Javier Morales is a former first-place award winner in the Arizona Press Club’s Metro Sports Reporting category. Please visit his Web site at WILDABOUTAZCATS.net

Arizona freshman guard Josiah turner has been disciplined three times this season by head coach Sean Miller (US Presswire/Jason O. Watson)

Twice suspended and three times disciplined, and Josiah Turner‘s freshman season is not even over yet, or is it?

His season may be over because Arizona coach Sean Miller suspended him indefinitely, according to the school. The Wildcats play today in the Pac-12 tournament against UCLA in Los Angeles. If they lose, they are likely bound for the NIT. An indifferent Arizona team might only last one game in that secondary tournament.

My hope is that Miller stand firm with this indefinite suspension and prevent Turner from returning this season. Turner should not return until it becomes obvious and sincere that the young man is remorseful and ready to grow up. Miller should not open the door for Turner simply because he needs the highly-touted point guard for victories on the court.

If Miller caves in and thinks of wins more than setting the right example, it will fall in line with the mentality that has allowed Turner and many other players to become wayward. It’s that AAU mentality of caring only about a player’s raw skills rather than the makeup of the player’s character. Some of its coaches are viewed as street agents.

“College sports are no longer for pleasure; it’s a business that must meet the supply and demand of the high rollers and overzealous benefactors who have no idea of the pressure of the student-athlete,” high school counselor Julius Holt, a football letterman at Arizona from 1981-83, commented on my personal Facebook site last night.

“(That) is a shame because the innocence and purity of college athletics is no longer present. Athletes are considered great way too early and some haven’t even proven that they’re good, but we praise them as a star.”

The Catch-22 of these AAU summer leagues is that while they prepare the athlete for the rigors of travel and playing against top-notch opposition, they also create self-centered players who think they can play in the NBA after only one college season. An education to them is far from a priority.

These players behave the same as before they came to college — they do not grow up — because they were successful before with these bad personal habits. They think they can ask, “If it’s worked before, why can’t it now? I’ll be gone before too long any way.”

We have seen college basketball erode because of this mentality. Look at the number of suspensions and dismissals of some of the players this season.

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Former UA guard Mustafa Shakur played in his first NBA game on Jan. 22 this year, nearly four years after completing his Wildcat career (US Presswire photo/Rafael Suanes)

So Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson are Five-Star recruits as rated by Rivals.com in its most recent rankings released Wednesday. Is that good news or bad for UA coach Sean Miller?

Turner, a point guard from Sacramento who finished his season at Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy, and Johnson, a guard-wing from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, become the third Wildcat duo to be listed as Five-Star prospects in the same year.

In 2003, forward Ndudi Ebi of Houston was rated the No. 4 prospect overall and guard Mustafa Shakur was rated No. 12. In 2007, guard Jerryd Bayless of Phoenix was the No. 13 prospect and forward Jamelle Horne was rated No. 21.

Turner is rated No. 11 by Rivals.com in the Class of 2011 and Johnson is at No. 18. Generally, the top 25 or 26 recruits garner Five-Star status.

Bayless, who only played one season at Arizona, has enjoyed the most success in his career, compared to Ebi, Shakur and Horne.

Of course, these rankings are always suspect. Keep in mind that former UA forward Derrick Williams, a potential No. 1 NBA draft pick, was not among the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects in 2009.

Ebi never played for Arizona, opting for the NBA draft instead. He was the 26th overall pick in the 2003 draft but his career never flourished at Minnesota, which waived him after two seasons. He was subsequently waived by Dallas in the next preseason camp and has only played in Europe since.

Shakur started all but two of his games at Arizona during his four-year career, but he was not drafted by NBA clubs in 2007. A point guard with decent height at 6-4, Shakur was co-MVP of the 2003 EA Sports Roundball High School Classic. The other MVP? LeBron James.

Shakur toiled in Europe for a couple of years and played in the NBA Developmental League before signing a 10-day contract with Oklahoma City at the end of last season. He returned to the D-League this season, playing for Tulsa and Rio Grande, before Washington signed him to a 10-day contract on Jan. 22. He played in his first NBA game that day, almost four years after leaving Arizona.

He finished the season with the Wizards, averaging 7.2 minutes a game in 22 games.

Bayless’ only season at Arizona in 2007-08 was tumultuous personally as he felt let down when Lute Olson took a leave of absence and was replaced by interim coach Kevin O’Neill. The 2007 McDonald’s All-American still averaged 19.7 points and four assists per game in the Wildcats’ 18-13 season. He was the 11th pick overall in the 2008 NBA draft, taken by Indiana, which traded his rights to Portland.

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RELATED LINK: Even if Derrick Williams leaves early, history shows the Wildcats can carry on

So what will happen if Derrick Williams leaves Arizona before his junior season and is chosen among the first five picks of the NBA draft in June? What will life be like at McKale Center in Year One of the post-Williams era? Is this the end of the world as we know it?

Will Arizona be Arizona without Derrick Williams next season if he goes to the NBA? (US Presswire photo/Gary A. Vasquez)

History tells us that Arizona will continue to have a heartbeat without Williams. In fact, the old ticker will continue to beat at a good rate.

This is how the Wildcats have fared after one of their stars was chosen among the first 10 picks of the NBA draft:

• 1979: Larry Demic, Sr. (9th pick). UA year later in 1979-80: 12-15
• 1989: Sean Elliott, Sr. (3rd pick). UA year later in 1989-90: 25-7
• 1991: Brian Williams, Jr. (10th pick). UA year later in 1991-92: 24-7
• 1995: Damon Stoudamire, Sr. (7th pick). UA year later in 1995-96: 27-6 (Sweet 16)
• 1998: Mike Bibby, Soph. (2nd pick). UA year later in 1998-99: 22-6
• 1999: Jason Terry, Sr. (10th pick). UA year later in 1999-2000: 27-7
• 2004: Andre Iguodala, Soph. (9th pick). UA year later in 2004-05: 30-7 (Elite Eight)
• 2005: Channing Frye, Sr. (8th pick). UA year later in 2005-06: 20-13
• 2009: Jordan Hill, Jr. (8th pick). UA year later in 2009-10: 16-15

That’s only one losing season after Demic’s departure when Fred Snowden was in the last stages of his coaching career. The other unimpressive mark is the 16-15 record after Hill left to the NBA after his junior season. That was Sean Miller‘s first season at Arizona. The transition after two interim coaches following Lute Olson‘s retirement was not easy.

Overall, in the season after these nine players departed (four of them prematurely), the UA posted a record of 213-83. That’s a winning percentage of 71.9. That’s also an average of 23.6 wins the season after the Wildcats were required to fill a significant void.

The combined 213-83 mark is only 14 games worse than the the record — 227-69 — of the season in which these nine players completed their Wildcat careers. That averages to only about 1.6 more losses in the season after a top 10 NBA draft pick departs Arizona.

The most significant dropoff is the amount of Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearances. The Wildcats achieved a Sweet 16 (1995-96) and Elite Eight (2004-05) appearance in seasons after a high draft choice was taken. They achieved two Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights in the year these standouts completed their career.

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