Greenville (S.C.) product Damien Leonard, a 5-Star recruit according to Rivals.com, is in Tucson this weekend on an unofficial visit (J.L. Mann High School photo)

Some of this entry is part of the “Nothing but the Notes” package at WILDABOUTAZCATS.com

In the last year, I have interviewed a number of potential UA recruits and their parents and coaches.

The one who I believed showed the most interest in Arizona before committing was Phoenix North shooting guard Daniel Bejarano, who talks as if he wants to wear the Arizona uniform yesterday.

Another recruit has now surfaced who is showing a genuine interest in Arizona like Bejarano is a Class of 2011 Rivals.com Five-Star recruit. Although Greenville (S.C.) J.L. Mann wing player Damien Leonard told me Friday he remains “wide open” with his recruiting choice, he sounded like he is sincere about wanting learn about the advantages of attending the University of Arizona. Leonard is taking an unofficial visit of the UA campus this weekend with his traveling coach Willis Holliday.

“I’m going over there wanting to learn everything I need to know about the school and the program,” Leonard told me. “I would not be going there if I didn’t think it was worth the trip. This visit is very important to us in this process.”

Meanwhile, former UA target Eloy Vargas announced Saturday he will sign with Kentucky after visiting the Lexington school Friday. Vargas, a former Florida forward who attended Miami-Dade Junior College this season, was originally scheduled to visit Arizona but that hit a snag because of the uncertainty of Vargas’ role next season with Arizona.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Vargas committed to Kentucky partly because Kentucky coach John Calipari has promised him playing time to improve his NBA stock, as long as the prospect works hard.

“Eloy was impressed with how blunt (Calipari) was,” AAU coach Kenny Gillion told the Courier-Journal. “He told him there was an opportunity to play and get to the NBA as long as he was as good as he says he is and as long as he comes in and works hard … That was a huge selling point for Eloy.”

Miller has gone on record saying he recruits players who want to play within his team concept first and foremost. Therein lies the difference in recruiting philosophies: Calipari talks more about individual agendas and working with the player to meet those goals. Miller is more geared toward talking to the recruit about how he might fit in to Miller’s system.

Others who took visits to Arizona seem to treat it as an exercise, saying in essence that the visit would not sway their opinion one way or another. That’s not the case with Leonard, who is using the visit as a gauge to help narrow his choices to three schools after the summer high-profile events and AAU circuit of tournaments.

The other schools high on his list include Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Clemson and Virginia Tech.

“We’re hoping to take what we learn on this trip and use it as a future reference,” said Holliday, coach and director of the Carolina Cougars’ AAU program in South Carolina.

Although news of Leonard’s visit surfaced last week, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound player has been on Miller’s radar since last summer.

“The way coach Miller has recruited Damien has been by the book, and he has developed a very good relationship with us,” Holliday said. “Damien has wanted to take this visit for a while because of his relationship with some of their coaches and now he finally gets that chance.”

Leonard has played in Arizona before at the “Duel in the Desert” in Phoenix so he knows what to expect about Tucson’s weather.

“Oh yeah, I’ve packed some T-shirts and shorts,” Leonard said with a laugh. “I’ve been in the desert before. I just haven’t been to Tucson before but I’m looking forward to seeing what the city and the school are all about.”

Leonard and Holliday left Greenville, which will be in the 80s this weekend, but the humidity there is listed as almost 80 percent. Tucson could reach the 90s this weekend but as the saying goes, it’s a dry heat.

Miller and his staff likely view Leonard as a versatile wing player who can also occupy the shooting guard position. By the time Leonard graduates from high school, he may grow a couple of inches to 6-foot-6, a height befitting of a small forward.

The UA is in need of a wing player who can accurately shoot from the perimeter to extend the defense. That idea is exemplified with the recruitment of JUCO transfer Jesse Perry, who can play either on the wing or at power forward. Otherwise, the UA does not have a pure shooter from the small forward position.

Therefore, the recruitment of Leonard does not necessarily interfere with having Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep guard Nick Johnson high on their Class of 2011 list. “This is not only my opinion but also that of others: Damien is the top shooter in his class in the country,” Holliday said.

Sean Miller's philosophy is to recruit players who want to build a team around him (US Presswire Photo/Scott A. Miller)

When a recruit and his suitor go separate ways, that means their respective agendas are too contrasting.

That appears to be the case in Arizona’s recruitment of former Florida center Eloy Vargas, who reportedly will not visit the UA campus this weekend after all.

From what I understand, this is Vargas’ position (note that Vargas has not returned my phone calls or text messages): He is about to play for his third school in as many years, and he is thinking about improving his professional stock.

From an individual standpoint, the direction makes sense for Vargas, who suffered through minor injuries and academic concerns in his lone season with the Gators. He wants to seize the golden opportunity as quickly as possible.

From a team standpoint, or team frame-of-mind standpoint, it does not make sense for UA coach Sean Miller.

It has been reported that Vargas is visiting Seattle because Charles Garcia prospered into an NBA prospect there in basically one season after transferring from a JC. He originally signed with Washington but did not qualify. That is true that he evolved into more of a prospect at Seattle, but there is more to that.

Garcia evolved into a scorer by getting the green light from new coach Cameron Dollar, who is promising the same to Vargas.

It does not matter that Vargas would not play on national or regional television for most of the season. Garcia, a potential second-round draft pick, according to DraftExpress.com, did not need the television exposure to become noticed by scouts.

Why else would Vargas visit Seattle?

Dollar is no dummy. He does not want to coach at Seattle long. He wants immediate success to move on to a bigger spot. By showcasing players like Garcia and Vargas, he will move up the ladder quicker for two reasons: He will have the reputation of developing NBA-caliber players and his recruiting success would be magnified.

In short, Dollar could not care less about giving the ball to Vargas often, so Vargas can average close to 20 points a game similar to Garcia. With Garcia gone, Vargas can step right in and impress the same scouts.

Miller, on the other hand, is the caretaker of a storied program that is in search of itself after Lute Olson instilled a family atmosphere during the glory years. Miller’s Xavier teams were not all about Five-Star recruits and surefire NBA prospects. He coached an Elite Eight team with players who were in sync from the No. 9 guy in the rotation to the leading scorer.

One of Xavier’s top players in the Elite Eight season — Derrick Brown — redshirted as a freshman to further develop. It’s no wonder why Miller gushed about Butler during all those national radio spots preceding the Final Four.

The same debate over Miller’s recruitment of Lance Stephenson (or the lack thereof) is apparent in the latest development concerning Vargas’ recruitment. Do you sacrifice the program-building philosophy by going after the immediate season-building direction?

Many recruiting enthusiasts suggest Miller take on Vargas even if the promising forward aspires to play professionally after one season. By signing Vargas, Arizona can enjoy more immediate success and create an aura about the program faster, thus attracting more high-profile recruits next year and beyond. In other words, they believe Miller should follow the John Calipari doctrine of recruiting.

Calipari’s way works at Kentucky because the program is traditionally more popular than Arizona, and he has a history of attracting top-notch recruits who can progress to the next level after a year or two. Calipari goes on to the next pro-caliber prospect, knowing the player can leave abruptly like the one before. However, Calipari also knows that prospect has a better chance of getting him to the Final Four at a quicker rate (Derrick Rose anyone?).

Miller is not in the same position because Arizona is not in the same position. He must recruit accordingly. Miller is also the type of coach who would rather see Kyryl Natyazhko become a positive influence in practice and develop into a force at the post, rather than take on a new frontcourt player with an individual agenda.

According to Vargas’ AAU coach, Kenny Gillion, grades are not a concern with his former player. Gillion told me last month that Vargas was a straight-A student at Miami-Dade Junior College this year. If Vargas has no academic concerns, than the reason why Arizona and Vargas have separated can be traced to different agendas — Vargas wants to be showcased and Miller desires a player who first and foremost wants Arizona to be on top of the Pac-10 again.

Vargas’ willingness to follow in Garcia’s footsteps (or extended minutes and field-goal attempts) with an obscure Seattle program makes his intentions all the more obvious. You can’t blame Vargas if he believes he’s at the stage of his career in which he must be noticed by NBA scouts now.

You also must understand Miller’s viewpoint that he is responsible for building Arizona back to prominence, and the only way to do that is with players sharing a common goal.

Josh Gershon of GOAZCATS.com reported this morning in a discussion thread on its Web site that “it’s becoming increasingly less likely that Arizona pushes for Vargas and brings him in for a visit.”

Vargas, a 6-11 forward who was slated to visit Arizona on May 14-15, is visiting Seattle University today and tomorrow. The former Florida player was being recruited by Arizona coach Sean Miller and assistant coach Book Richardson for more than a month.

Miller and Richardson performed an in-home visit with him on April 17. At that time, Vargas’ AAU coach Kenny Gillion said to me that “Vargas is certainly very interested in Arizona; otherwise, he would have told them thanks but no thanks at the end of the visit.”

Attempts to reach Vargas and Gillion were unsuccessful, and the UA coaching staff can not comment on unsigned players.

Arizona has an open scholarship for the 2010-11 season, which Miller can now save for the Class of 2011. That would provide Miller with two scholarships for that class — one also provided by Jamelle Horne exhausting his eligibility.

Arizona has a verbal commitment from Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s forward Sidiki Johnson for the Class of 2011. The Wildcats are also pursuing Winchendon (Mass.) Prep wing Angel Nunez, Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep guard Nick Johnson, and Mesa High School guard Jahii Carson for that class as well.

Richardson, key to the recruitment of Johnson and Nunez, reportedly will decide by tomorrow between staying at Arizona or becoming an assistant coach at Rutgers, according to Zagslog.com. If Richardson leaves, that could make Miller have to reset his recruiting focus unless he brings in another Easterner with AAU ties.

In other news, UA’s director of basketball operations Jamall Walker has left after one season to rejoin the Ohio University coaching staff.