wayne Womack. Three years later (1990-91): The UA finishes 28-7 and wins its fourth straight Pac-10 title. Othick and Womack play through their senior seasons. Curry transfers to Marquette after freshman season.Rating: 5.
• 1989: Casey Schmidt and Ed Stokes. Three years later (1991-92): The UA finishes 24-7 overall, average by its standards. The Wildcats are upset by East Tennessee State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Stokes is decent but not spectacular as a 7-footer. Rating: 2.
• 1990: Tony Clark, Kevin Flanagan, Deron Johnson and Khalid Reeves. Three years later (1992-93): The UA finishes 24-4 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10. Kentucky transfer Chris Mills is a captain of the team. Clark transferred to San Diego State and eventually enjoyed a prolonged major-league baseball career. Johnson also transferred. Flanagan emerged as a fan favorite. Reeves is first N.Y. product recruited by Olson and he is drafted in the first round 1994. Rating: 7.
• 1991: Sean Allen, Ray Owes and Damon Stoudamire. Three years later (1993-94): The UA finishes 29-6 overall and advances to its second Final Four. Stoudamire becomes Olson’s sixth first-round draft pick in 1995. Rating: 7.
• 1992: Joseph Blair, Edtrick Bohannon, Reggie Geary, Joe McLean and Corey Williams. Three years later (1994-95): The UA finishes 24-7 and loses in the first round to Miami (Ohio) with Sean Miller as an assistant to Herb Sendek. Bohannon transfers. Blair, Geary, McLean and Williams form another strong nucleus. Rating: 7.
• 1993: Jarvis Kelley. Three years later (1995-96): The UA finishes 27-6 and loses in the Sweet 16 to Kansas. Kelley transfers after his sophomore season. Rating: 1.
• 1994: Donnell Harris, Marty Bartmentloo, Ben Davis, Michael Dickerson and Miles Simon. Three years later (1996-97): The UA finishes 25-9 and wins its first NCAA title. Simon is named the Final Four MVP. Dickerson is a first-round draft choice in 1998. Harris’ career never flourishes although he plays his best game in Arizona’s victory over Kentucky in the championship. Rating: 8.
• 1995: A.J. Bramlett and Jason Terry. Three years later (1997-98): The UA finishes 30-5 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10. It loses in the Elite Eight against Utah. Terry is picked in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft, 10th overall. Bramlett becomes one of the more reliable UA centers in Olson era. Rating: 7.
• 1996: Mike Bibby, Quynn Tebbs, Justin Wessel, Bennett Davison and Eugene Edgerson. Three years later (1998-99): The UA finishes 22-7 and loses in the first round to Oklahoma. Bibby is already gone, selected in the first round of the 1998 draft (the highest pick in UA history at No. 2 overall). Tebbs transfers after one season and Wessel is a career reserve. Davison, a JC recruit, and Edgerson are ideal role players. Rating: 7.
• 1997: Dion Broom. Three years later (1999-2000): The UA’s one-man recruiting class never qualifies academically. The Wildcats start to build steam in 2000 behind next recruiting class and finish 27-7 overall and tied for first in the Pac-10 with 15-3 record.Rating: 1.
• 1998: Luke Walton, Rick Anderson, Ruben Douglas, Richard Jefferson, Traves Wilson and Michael Wright. Three years later (2000-01): The UA finishes 28-8 and advances to its fourth Final Four. The Wildcats lose to Duke in the title game. Douglas and Wilson already transfer after their freshman year, but Jefferson, Walton (who redshirts in 998) and Wright establish themselves. Jefferson is selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2001. Walton wins NBA title with Lakers in 2009. Douglas becomes leading scorer in NCAA with New Mexico his senior year. Rating: 9.
  
  

  Lute Olson's top recruiting class arguably is the 1998 group with Luke Walton, Richard Jefferson and Michael Wright (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison)

• 1999: Gilbert Arenas, Lamont Frazier, Jason Gardner and Robertas Javtokas. Three years later (2001-02): The UA finishes 24-10, its first season with double-digit losses since 1987. Arenas is an unknown recruit, not sought by other programs. He becomes an NBA all-star. Gardner holds the UA record for career minutes played. Rating: 8.
• 2000: Travis Hanour and Andrew Zahn. Three years later (2002-03): The UA finishes 28-4 overall and 17-1 in the Pac-10. It loses in the Elite Eight to Kansas. Hanour and Zahn only last a year before transferring. Rating: 1.
• 2001: Will Bynum, Isaiah Fox, Channing Frye, Dennis Latimore and Salim Stoudamire. Three years later (2003-04): The UA finishes 20-10 overall and struggles in the Pac-10 with an 11-7 record. Bynum and Latimore transfer before the 2003-04 season. Frye establishes himself as a first-round pick in the NBA draft in 2005. Stoudamire becomes a deadly perimeter shooter. Rating: 7.
• 2002: Hassan Adams, Andre Iguodala, Chris Dunn and Chris Rodgers. Three years later (2004-05): The UA finishes 30-7 and 15-3 in the Pac-10, winning its last conference title. The Wildcats lose in the Elite Eight to Illinois, blowing a 15-point lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. Iguodala becomes a first-round draft pick in 2004. Adams is a solid contributor. Rodgers gets in Olson’s doghouse and is eventually suspended. Dunn is dismissed from the team as a redshirt by the end of his freshman season. Rating: 7.
• 2003: Mustafa Shakur, Ivan Radenovich and Kirk Walters. Three years later (2005-06): The UA finishes 20-13 overall and loses in the second round to Villanova. Shakur struggles throughout most of his UA career while Walters is injury-plagued. Radenovich, who enters mid-season from Serbia in 2003, gradually improves as a contributor.Rating: 5.
• 2004: Daniel Dillon, Jawann McClellan, Mohamed Tangara and Jesus Verdejo. Three years later (2006-07): The UA finishes 20-11 and loses in the first round to Purdue. This group never pans out. Verdejo transfers after his freshman year and Tangara transfers before his senior season. Dillon becomes a career reserve while McClellan is beset by personal problems and injuries. Rating: 3.
• 2005: Fendi Onobun, J.P. Prince and Marcus Williams. Three years later (2007-08): The UA finishes 19-15 under interim coach Kevin O’Neill. Onobun becomes a career reserve. Prince transfers in 2007 and Williams leaves for the NBA the same year but toils in the developmental league since. Rating: 2.
• 2006: Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise. Three years later (2008-09): The UA finishes 21-14 and is one of the last teams to make the NCAA tournament, extending its streak to 25 years. Hill is selected in the first round of the NBA draft while Budinger slips to the second round after leaving school early. Wise is an All-Pac-10 selection as a senior but his NBA aspirations are immediately unattainable. Rating: 7.
• 2007: Jerryd Bayless, Jamelle Horne, Zane Johnson, Laval Lucas-Perry and Alex Jacobson. Three years later: The UA finishes 16-15 in 2009-10 and out of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 26 years. Bayless is selected in the first round of the NBA draft after his freshman season in 2008. Johnson and Lucas-Perry transfer (Lucas-Perry is later dismissed from Michigan). Horne’s improvement is stagnant. Jacobson plays sparingly throughout his career. Rating: 4.
  

  Although 50 percent of his first three classes did not stick it out, Sean Miller's recruits helped make Arizona a factor again (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison)

• 2008: Kyle Fogg, Jeff Withey, Brandon Lavender and Garland Judkins. Three years later: The UA finishes 30-8 in 2010-11 and advance to the Elite Eight, losing to eventual national champion Connecticut. Withey transfers to Kansas without playing a game as a freshman after Olson announces his retirement. Little-known Fogg starts all four years of his career and becomes an All-Pac-10 player. Lavender plays well as a senior but never really flourished. Judkins transfers to Texas-San Antonio. Rating: 3.

Head coach: Sean Miller

• 2009: Solomon Hill, Lamont “MoMo” Jones, Derrick Williams, Kyryl Natyazhko and Kevin Parrom. Three years later: UA finishes 23-12 in 2011-12 and is not invited to the NCAA touranment. It loses in the first round of the NIT to Bucknell at home. Miller’s first class is ranked No. 12 in the nation by Rivals.com and Scout.com. Williams is the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2009-10 and Conference Player of the Year in 2010-11. He is selected No. 2 in the NBA draft after foregoing his last two years of college. Each plays significant minutes as freshmen, although Parrom is beset by injuries and Natyazhko has trouble immediately adjusting to college game. Hill improves year to year, becoming more assertive and consistent. Jones, the team’s vociferous leader who was instrumental in the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 upset of No. 1-seed Duke, transfers to Iona to be closer to his family in New York. Natyazhko is a career reserve who leaves before his senior season to pursue a pro career in Europe. Rating: 8.
• 2010: Daniel Bejarano, Jesse Perry and Jordin Mayes. Three years later: To be determined in 2012-13. Perry takes over the starting role early in the 2010-11 season and evolves into a bull around the basket despite playing against taller and bigger post players. Mayes becomes one of the more steady, efficient players, but is hampered by injuries late in his sophomore season. Bejarano, who never catches on to Miller’s system, ultimately transfers to Colorado State after his freshman season. Rating (could change by 2013): 6.
• 2011: Angelo Chol, Nick Johnson, Josiah Turner and Sidiki Johnson. Three years later: To be determined in 2013-14. On paper, one of the best class Arizona has attracted. Miller’s third class includes perhaps the best backcourt (Nick Johnson and Turner) recruited in the same class at Arizona, rivaling the Gardner and Arenas combination in 1999 and Money and Norman in 1972. Turner, however, is beset by three separate disciplinary issues and ultimately transfers after the season. Sidiki Johnson transferred to Providence by December because of differences with the coaching staff. Chol is a shot-blocker extraordinaire who is becoming a more refined on the offensive end as well. Rating (could change by 2014): 6.
• 2012: Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, Grant Jerrett, Gabe York and Matt Korcheck. Three years later: To be determined in 2014-15. Miller went big with this class in many ways. Recruiting experts are labeling the class the best in the nation. York, a talented shooter with tremendous leaping ability, is the lone perimeter player in the class (Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell must sit out a season per NCAA transfer rules). Tarczewski (7-footer and 220 pounds), Ashley (6-8, 215) and Jarrett (6-10, 220) were all targeted by elite programs. Korcheck, a Cochise College product by way of Sabino High School, chose the UA over Oklahoma. He is a 6-9 and 230-pound strong power forward who will redshirt this season. This could easily turn out to be the best big-man class in UA history. No other group in the last 40 years comes close to the potential of this class in terms of frontcourt players. Rating (could change by 2015): 9.

I can hear the Lute Olson die-hards now after reading that headline.

“What do you mean unparalleled?” they will say. “Ever heard of Sean Elliott? Mike Bibby? Brandon Jennings (even though he never attended Arizona)?”

“What about that class that had Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton and Michael Wright in 1998?” they’ll argue.

Olson’s best two-year recruiting run arguably was in 1998 and 1999, on the heels of his first NCAA title with the Wildcats in 1997.

In 1998, Olson signed Jefferson, Wright and Walton (key components to the 2001 Final Four team) along with Ricky Anderson, Ruben Douglas and Traves Wilson. Anderson became a senior leader in 2001-02. Douglas and Wilson transferred after their freshman season. Douglas became the NCAA’s leading scorer as a senior at New Mexico.

In 1999, Olson inked Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner, one of the best backcourt combinations in the program’s history. Little-used Robertas Javtokas and Lamont Frazier were also part of the class and they did not last.

Compare those two classes with the assortment of talent Sean Miller has attracted to Tucson the last two years.

The Class of 2011 includes perhaps the best point-guard prospect in the country in Josiah Turner and one of the most dominating shot blockers in the nation in Angelo Chol.

Add to that the athleticism, playmaking and strong defense of Nick Johnson and the upside of post player Sidiki Johnson (unrelated).

Miller’s Class of 2012 effort, already fruitful, became bountiful Monday with the verbal commitment of Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep multi-skilled forward Brandon Ashley. The UA beat UCLA and Kentucky for Ashley, who is rated No. 4 overall in the ESPNU 100 ratings.

Post player Grant Jerrett of La Verne (Calif.) Lutheran High School is rated No. 9 by ESPNU and off-guard, wing prospect Gabe York of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran is No. 36.

Two Top 10 prospects in one class smacks of Kentucky and John Calipari, who lost a recruiting battle to Miller for Ashley despite his popularity and Kentucky’s Final Four berth last season.

The man most responsible for Miller’s recruiting success the last two seasons? No, it’s not Miller, although he has shown he can close the deal with the best of them, including Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski.

The man, or make it The Man: Derrick Williams.

Before Miller came to Tucson in 2009 (bringing the relatively obscure Williams with him in his first recruiting class), he never recruited a Five-Star recruit like Ashley and Turner.

What opened the door for Miller is Williams’ progression to a No. 2 NBA draft pick. Any highly-rated prospect these days thinks the NBA is a foregone conclusion. They want to play for a coach who will get them there. Sean Miller, we now know, can get them there.

Williams not only elevated his draft status as a sophomore last season, he took Arizona on his back to a magical Elite Eight run. That NCAA tournament ride pushed Miller and the Arizona program back over the hump to where Olson basked in the eyes of top-notch recruits all those years.

Turner committed to Arizona last September after his AAU teammate Nick Johnson pledged to Miller. What helped Turner’s decision was how Miller and his coaching staff demonstrated they can develop players like Williams with a proven, balanced system that incorporates nine to 10 players a game.

Miller and his staff, most notably his top assistants Book Richardson and James Whitford, deserve their pay after making believers of these Class of 2012 standouts.

However, if he has not done so already, it would not be a bad idea for Miller to call Williams and offer a “Thank You”.

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.

Ten players are listed above for 12 scholarship spots. Miller and his staff could stand to add more frontcourt help provided this roster stay intact.

Significant frontcourt prospects for the Class of 2012 include Oakland (Calif.) Bishop O’Dowd post player Brandon Ashley (teammate of Nick Johnson and Turner with the AAU Drew Gordon Soldiers), Landen Lucas at Findlay and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman forwards Rosco Allen and Ben Carter.

Lucas, 6-9, 240, is still developing as an inside force under Findlay coach Mike Peck. He currently plays behind junior Winston Shepherd and shares time with junior Anthony Bennett. In Findlay’s 89-86 double-overtime win over Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, Lucas scored three points and grabbed six rebounds.

“Arizona is still a possibility for me,” said Lucas, who has been offered a scholarship by Arizona and other Pac-10 schools such as USC and the Oregon and Washington schools. “Right now, my list is wide open and I haven’t narrowed anything down, but Arizona is a great school. I can see myself there.

“I still communicate with their coaches. I respect them.”

Carter, 6-8, 210, told me after Saturday’s game that he is “really serious with Arizona.” He played impressively, looking under control in front of the packed gym at the Cox Pavilion, which included major-college coaches such as Washington’s Lorenzo Romar, UCLA’s Ben Howland and UNLV’s Lon Kruger.

Carter finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

“ I know they are a great team,” Carter said about Arizona. “I know Nick Johnson is going there. He’s already committed. Then there’s Josiah Turner and Grant Jerrett. I know they have great talent coming in so there is definitely a lot of interest for me going there.”

Allen, presently more of a small forward than power forward, has been high on Arizona’s list because of his basketball IQ, passing from the wing and shooting ability. He never got in the flow of Gorman’s offense Saturday, scoring only seven points.

Ashley, 6-8, 210, is a highly-touted prospect who is also considering the likes of UCLA, Cal, Kansas and Kentucky, to name a few.

Another potential Class of 2012 prospect for Arizona playing in the game for Gorman was former Marana Mountain View forward Demetris Morant, a very raw player who is only in his third year of organized basketball. Morant had two of the more impressive plays Saturday on putback dunks. His vertical leap is impressive, but his inside moves and rebounding position need a lot of work.

Who says strategy only occurs on the court when it comes to college basketball?

Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff just implemented what amounts to a full-court press in their attempt to recruit Rivals.com 5-star Class of 2011 point guard Josiah Turner of Sacramento.

Turner, a 6-foot-3 playmaker who is also a solid defender, was originally slated to visit Arizona on the weekend of Oct. 22-23 at the same time the Cats play their Red-Blue Scrimmage at McKale Center. That was to come a week after Turner visited Kansas at its Midnight Madness event, “Late Night in the Phog,” in Lawrence.

Turner told me Thursday night the switch with the Arizona trip occurred in part because his good friend and former AAU teammate Nick Johnson is also officially visiting the UA campus the weekend of Sept. 17-18. Johnson verbally committed to Arizona last week.

Arizona’s coaches also welcome the move likely with the hope that Turner will be so overwhelmed by the visit that he will want to commit almost a full month before he is supposed to visit Kansas. What will Turner experience that weekend in Tucson (a veritable full-court press to sway the high-profile point guard)?

• Johnson’s convincing recruiting pitch that weekend for Turner to join him at Arizona next year. How many times will Turner be reminded that weekend that Johnson will become a Wildcat?
• The festive atmosphere around campus of Iowa’s ranked football team playing Arizona at Arizona Stadium that weekend. The Red-Blue Scrimmage at McKale Center would have been a good showcase for Turner, but the event rarely draws a sellout crowd. And it would have occurred a week after Turner attended Kansas’ festive Late Night in the Phog.
• The thought that fellow Class of 2011 point guard prospect Quinn Cook of Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy is tentatively scheduled to visit Tucson the week after. Chances are Turner and his mother Doris Ward will enjoy their trip to Tucson (I’ve yet to hear a recruit say that he disliked his visit to Tucson, quite the opposite, actually). Turner will realize that if he does not commit after visiting Arizona that Cook could experience the same type of visit the following week and that Cook could commit.

This full-court maneuver is an indication of how coveted of a recruit Turner is to Miller and his staff. It appears the respect is mutual.

“I really like their coaching staff. We have a good relationship going,” Turner said.

Turner can not only become Miller’s first 5-star recruit, he can impact the UA roster for at least a couple of seasons.

It’s obvious that Miller is gearing his focus toward frontcourt help in the Class of 2012. Signing a player of Turner’s ability this year will allow the UA coaches to concentrate next year on forwards and centers, such as Brandon Ashley, a teammate of Johnson and Turner’s with the Drew Gooden Soldiers this summer.

With all these factors in play for the weekend of Turner’s visit to Arizona, if he does not commit afterward, it’s difficult to imagine that he ever will.

Miami Heat star LeBron James made an impromptu visit to Bishop Gorman High School to watch Nick Johnson and the Oakland Soldiers in the championship game of the Fab 48 tournament (TucsonCitizen.com photo/Javier Morales)

LAS VEGAS — Arguments can be made about who the real king was Sunday night at Bishop Gorman High School.

LeBron James, making an impromptu appearance at the Fab 48 championship game with his five-person entourage, was only part of the king’s court this time.

The real king? It’s debatable between Class of 2011 prospect Nick Johnson and Oakland/Drew Gooden Soldiers teammate Jabari Brown. Johnson was virtually unstoppable in the semifinal and championship games, shooting a combined 14-of-24 from the field against the New Jersey Playaz and Iowa Barnstormers. At least half of those field goals were dunks.

Johnson finished with 32 points, 14 assists and only five turnovers in the two games.

Brown earned the tournament’s most valuable player award, scoring 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in the Soldiers’ 86-66 win over the Barnstormers in the championship game. The same MVP honor could have been bestowed upon Johnson. A significant reason why the Soldiers emerged victorious is that individual awards are meaningless when a team trophy could be earned.

“All I cared about was winning this tournament,” Johnson said. “I didn’t care if I scored two points or 30 points.”

The attitude was a complete opposite for most Soldiers last week in Atlanta at the Nike Peach Jam. They started 4-0 but were bumped from the tournament after losing consecutive games.

“We came here with a little grudge on our shoulders,” Johnson said. “We played more as a team.”

The appearance of James, a member of the Soldiers program for one summer during his AAU days, fueled their fire. They learned 15 minutes before the game that James would watch them play. Johnson has met James the two previous years at the LeBron James Skills Camp in Akron, Ohio. Class of 2011 backcourt mate Josiah Turner of Sacramento was also at the camp.

It was old hat for them seeing the controversial James, who left his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.

They also come across NBA players often such as Gooden, who sponsors the team and joined them in the postgame celebration Sunday. Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams watched Johnson play Friday afternoon and mingled with the players after the game.

Furthermore, the Soldiers are accustomed to playing under the watchful eye of high-profile college coaches such as Arizona’s Sean Miller, who sat with assistant and brother Archie Miller just a couple of rows from James in the stands.

“I’ve played in front of him (James) at his camp but never in an AAU game,” said Turner, a 5-star Rivals.com prospect who finished with eight points and four assists in the championship game. “It didn’t affect me. I just concentrated on the game.”

Class of 2012 6-foot-9 forward prospect Brandon Ashley, who lists Arizona as one of his favorites, finished with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots.

“For me, it was inspiring to have (James) here,” said Ashley, who attends Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School. “He’s an old Soldier representing us in the championship game. You have to like that.

“This what we play for. We like this kind of atmosphere with a packed gym and LeBron James here. This is why we’re here.”

As much as Turner enjoyed the experience, he’s counting the days to finally sleep in his own bed at his Sacramento home next weekend. He will play the last AAU tournament games of his career Tuesday through Friday in Anaheim at the Best of the Summer Tournament. After a couple of days of rest, Turner reports to the first day of class at Sacramento High School on Aug. 2.

“I’m kind of tired, actually,” said Turner, who has not been home for more than three weeks, when he departed to James’ camp. “And then when I get back, I have to start class. That’s cool though. This is what I do.”