Potential UA recruit Shabazz Muhammad, a Class of 2012 superstar, drew a crowd of who's who among college coaches at the adidas Invitational in Indianapolis on Tuesday

What’s more daunting, facing the background of a college-student cheering section while standing at the free-throw line, or looking up in the stands and seeing a who’s-who of college basketball coaches watch your every move?

That was the situation for top-flight Class of 2012 talent Shabazz Muhammad on Tuesday during the first day of the July evaluation period. Muhammad, of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, drew a crowd including the likes of UA’s Sean Miller, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Billy Donovan, Mike Krzyzewski and Ben Howland, among many others, at the adidas Invitational at Indianapolis.

The tournament is held at North Central High School, the school that former UA point guard Jason Gardner attended. Muhammad no doubt has seen Gardner’s jersey hanging in the gym. Gardner was the 1999 Mr. Indiana winner as the state’s top boys basketball player. One of Miller’s goals is to restore those kind of recruiting successes.

To some, however, the hunt for Muhammad, potentially the No. 1 recruit of his class by the time he graduates, might be similar to Arizona’s unsuccessful attempt to land Baltimore Class of 2010 standout Josh Selby (who chose to attend Kansas).

Time will tell. The Cats should be in a more favorable position, having three seasons completed under Miller when Muhammad finally plays college hoops. And Miller’s try at Muhammad might be more of symbolism than anything. It shows that Miller intends to keep the direction started by Lute Olson — the cream of the crop will continue to be a recruiting focus.

According to various reports out of Indianapolis, Muhammad, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, lived up to the expectations of the high-profile coaches. He displayed accuracy from beyond the three-point line. He showed a quick first step to the basket. He is also a tough-as-nails defender.

He scored 32 points in a losing effort for the Dream Vision AAU team against Indiana Elite.

Arizona is already in pursuit of one of Muhammad’s teammates at Bishop Gorman — small forward Roscoe Allen, a 6-7 player. Allen unofficially visited the Arizona campus last month.

Other recruiting news: Gary Randazzo, of WildcatSportsReport.com, is reporting that UA assistant coach Book Richardson is in Germany scouting Class of 2011 point guard Quinn Cook, who is playing with USA Basketball’s Under-17 team in the FIBA World Championships. Richardson’s appearance there shows how serious the Cats want Cook, who has the UA on his short list. Richardson is sharing the stands with some strong competition, however, in Hamberg. Kentucky head coach John Calipari and assistant Orlando Antigua are there as well to make themselves seen by Cook. They are also watching commits Marquis Teague and Michael Gilchrist. … Other potential UA recruits at the adidas Invitational include Class of 2012 center Isaiah Austin of Arlington (Texas) Grace Prep, Class of 2012 forward Winston Shepard of Henderson (Nev.) Findlay (who is a teammate of Muhammad with Dream Vision), and Class of 2011 guard Norman Powell of San Diego (Calif.) Lincoln.

UA coach Sean Miller is becoming more visible to players from elite prep schools (US Presswire Photo)

Arizona’s recruitment of players from top-flight prep programs, such as Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy and Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, has never been as prevalent as it is now.

The number of players attending such institutions who are interested in Arizona increased by one Monday. Class of 2011 point guard Quinn Cook is leaving Hyattesville (Md.) DeMatha for Oak Hill, where he will become a teammate of UA commit Sidiki Johnson. Johnson transferred to Oak Hill from Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s in May (he originally is from St. Raymond’s in the Bronx).

A couple of weeks ago, Class of 2011 small forward prospect Amir Garrett announced that he was leaving Lawndale (Calif.) Leuzinger for Findlay.

This exposure bodes well for UA coach Sean Miller‘s recruiting efforts, even if, for example, Class of 2011 shooting guard Nick Johnson decides to go elsewhere after completing his eligibility at Findlay. Making a name for himself, his staff and program to these high-profile recruits is extremely important especially because Miller did not attract such talent at Xavier.

Whereas they did not know much about Miller or his coaching style as recently as two years ago, these prep-school recruits have their eyes open now to his program. They no longer see Arizona as Lute Olson’s program. The reason: Arizona is now where it’s at with players who play for these college breeding operations.

Miller signed two from these institutions before he coached a game at Arizona: Lamont “MoMo” Jones from Oak Hill and Kevin Parrom from South Kent (Conn.) Prep.

Former UA coach Lute Olson tried to recruit talent out of Oak Hill Academy but struck out when three of its stars did not qualify academically or opted to go elsewhere — Orlando Vega, Stephen Jackson and Brandon Jennings (the NBA rookie sensation who played a year in Italy rather than honoring his letter of intent). Ben Davis is an Oak Hill alum, but he attended Florida and Kansas before landing in Tucson in 1994.

Cook’s transfer from DeMatha to Oak Hill was strictly a basketball decision, according to his mother Janet Cook in a Washington Post article.

“We’re an educated family, and we’re thinking outside the box here,” she said, referencing that this was not a decision based on academics. “This is about getting focused and preparing for the transition to college.”

Focused is the key word. The main reason why these prospects transfer from a traditional high school team to these high-profile programs is to get a taste of what college basketball is like before they advance to the next level. They experience travel and playing against the best talent at their age level — and, of course, the exposure.

That’s ironic in Cook’s case inasmuch as he is leaving DeMatha to escape his celebrity status at the school.

Cook, a member of the USA Basketball under-17 national team that will compete in the FIBA World Championships, has already experienced basketball at a level higher than the standard high school standout. In the last month alone, he has competed in the Pangos All-America Camp in Long Beach, Chris Paul Point Guard Camp in Winston-Salem, N.C., and trained with the U.S. team in San Antonio with other high-profile players.

If Cook happens to commit to Arizona — he told me last month that he plans an unofficial visit in August — Miller knows he will bring in a seasoned player who, for example, can weather a Pac-10 road trip more so than others. Cook will demand instant playing time. The same goes for Nick Johnson, who Miller has pursued aggressively since he took the UA job last April. And don’t forget Kadeem Jack, the ever-elusive recruit who remains interested in Arizona after deciding to attend South Kent instead.

Another Class of 2011 guard recruit Jahii Carson does not play for a private prep school. He instead hails from a public high school — Mesa. Carson apparently will stay at Mesa. Damien Leonard, a Class of 2011 sharpshooter from J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, S.C., is staying put at Mann for now. He lists his final five as Arizona, South Carolina, Clemson, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech. He will likely take an official visit to Tucson in September or October.

Arizona signee Daniel Bejarano also avoided prep school by sticking with his roots at Phoenix North. The decision to stay was for the best from a team standpoint because the Mustangs won consecutive state titles to end his career.

“I could have played for a prep school,” Bejarano told me in April. “Some people asked me about it, but I just couldn’t see leaving my guys behind at North. I grew up with those guys. We’ve been teammates since we were freshmen. They’re like brothers to me.

“I knew that during the summer I would be playing some good players anyway (during the AAU circuit). And I always challenge myself to be a better player. I know that I improved a lot as a player playing at North.”

As recently as 10 years ago, it was unheard of for a player from DeMatha leaving for a higher profile program. Morgan Wootten built that into an elite program in his 46 years there (1956 to 2002) as a head coach. Former NBA stars Adrian Dantley and Danny Ferry played for Wootten. Even the venerable John Wooden once said of Wootten, “I stand in awe of him.”

Now, a player is leaving Wootten’s once-proud institution for what appears to be greener pastures. Talk about a sign of the times.

Cook’s move to Oak Hill also signals that Maryland and Georgetown are now considered long shots. He removes himself from Maryland and Georgetown fans at DeMatha bothering him about his next move. Kentucky and Duke are prominently mentioned with Cook. He also lists Arizona, North Carolina, Villanova, St. John’s and UConn as possibilities.

Miller and Co. are also prominently involved with other Findlay prospects such Class of 2012 recruit power forward Winston Shepard and Class of 2013 target Nigel Williams-Goss.

Of this group of six — Cook, Nick Johnson, Garrett, Jack, Shepard and Williams-Goss — the UA would be considered a success if it can land one of them (in addition to Sidiki Johnson) in the next two to three years. With the increased amount of prep-school players interested in Arizona, odds are Miller will sign one of them. If that happens, it will be a triumph for him beyond the normal scope of recruiting.

Quinn Cook wants to visit the UA campus unofficially after a busy summer of basketball (Picture by Gary Randazzo/WildcatSportsReport.com)

Class of 2011 Five-Star point guard recruit Quinn Cook wants to become educated about Arizona, but that will have to wait until August at the earliest.

Cook, 6-foot-1 and 180, is back home in Bowie, Md., after a weekend of playing at the Pangos All-America camp in Long Beach, Calif. He was slated to unofficially visit the UA campus Monday with his AAU coach Bruce Shingler of D.C. Assault, but Shingler missed a flight to Tucson, so Cook was forced to reschedule.

The UA hosted Class of 2012 small forward Rosco Allen, a 6-foot-7 player from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, instead. Allen is the teammate of Five-Star recruit Shabazz Muhummad, who has also shown interest in Arizona.

“I’m looking at going out there some time in August,” Cook told me Monday.

Cook admitted that he does not know much about Arizona’s program and how he would fit into the 2011-12 roster. UA coach Sean Miller said last month that UA sophomore Lamont “MoMo” Jones is his likely starter at point guard in 2010-11. Jones was recruited to Tucson as a combo guard (point guard and shooting guard).

“It’s pretty early yet,” Cook said about his recruitment by Miller and assistant Book Richardson since they left Xavier for Arizona in April 2009.

“I mean, I know Coach Miller and Richardson from when they were at Xavier, but I’ve really had no chance to study the Arizona program or the team that they have right now. They play out on the West coast and their games are on pretty late out here, so I haven’t really seen them play.”

Playing for the prestigious DeMatha High School program, Cook is a visible talent in the D.C. area. Local schools such as Maryland and Georgetown are recruiting Cook strongly along with Kansas State, Notre Dame, North Carolina State and a host of other schools.

Although Georgetown and Maryland are making a significant push, Cook said that location will not be a determining factor about which school he chooses.

“I’ll go where I can help a program and the program can help me,” Cook said. “If I have to go out West for that to happen, I will do that. If I have to stay local, I’ll do that. I’ll be looking at the best possible situation.”

Cook will attend the Chris Paul Point Guard Camp this weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C., and will report to the USA Basketball Developmental National Team workouts on June 18 in San Antonio.