The addition of San Diego Hoover High School post player Angelo Chol boosts Arizona's Class of 2011 to a potential top five group, according to recruiting analysts (Team USA photo)

NOTE: Updates with quotes from San Diego Hoover High School coach Ollie Goulston.

If Class of 2011 post player Angelo Chol had his way, the Arizona basketball T-shirt he wore to Thursday’s press conference would be all that he needed to convey what program he’ll represent starting next season.

Chol, who announced he will play at Arizona at San Diego Hoover’s auditorium and in front of an Internet audience at KBCSports.com, would rather shy away from all of the attention.

“One of his biggest fears is public speaking,” Hoover coach Ollie Goulston told me via phone after the press conference. “He got the chance to work through that fear today.

“He is very unselfish, very humble.I told him, ‘You either have a press conference and get it out of the way, or expect the media to be calling you every day.’ He did not hesitate to have the press conference.”

Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff, who beat North Carolina, Kansas, Washington and Alabama for the prized recruit, knew of Chol’s intentions 10 minutes before the shot-blocker extraordinaire exposed his Arizona T-shirt for the world to see. Chol personally informed Kansas coach Bill Self and North Carolina coach Roy Williams — the two other finalists for his services — of his decision before contacting Miller.

“He called the coaches himself,” Goulston said. “He’s built some strong relationships with some of them so it was very difficult on him. It was one of those life lessons he had to experience.

“He learned an awful lot and gained a lot of maturity through this process.”

Chol said “Bear Down” at the press conference, when asked about his decision. For Miller and Arizona’s basketball fans, that’s all Chol had to say.

But he later mentioned that the likelihood for playing opportunities and the chance to join the heralded Class of 2011, which includes Rivals.com 5-star recruit Josiah Turner of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy, was a significant reason for his decision.

“I wanted to be in a situation where I can play and have a chance to win a (national) championship,” said Chol. “I feel we will have a good chance with the class coming in.”

A Sudanese refugee, who came to the United States in 2000 after a brief stop in Egypt, Chol is averaging 24.1 points, 14.9 rebounds and 8.0 blocked shots per game this season. In a December win over El Centro (Calif.) Southwest, Chol posted a line of 40 points, 19 rebounds and 15 blocked shots. He is also just 10 points shy of 2,000 for his career.

He has 224 blocked shots this season and 1,078 for his career. He set a single-season national record of 337 as a sophomore.

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RELATED LINKS:

• Arizona’s chance to land Class of 2012 prospect not out of reach
• Eric Cooper Sr. reliving the recruiting process with Arizona again 25 years later

Grant Jerrett and Eric Cooper Jr. smile for the camera during LaVerne (Calif.) Lutheran media day last month. Photo courtesy of Eric Cooper Sr.

Huntington Beach (Calif.) High School coach Jim Harris, a 31-year coaching veteran in California, indicated to me last year that Arizona coach Sean Miller is not too far off from establishing a recruiting base in the West.

“Lute (Olson) was very much into recruiting this area, partly because he coached high school basketball around here,” said Harris, who coaches against Santa Ana Mater Dei, a program that has turned out former UA standouts Miles Simon, Reggie Geary and junior center Alex Jacobson.

“He knew a lot of us coaches who have been around a while. When he expressed interest in a player, he got the information and help he needed because of his connections. Coach Miller is starting to do that.

“Arizona is a national university as far as basketball is concerned. All that needs to happen now is for Coach Miller to lay the groundwork in California and be consistent in recruiting this area. I can certainly see him doing that consistently.

“A lot of the coaches and players in California have that same positive feeling about Arizona as before and that’s partly because of Coach Miller. He’s off to an impressive start.”

Harris’ comments were last November before Miller beat Kansas for high-profile Sacramento (Calif.) High School guard Josiah Turner. Nick Johnson, a program changer from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, also signed with UA after comitting in August.

Class of 2013 guard Eric Cooper Sr. was named recently the Team USA Developmental National Team

In his first recruiting class at Arizona, amassed in a mere three months, Miller inked California products Derrick Williams and Solomon Hill, both of whom are significant reasons why Arizona is 5-0 with a winning margin of 30.6 points heading into tonight’s game against No. 6 Kansas.

In his second class, Miller signed Phoenix North guard Daniel Bejarano (a former Texas commit) and Los Angeles (Calif.) Westchester High School point guard Jordin Mayes, who should evolve into one of the better freshmen in the Pac-10 this season.

Before Miller moved from Xavier to Arizona, he did not recruit a player west of the Mississippi. His recruiting focus was on Ohio and other parts of the Midwest in addition to the East coast with New York-based AAU director Book Richardson on his staff.

Miller now has his first Five-Star recruit overall in Turner for the Class of 2011. News broke this morning from Dave Telep of Scout.com that Miller has achieved commitments from Class of 2012 forward Grant Jerrett and Class of 2013 guard Eric Cooper Jr.

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