If Terrence Jones of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson actually plays at Kentucky, it would be a significant downer for the Pac-10

The next time a recruit announces he will sign with Washington, rest assured coach Lorenzo Romar will see to it that the prospect actually brings along a national letter of intent.

Portland (Ore.) Jefferson forward Terrence Jones, a top-flight member of the Class of 2010, went back on his commitment to Washington last month by signing a financial-aid agreement Wednesday with Kentucky (as was reported to likely happen here Tuesday).

The agreement is non-binding, meaning that Jones can sign with Washington instead and his eligibility status will not be affected. However, as long as Kentucky coach John Calipari is in Lexington, Jones should be right there with him.

“I felt like they (Kentucky) played a better schedule and had a lot better team,” Jones told the Oregonian.

This is horrible news for the Pac-10, which needed an image boost after none of its teams were ranked in the AP Top 25 at the end of the season. It adds to other negative off-season developments, such as 20 scholarship players from a year ago leaving their respective Pac-10 institutions prematurely, and the embarrassing time-consuming replacement of fired Oregon coach Ernie Kent.

Calipari has now snagged two Five-Star recruits who announced they would attend Washington: Jones and forward Enes Kanter, a Turkey native who played last year in Pac-10 country at Stone Ridge Prep in Merced, Calif.

UA coach Sean Miller talked indirectly about Jones’ drawn-out decision during Tuesday’s spring-signing period wrapup press conference at McKale Center.

“That amazes me,” said Miller, who took part in an in-home visit with Jones early in the recruiting process. “That’s not healthy for college basketball. … There’s so much information out there to make a good decision.”

Jones’ likely departure from Pac-10 country for Lexington, along with Kanter, means two Five-Star recruits will leave the region in consecutive years. 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.

Kanter is rated No. 3 by Rivals.com, while Jones is ranked No. 13.

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

TWENTY OFFSEASON PAC-10 TRANSFERS

* — Dismissed from team
** — Announced transfer before start of spring semester

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar thought he had Portland Jefferson (Ore.) forward Terrence Jones signed and delivered Friday but he must continue to wait to see if Jones goes to Kentucky instead (Photo by US Presswire/Joe Nicholson)

Arizona and Washington have experienced unsettling recruiting developments in the last week and I am certain head coaches — directly involved or not — are outraged and dumbfounded.

Imagine how many times Washington coach Lorenzo Romar has tossed and turned the last few days thinking about what Kentucky coach John Calipari will do next in the recruitment of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson superstar Terrence Jones.

Arizona coach Sean Miller and UConn coach Jim Calhoun are faced with the reality that a promising recruit chose to attend a prep school instead of join their storied programs. If that’s not a slap to the face of what they have accomplished in their careers, it is at least a turn of a cold shoulder.

It is not as though Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice High School forward Kadeem Jack only had the option of playing for Robert Morris or William & Mary. If that was the case, spending a year in prep school to develop further and become noticed by higher profile programs is understandable. However, passing up Arizona, UConn, Miami and Arkansas for South Kent (Conn.) Prep School?

Give the kid credit for doing what he wants and wish him the best of luck — after all, it’s his life — but nothing is wrong with questioning the move. Why not redshirt at a Division I program to develop further with four years of eligibility remaining afterward instead of attending a prep school, with less competition in practice and games, and then have only three years of eligibility?

Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist Frank Burlison, who has covered recruiting longer than these recruits have been alive, wrote yesterday that he has now seen everything with the bizarre Jones development.

What’s next? The recruit gathering the press, family and friends at a gym and noting that if he makes a 25-foot jump shot he’ll play for Kansas, or if he misses he’s bound for Kentucky? Don’t laugh. Anything is possible these days. ESPN might televise it with the College Gameday crew on hand.

Why hold a press conference to announce your college decision, as Jones did Friday, only to hedge a few minutes later after a reported conversation over the phone with Calipari? What purpose did Jones taking part in the press conference serve?

The preceding announcements of his Jefferson teammates that they were bound to play football at Texas Southern or basketball at Idaho were far more enriching than Jones sitting behind six college caps, not sure why he had to pick one while wearing a suit.

His teammate Terrence Ross, a Top 50 recruit according to Rivals.com, showed up wearing Washington garb with his Husky cap on sideways. That’s a 17 year old being a 17 year old. How refreshing.

Calipari says he does not put pressure on recruits who have committed elsewhere. He was quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader as saying, “If he’s made a verbal commitment, we just lay off until the kid publicly de-commits, which has happened before. If he’s committed to a school, then I would not (contact the recruit). There’s no rule against it, there’s no law against it. I just don’t do it.”

Read between the lines: He lays off until the recruit publicly de-commits. What if the kid has not publicly de-committed, then he is fair game? Why not? There’s no rule against it. There’s no law against it.

You can bet the terms of Calipari’s rich contract that he has not given up on Jones, despite the fact that the 6-8 forward placed that Washington cap on his head and said he has wanted to be Ross’ teammate since they were in the eighth grade.

The argument can be made that Calipari is doing what he feels is best for his program. If you were in his position, would losing a 5-star, surefire prospect, sit well with you without putting up a fight first? Kentucky should expect Calipari to behave in this manner because he was hired to win national championships. You don’t win by being passive.

But a line must be drawn when a recruit has clearly made his choice in front of almost 30,000 Internet viewers, not to mention while sitting next to his mother and father, who have endured the recruiting process as much as their son. With his indecision now, the agony continues and the development becomes more of a circus. Nobody has anything to gain from that.

By all indications, Miller has a track record of not meddling with recruits who have announced they are headed elsewhere. After his hire at Arizona, Miller steered clear of Kevin Parrom, who signed a national letter of intent with Xavier. He allowed Parrom to make up his mind about gaining a release from his letter after meeting with new Xavier coach Chris Mack.

“There will never be any of that (recruiting players he left at Xavier), and it’s just a matter of us moving forward,” Miller said at his introductory press conference at Arizona last April. “We’re a long way from Cincinnati now, so I’m looking forward to moving on to that next chapter.”

Miller reportedly contacted the coaches and mentors of Phoenix North guard Daniel Bejarano and Santa Rita guard Terrell Stoglin upon his arrival in Tucson, but the conversation was along the lines of, “If your guy decides to re-open his recruitment, keep us in mind.” Bejarano was committed to Texas and Stoglin to Maryland. Nobody has indicated that Miller actively pursued these players before the prospect publicly de-committed.

As it turned out, Bejarano de-committed and Miller instantly recruited him after Bejarano reached out to him, not vice-versa. Stoglin stuck to his commitment and signed with the Terrapins despite being the hometown kid. If Calipari was the coach at Arizona, would Stoglin have similarly been left alone? That’s debatable. Coaches are different and recruit in different manners.

Which style is preferable? The kind that lets things be out of respect to the university that gained the commitment from the prospect? Or the kind that won’t give up until the prospect signs on the dotted line?

Jack essentially has committed to attend South Kent next year. If you were Miller, do you back off out of respect for the youngster and his mother? Would Calipari handle the matter the same way?

Ethically and morally, there is no doubt which approach is more correct, but these days that might not matter.

Portland Jefferson forward Terrence Jones became the eighth Top 50 recruit from the Pac-10 region to announce he would sign with Washington since 2003 (Terrence Jones photo)

Another top-notch recruit from Oregon — Portland Jefferson High School forward Terrence Jones — is going somewhere other than Arizona, which makes UA followers long for the days of Damon Stoudamire, Salim Stoudamire, and, yes, even Chris Rodgers leaving the Pacific northwest for Tucson.

At least Jones, rated the No. 13 prospect by Rivals.com, is staying in the Pac-10 region. He announced this afternoon that he will be headed for Washington, joining high school teammate Terrence Ross, who is rated No. 48 by Rivals.com.

Since Sean Miller and assistant coach Book Richardson arrived in Arizona last April, the Wildcats’ recruiting success includes New York more than Oregon or Washington.

Miller has signed two New Yorkers (because of Richardson’s AAU background there): Kevin Parrom and Lamont “MoMo” Jones, with more potentially on the way in 2011 with Sidiki Johnson and Angel Nunez. Because of this, the general misnomer is Miller is going after East coast players more than West coast talent.

In his almost 13 months on the job at Arizona, Miller has signed eight players, three of whom are from southern California — Derrick Williams, Solomon Hill and Jordin Mayes — and another from Arizona (Daniel Bejarano). The West coast presence is still there. UA loyalists, however, recall the days when Lute Olson made the Wildcats a regional power by attracting talent from Oregon and Washington in addition to the Los Angeles area.

Some of Olson’s best players came from Washington (Jason Terry and Michael Dickerson) and Oregon (the Stoudamires). Rodgers had his struggles at Arizona, but he was named the Portland Interscholastic League Player of the Year in 2002 and he played in the Jordan Brand Capital Classic in Washington, D.C., along with fellow UA teammates Hassan Adams and Andre Iguodala.

Marcus Willliams, a standout from Seattle Roosevelt High School, also attended Arizona, although he left prematurely to the NBA after averaging 16.6 points and 6.7 rebounds a game as a sophomore in 2006-07.

Before his leave of absence and retirement rocked the program, Olson was set to sign Tacoma 5-Star prospect Abdul Gaddy and Portland prospect Mike Moser, but they went elsewhere with Olson no longer around.

Miller and his brother, assistant coach Archie Miller, recruited Jones after they arrived in Tucson last year. One of their first in-home visits in September was with Jones and his mother Linda Mashia-Jones.

Shortly after Concord (Mass.) Middlesex player Rod Odom, who also plays forward, verbally committed to Arizona in October, Jones and his mother backed away from Arizona. “I guess you could say their focus has shifted and their needs have changed in regards to Terrence,” Mashia-Jones told me at the time.

After the jump: More information about West coast prospects and Pac-10 schools, plus a chart detailing where the regional prospects have gone since 2003:

Arizona is now without both of them. Odom de-committed and subsequently signed with Vanderbilt, and the Wildcats must play Jones at least twice a year (maybe three times if UA and Washington meet in the Pac-10 tournament).

How important is it to attract talent from the West coast? Upon his hiring, Miller said, “The one striking part about our program here is that it’s amazing to me where the greatest players at this university have come from: Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Chicago and obviously up and down the entire West Coast. We’re going to be selective and most importantly we have to take the players that can do what we want to do.”

Translation: The ability of the player and his adaptability to Miller’s philosophies outweigh where the recruit comes from, as should be the case. Furthermore, while researching the Rivals.com Top 50 recruits since 2003 — the year the site offers as its earliest rankings — the percentage of those recruits from Pac-10 locales (Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington) is only 15.3 percent (61 out of 400 prospects).

Why confine the area of recruitment locally, when most of the top-notch talent is spread throughout different parts of the country? Hence, the recruiting effort in New York makes plenty of sense.

Some other noteworthy data from the Rivals.com rankings:

• Arizona has signed only five of these 61 Rivals.com Top 50 players who are from Pac-10 locales. Four of them were from California, including San Diego product Jeff Withey, who never played for Arizona and is now at Kansas. None were from Washington or Oregon. Phoenix product Jerryd Bayless is the other regional player signed.
• UCLA leads with 14 of these 61 prospects signed and Washington is second with eight, followed by Arizona, USC (4) and Cal (3).
• The Pac-10 has managed to keep 65.6 percent of these recruits (40 total) from going out of the region.
• The best years are this year (83.3 percent, five of six staying home) and 2008 when all six of the regional prospects played for Pac-10 schools, four of which were California products who signed with UCLA — Jrue Holiday of North Hollywood, Jerime Anderson of Anaheim, Drew Gordon of San Jose, and Malcolm Lee of Riverside.
• The worst year was last year, when only four of nine prospects (44.4 percent) stayed in the Pac-10 region. Notable players to leave included Jordan Hamilton of Los Angeles to Texas; Michael Snaer of Moreno Valley, Calif., to Florida State; and Peyton Siva of Seattle to Louisville.
• One man’s team of regional prospects who did not play in the Pac-10 since 2003: Rodrick Stewart, Seattle (2003 — Kansas);Marvin Williams, Bremerton, Wash. (2004 — North Carolina); Amir Johnson, Los Angeles (2005 — Louisville); Kyle Singler, Medford, Ore. (2007 — Duke); and Austin Daye, Irvine, Calif. (2007 — Gonzaga).

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Number of top Rivals.com Top 50 recruits from Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington who have stayed in Pac-10 locales since 2003:

* — Originally from Turkey, played one year of prep school in Tarzana, Calif.
** — Transfer out of conference
*** — Transfer in conference

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

New Oregon coach Dana Altman went 3-1 against Sean Miller when his Creighton teams faced Xavier from 2004-07 (Photo by US Presswire/Scott Rovak)

Oregon’s new coach, Dana Altman of Creighton, has coached 653 games in Division I and not one of them is against a Pac-10 school.

Conversely, Altman has coached 17 games against Mountain West teams and 14 against WAC opponents. Add to that three games against the West Coast Conference and Big Sky, and two against the Big West, and that’s 39 games against teams from the western region. But not one against the Pac-10. Why?

Easy. If you are Ben Howland at UCLA or Lorenzo Romar at Washington, for example, do you want to arrange a home-and-home with a dangerous mid-major from Omaha? What recruiting edge does a Pac-10 team have in Nebraska?

None of the existing Pac-10 coaches have coached against Altman, except Arizona coach Sean Miller.

Miller knows the kind of program Altman built in 16 years at Creighton while at fellow mid-major school Xavier. After the Bluejays went to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a 29-5 season in 2002-03, Altman continued a series with Miller at Xavier. Altman was 3-1 against Miller from 2004-2007.

Xavier’s three defeats were by a total of only 10 points. The Musketeers had trouble with Creighton’s pressing and trapping defenses.

“They beat us up,” Miller said before Xavier ended the three-game losing streak with a 79-66 win on Dec. 5, 2007. “They hit us in the mouth, and I say that in a positive way.

“One of the reasons they beat us three years in a row is their style. They really force you to handle pressure and compete at a high level.”

Altman, 410-243 in 21 years as a Division I coach, reportedly will be introduced as the new Oregon coach tomorrow in a press conference.

The Ducks have been in search of a new head coach since March 16, when the school announced that former coach Ernie Kent would not be retained.

In the meantime, three Oregon sophomores have announced they will transfer and have obtained a release from their scholarships: Josh Crittle and Drew Wiley (forwards) and Matthew Humphrey (guard). Wiley has already announced that he is transferring to Boise State.

Altman, who has produced three NBA players while at Creighton, has his hands full trying to convince high-profile in-state recruits Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross of Portland (Ore.) Jefferson to play for him. Ross, a 6-5 guard, and Jones, a 6-9 forward, reportedly will announce their decision April 30, and Washington is rumored to be the strongest contender, although Kentucky and Kansas are going hard after Jones.

The three NBA players produced by Altman at Creighton are guard Rodney Buford (five different teams between 1999-2005), forward Kyle Korver (who is playing with the Jazz since entering the league in 2003) and forward Anthony Tolliver (in his second season now with the Warriors).

Make sure to visit WILDABOUTAZCATS.com for more information regarding Arizona athletics

PAC-10 TRANSFER LIST REACHES 18

* — Dismissed from team
** — Announced transfer before spring semester

With Jones and Odom likely out of the picture, it appears that Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy player Doron Lamb, who can play the point, shooting guard and on the wing, will continue to be a viable target of the Wildcat coaching staff. Calvin Lamb, Doron’s father, said, “He’s always had Arizona on his list because of Coach (Sean) Miller and Coach (Book) Richardson. That’s never changed.”

Odom has indicated to those close to him that he never felt comfortable with his decision because he did not like the idea of leaving close to home. He originally is from New York City. Attempts to reach him Sunday night were unsuccessful.

He indicated on his Facebook page: “Just made one of the hardest calls I ever had to make, but it’s what’s best for my family, and what’s best for me … feels like the weight of the world is off of his shoulders.”

The commitments of Odom and Phoenix North shooting guard Daniel Bejarano theoretically filled the potential scholarship spots open for the 2010-11 season. The UA now has at least one scholarship to fill.

The UA is directing most of its efforts at Dayton (Ohio) Jefferson center Adreian Payne and Detroit Country Day School point guard Ray McCallum and potentially Lamb to go with Bejarano. McCallum visits the UA campus this weekend.

Jones’ mother Linda Mashia-Jones told me Tuesday morning that her son will not visit Tucson this weekend as first planned. She added that it appeared that UA coach Sean Miller and his assistants shifted their focus from her son because they recently accepted two commitments — one from Concord (Mass.) Middlesex School forward Rod Odom, who plays at the same position as Jones, and the other from Phoenix North shooting guard Daniel Bejarano.

Before I write further let me add that I can’t get Miller’s side of the story on this one because he or his staff can’t comment on unsigned recruits.

Why does this development sting a little?:

• The obvious: Jones, 6-8, 220, is rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.com. After watching him play three consecutive games one July afternoon in Las Vegas, I was convinced Jones has the skills to play in the NBA before he became a junior in college. How often have you seen a 6-8 player bring the ball up under control and dictate the action with deft shooting touch or keen passing ability? He was like another Sean Elliott, in my opinion.
• Miller could have bridged the gap to Pacific Northwest recruiting, which Lute Olson was so successful with by signing Damon Stoudamire and Salim Stoudamire (Jones’ distant cousins) from Oregon, and Jason Terry and Michael Dickerson from Seattle.
• Miller in general could have indicated to Pac-10 coaches, namely Lorenzo Romar at Washington, Ben Howland at UCLA and Ernie Kent at Oregon that he will immediately be a player for top talent in the region.

This is all an immediate judgment. Things will change once the season starts and by the end of the year when recruits will notice the value of Miller coaching Arizona.

As it stands now, Miller has continued his recruiting success of the Eastern seaboard, which was a strength of his at Xavier. That is no small accomplishment because Tucson is almost 3,000 miles from New York and Massachusetts. This only means his recruiting will improve because the West will open up once prospects and their coaches see him coach at Arizona.

Miller has now missed out on Jones, San Diego-area recruit James Johnson (Virginia), Huntington Beach (Calif.) forward Anthony Brown (Stanford), Santa Ana (Calif.) players Gary Franklin Jr. (Cal) and Keala King (ASU). He does, however, have a commitment from Bejarano, which continues a string of the state’s top talent attending Arizona. California is where Miller and Co. should make a name for themselves in the next two to three years.

“I’m sure some people in California are watching and seeing what Coach Miller will do (this season),” UA freshman Solomon Hill, a 6-6 forward from Los Angeles Fairfax told me last week. “I think they’ll find out what kind of coach he is pretty quick. Having myself and Derrick (Williams) on the team helps too. It shows players from that area that we’re going to keep Arizona on the map.”

Williams, a 6-8 forward from La Mirada, Calif., signed a national letter of intent with USC before Tim Floyd was forced to resign amid alleged recruiting improprieties involving paying a handler of former Trojan standout O.J. Mayo.

The Wildcats’ 2009-10 roster still has more players from California than any other state. The regional makeup of this year’s team (players italicized were signed by Miller):

Arizona (2): Brandon Lavender (Mesa) and D.J. Shumpert (Tucson)
California (5): Kyle Fogg (Brea), Alex Jacobson (Brea), Jamelle Horne (San Diego), Williams and Hill
Texas (3): Nic Wise (Houston), Dondre Wise (Houston) and Garland Judkins (Humble)
New York (2): Lamont “MoMo” Jones (Harlem) and Kevin Parrom (Bronx)
Ukraine (1): Kyryl Natyazhko (Dnipropetrovsk)

According to OregonLive.com, Portland (Ore.) Jefferson forward Terrence Jones is now contemplating visiting Kansas on Oct. 23 instead of Arizona.

The report cites a Scout.com update in which Jefferson coach Pat Strickland said, “This is the hang up. He’s either (going to) Kansas or Arizona the weekend of October 23rd. He hasn’t decided which one he wants to do.” Last week, Jones’ mother Linda Mashia-Jones indicated that Jones will make an official visit to Arizona on Oct. 23 and might visit Kansas unofficially.

Jones (6-8, 220) and Odom (6-8, 195) are about the same size and they play similar positions — on the wing with the ability to extend and also play physical inside. Scout.com ranks Jones a 5-star recruit and the 20th prospect overall. Rivals.com ranks him also as a 5-star recruit and 13th overall. Rivals.com rates Odom a 4-star recruit and 88th overall. Scout.com does not rate him in its top 100. It has him as a 3-star player.

My attempts to reach Strickland were unsuccessful tonight. Jones is currently officially visiting the Oklahoma campus. He will visit Washington next weekend, either Arizona or Kansas on Oct. 23 and 24, Kentucky on Oct. 29 and 30, Oregon unofficially on Oct. 31 and UCLA on Nov. 6.

Jones, a 5-star recruit according to Rivals.com, will also visit Kentucky, Oklahoma, UCLA and Washington. He will take an unofficial visit to Oregon as well.

Phoenix North coach Joseph Bustos indicated that Bejarano wanted to contact Miller to let him know of his interest in the Wildcats after de-committing from Texas.

“I know he was looking forward to getting to know Coach Miller and his staff,” Bustos said. “He’s never met Miller before. He’s excited about that.”

Bejarano’s visit to Arizona will happen right before another prized recruit, Dayton (OH) Jefferson center Adreian Payne officially tours the UA campus, Oct. 9-10. Jones will likely visit the UA in late October.

One of the schools mostly in direct competition with the UA on a number of recruits includes rival UCLA. This weekend (Oct. 2-3) two of UA’s coveted recruits out of Michigan — point guard Ray McCallum, 6-1, of Detroit Country Day School and shooting guard Trey Zeigler, 6-3, of Mount Pleasant (Mich.) will officially visit the UCLA campus and attend the Bruins’ football game with Oregon.

Portland (OR) Jefferson 6-8 forward Terrence Jones is also being recruited heavily by UCLA, Washington and Oregon, but has yet to announce his official visit schedule. He has indicated he will do that Friday. Madison (WI) Memorial 6-3 point guard Vander Blue has also mentioned that Arizona is in his top five along with UCLA, but he has also not announced his official vists.

Here is the recruiting calendar with official visit information that is known to this date:

Oct. 2-3:

• Gary Franklin, 6-2, PG, Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei: California
• Adreian Payne, 6-10, C, Dayton (OH) Jefferson: Michigan State
• Rod Odom, 6-8, SF, Concord (Mass.) Middlesex School: Boston College
• McCallum: UCLA
• Zeigler: UCLA
• Doron Lamb, 6-4, SG, Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy: Oklahoma

Oct. 9-10

• Payne: Arizona

Oct. 16-17

• Cory Joseph, 6-1, PG, Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep: Connecticut
• McCallum: Florida
• Lamb: Kansas

Oct. 23-24

• Zeigler: Michigan
• Lamb: To be announced

Oct. 30-31

• McCallum: Arizona
• Payne: Kansas

OFFICIAL VISITS ALREADY TAKEN

• Alex Kirk, 6-10, C, Los Alamos (N.M.): New Mexico and Arizona
• Odom: Arizona and Harvard
• Zeigler: Oklahoma
• McCallum: Oklahoma
• Payne: Kentucky
• Joseph: Texas
• Franklin: Baylor

UNOFFICIAL VISITS ALREADY TAKEN

• Franklin: Arizona State
• Kirk: Arizona
• Odom: West Virginia
• McCallum: Arizona
• Joseph: Minnesota
• Zeigler: Michigan and Michigan State