UA coach Sean Miller was not surprised about how poised Jordin Mayes played in the Red-Blue scrimmage because of his background (Screen shot/ArizonaWildcats.com)

Jordin Mayes might be a freshman in class standing but he has the savvy of a player much older with his winning background from inner-city high school Westchester in Los Angeles.

In Sunday’s Red-Blue scrimmage at McKale Center, Mayes exuded confidence from his facial expression to the way he took returning players MoMo Jones and Kyle Fogg off the dribble to the basket. Splitting time with the Red and Blue teams, Mayes tallied eight points on 2 of 4 shots from three-point range and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line. He had two assists, one turnover and one steal in 23 minutes.

On one fearless drive to the basket, Mayes drew a foul from Jones as he went up for the shot.

“Jordin impresses me more and more every day,” Jones said. “He’s somebody in particular that I can help, and he can also help me. We can feed off each other. To see that he has the confidence to do a lot of things with the ball on the court is great.”

The three newcomers — Mayes, forward Jesse Perry and shooting guard Daniel Bejarano — handled themselves well in their first public showing in Tucson. An estimated crowd of 10,657 at McKale Center watched the scrimmage, won by the Red 39-38.

More important than the outcome of a scrimmage for UA coach Sean Miller and his staff was seeing the effort of the players and their ability to work on directives from practice.

Mayes, Perry and Bejarano are obviously learning. Bejarano took four three-point attempts and made one to finish with three points, two rebounds and one assist. Although Bejarano struggled with his shot, his shooting stroke was impressive. Perry had nine points and nine rebounds. He went to the line four times, making three, showing his assertive play.

Playing assertive: That’s what Miller wants from his players and Perry and Mayes were unparalleled in that category Sunday. Miller has come to expect that from Perry, who has toiled at the junior-college level, and Mayes, with his big-city background.

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Arizona coach Sean Miller likes the fact that Class of 2010 recruits Daniel Bejarano and Jordin Mayes come from two-time state champion high school teams and strong family backgrounds (Photo by US Presswire/Kirby Lee)

Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller wrapped up the spring signing period by discussing Tuesday at McKale Center those who have signed with the Wildcats and other topics of the day related to recruiting.

Most noteworthy in Miller’s half-hour meeting with local media:

• His reference to Class of 2010 signees Jordin Mayes and Daniel Bejarano coming from winning high school programs and strong family backgrounds. He mentioned their family backgrounds more than once, calling to mind when Lute Olson and his late wife Bobbi screened players to fit into a family atmosphere.
• His statement that senior Jamelle Horne will be challenged by Arizona’s added depth (namely JUCO recruit Jesse Perry) for playing opportunities.
• His comments about UA assistant coach Book Richardson‘s name popping up to fill vacancies (most recently at Kentucky).
• His amazement that some players — i.e. Kadeem Jack of Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice and Terrence Jones of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson) — have yet to make up their minds.
• His theory to replace three players a year, not “five to seven,” he said, “because in that case, you’re not developing upperclassmen.” This was an indirect reference to a program like Kentucky, which must replace nine scholarship spots, partly because four of its players entered the NBA draft after their freshman season.

Per NCAA rules, Miller is unable to talk specifically about an unsigned recruit, but he was able to address the topic of players such as Jack and Jones who have yet to sign.

“That amazes me,” Miller said. “That’s not healthy for college basketball. … There’s so much information out there to make a good decision.”

Jack, a 6-foot-8-inch power forward, in particular is of interest to Miller and Arizona. He was originally recruited by the Wildcats, UConn, Arkansas and Miami. In recent weeks, his focus has turned to attending prep school or signing with Kentucky or North Carolina.

Jones, a 6-9 versatile forward who can also be a playmaker, announced two weeks ago that he would sign with Washington but he has not yet signed a national letter of intent. Rumors out of Lexington, Ky., suggest that Jones is prepared to sign a financial aid agreement with Kentucky, which is not the same as a national letter of intent. Jones can opt out of the financial aid agreement and sign with Washington.

Miami-Dade Junior College 6-11 forward Eloy Vargas opted to sign with Kentucky last weekend instead of taking his originally scheduled visit to Arizona. Vargas signed with Kentucky with the mindset that he can play in the NBA after next season, which coach John Calipari accepted as long as Vargas works hard.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Miller said when asked if recruits are looking more at enhancing their NBA stock than improving a college basketball program. “But part of that is knowing you have to play within a team concept to become a better player.

“You have to do a lot of different things. You have to defend. You have to play within a system.”

The effectiveness of Miller’s system relies on the loyalty of his staff, which includes his brother Archie Miller, James Whitford and Book Richardson.

Richardson, a part of Miller’s staff for three years at Xavier and Arizona, has increasingly been mentioned for other positions, including the current vacancy at Kentucky. He already has rejected reported offers by St. John’s coach Steve Lavin and Rutgers coach Mike Rice.

“We have a great staff that is very loyal,” Miller said. “Our staff knows that Arizona is a great place to coach and Tucson is a nice place to live.

“The coaching opportunities are flattering and they are to be expected. What’s best for the individual is what’s most important. That’s why it was good to see (former director of basketball operations) Jamall (Walker) get the opportunity to return to Ohio and be part of that coaching staff.”

Other items of note about the press conference: Sophomore-to-be center Kyryl Natyazhko will play in two tournaments in his native Ukraine over the next two months, which is a welcomed move by Miller. “It will be good for him to go up and down the court and get more experience,” Miller said. “He didn’t play 30 minutes a game as a freshman, so this will be a good opportunity for him.” … Arizona will don new special-edition Nike uniforms midway through next season. Miller described them as red, white and blue outfits, so they may not be predominantly red, white and blue but a mixture of those colors. … Miller indicated his starting point guard is likely Lamont “MoMo” Jones with Mayes, of Los Angeles Westchester, as his backup. He also said that Bejarano, who is 6-5, is big enough to play on the wing. Miller said that “not very many people shoot better than (Bejarano)” in the Class of 2010. … Miller envisions building a program that has depth without a lot of turnover, similar to how Olson built the program. “I look at some of the team pictures from the past and what strikes me is seeing guys like (current NBA players) Will Bynum and Jason Terry on a team in which they did not play a lot of minutes,” Miller said. “That’s the kind of depth we want to develop.”

If Terrence Jones of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson decides to play for a Pac-10 school, it would mean six of the top 50 recruits rated by Rivals.com would signed by conference teams

Portland (Ore.) Jefferson shooting guard Terrence Ross is headed to Washington, according to quotes from the player at Zagsblog.com, and that is welcomed news for the Pac-10.

The conference needs an image boost after none of its teams were ranked in the AP Top 25 at the end of the season. Ross’ decision to play in the Pac-10 is additionally significant inasmuch as he played 1 1/2 years for Montrose Christian School in Maryland before transferring back to Jefferson midway through this season.

He was exposed to ACC schools and received plenty of interest from Kentucky before he transferred back to Jefferson, where he was Oregon’s Class 5A player of the year as a sophomore. Ross’s reported commitment signals that playing in the Pac-10 means something again.

With Ross on the way, five of the West coast recruits rated among Rivals.com’s Top 50 recruits have decided to stay in the Pac-10 region. In fact, the eight highest rated West coast players by Rivals.com will be attending Pac-10 schools, including Arizona signee Daniel Bejarano of Phoenix North. Bejarano is rated No. 57 among Class of 2010 prospects.

More favorable news for the Pac-10 is potentially ahead if highly-touted forward Terrence Jones, Ross’ teammate at Jefferson, decides to attend Washington, Oregon or UCLA. Jones, a 6-9 player who can handle the ball like a point guard, took a visit to Kansas over the weekend. Kentucky is also in the picture. Jones is a Rivals.com 5-star player rated No. 13 overall in the Class of 2010.

He will announce his decision Friday.

Last year, two of the top 10 rated players by Rivals.com from Pac-10 locales went elsewhere — Los Angeles Dominguez High School foward Jordan Hamilton (No. 6) with Texas and Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde guard Michael Snaer (No. 7) with Florida State.

The highest rated player to leave the region this year is No. 99 James Johnson, a power forward bound for Virginia. Johnson, from Wildomar (Calif.) Elsinore High School, was recruited by Arizona early in the process after Miller’s hiring last year.

Eighteen Pac-10 scholarship players have announced they will transfer from Pac-10 schools at this point, but that can be viewed as addition by subtraction because a vast majority of them were role players last season.

Recently, Oregon’s inability to hire a coach for 39 days was dubious news. The Ducks went after some big name coaches, such as Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, but settled for Dana Altman, whose NCAA tournament resume is not as impressive as former coach Ernie Kent.

Altman, 51, coached Creighton to seven NCAA tournaments in his 16 years there, none in the last three seasons and only two in the last seven. He has not coached beyond the second round. Kent, a former Oregon player, coached the Ducks to two Elite Eight appearances.

Altman, however, brings a breath of fresh air to the Pac-10 with his pressing, transition style of basketball. Miller, 1-3 against Altman in his career, knows how a team at its peak under Altman can be dangerous with its pressing style and attack off turnovers.

At least Altman is humble about being one of the Ducks’ last choices to replace Kent. Sitting next to his wife at the introduction press conference today, Altman said, “I wasn’t her first choice either.”

Rivals.com’s Top 150 players who are considering Pac-10 schools

CLASS OF 2010 PAC-10 RECRUITS

Rivals.com’s Top 150 rankings listed

THOSE WHO GOT AWAY

Rivals.com’s Top 150 players who left Pac-10 locales for other schools