He may not be a top-100 player, but Arizona did not "settle" for MoMo Jones.

After the Wildcats lost out on three McDonald’s All-Americans in the past two weeks, many Arizona Wildcat basketball fans were stressing. Many felt that this meant that Sean Miller could not attract big time recruits and would have to settle for “projects”.

Fans on message boards, call-in shows and even my e-mail in-box felt that the Cats were reaching for lesser players. This just isn’t the case.

While it is true the Cats have failed to land a big time, game-ready, elite prospect, they certainly are not settling for players who are not solid prospects. In fact, Lute Olson’s last few teams “settled” far more than Miller has.

Miller’s first recruiting class featured four players in ESPN’s top-100. The only player who was not an ESPN top-100 player was MoMo Jones. Jones was a Rivals top-100 player and was recruited by the likes of Louisville, Florida, Memphis and USC among many others.

The rest of the class were all top-100 according to ESPN:

Kyryl Natyazhko #39

Solomon Hill #54

Derrick Williams #72 

Kevin Parrom #86

All of these players were recruited by elite programs. While none of them were top-25 players, or as highly ranked as Doron Lamb, Josh Selby or Ray McCallum, they were hardly borderline prospects headed to low majors had Arizona not swooped in and offered them a scholarship.

This year’s class is not quite as highly rated, but again, not full of slouches. Daniel Bejarano is a top 100 player, albeit rated #92 by ESPN. Jordin Mayes just missed the top-100, but Rivals tabbed him as #106. Mayes had offers from BC, Cal and Oklahoma among others.

JUCO transfer Jesse Perry was not eligible for the top-100 but had offers from a host of Big 12 and SEC schools.

Compare these two classes to the last few Lute Olson classes and you’ll see that Lute attracted a few more “elite” players but a lot more “reaches”. The 2008 class is a strange one. The school originally signed four players, three of whom were top-100 but when the smoke cleared, only two of those players arrived on campus and only the non-top-100 player (Brendan Lavender) every played a game for Arizona.

Because of the defections of Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Negedu, the Cats had to scramble and took in Kyle Fogg, Garland Judkins and D.J. Shumpert. Of those only Fogg is still on the roster.

Some of the other reaches in the Olson era include Alex Jacobson, Kirk Walters, Daniel Dillon and Chris Dunn. The Cats also signed non top-100 players who did little in an Arizona uniform such as Zane Johnson, Jesus Verdejo and Laval-Lucas Perry.

It must be noted that standouts Nic Wise and Jordan Hill were not top-100 players, while guys like Chris Rodgers, Fendi Onobun and Jamelle Horne were all top-75 prospects who had less than illustrious Arizona careers.

Miller has yet to land a top-25 prospect, and to truly return Arizona to the national elite he will have to land some of these players, but he is still landing quality recruits. Five of his seven prep signees have been top-100 players, and the two who weren’t still had their share of top-notch suitors.

Brendan Lavender played in the 2007 Cactus Classic

So what do you get for $197,000, a handful of sanctions and the tarnishing of the image of Lute Olson and the Arizona basketball program?

Kyle Fogg.

Of all of the fallout from the Cactus Classic is the realization that the tournament actually did little good for the program. The tournament actually failed to land most of the top tier prospects to Arizona and at the time the sanctions are announced, just one player who is on campus because of the event is contributing.

I know what you are thinking, “didn’t Jamelle Horne, Brendan Lavender and Alex Jacobson play in the Cactus Classic?” Yes they did, but the tournament was not the reason they chose Arizona.

Of the players currently on the roster, six played in one of the Cactus Classics. Four more players who signed with Arizona but are no longer on the team also played in the event.

Let’s take a look at the players and what impact the tournament really had on their recruitment:

Kyle Fogg – Fogg was “discovered” at the tournament by Wildcat assistants Russ Pennell and Mike Dunlap who were at the tournament even though the NCAA included them as part of their list of allegations. Although the tournament was during a dead period, neither coach was “technically” employed by a D-I school, though both had been offered jobs by Lute Olson and were thought to have accepted them, though Dunlap told the NCAA he had not decided whether to accept the position. The real irony is that Fogg was being trained by Kyle Dodd, a former Pennell player while he was a coach at ASU. Fogg was offered a scholarship, in large part, because of how well he played at the 2008 Cactus Classic.

Derrick Williams – Williams played in the 2008 Cactus Classic as well, but really wasn’t a UA target at the time. It is hard to say that the event had any role in his decision to commit to Arizona as he only looked at the Wildcats after he originally signed with USC.

Brendon Lavender – Lavender was already verbally committed to the Wildcats when he played in the 2007 Cactus Classic. He grew up a Wildcat fan and had already taken unofficial visits to Tucson before ever playing in the event.

Jamelle Horne – Was already committed before playing in the 2006 Cactus Classic.

Solomon Hill – This may be the toughest to judge. Hill was already very interested in Arizona before playing in the 2008 Cactus Classic, but admitted that he loved everything about the campus after playing in the tournament.

Alex Jacobson – Jacobson was already committed before playing in the 2006 Cactus Classic.

Zane Johnson – Johnson had been on Arizona’s radar long before playing in the Cactus Classic and had made unofficial visits to Tucson prior to his participation in any of the Cactus Classic events.

Jeff Withey – Withey made at least two unofficial visits to Tucson outside of his trips to the Cactus Classic. He played in two Arizona Elite Camps (more on that event later) and was being recruited by the Wildcats since his freshman year. He actually verballed to Louisville first but only broke that pledge when he felt Rick Pitino was over recruiting at his position. He’s now at Kansas after never playing a game for the Wildcats.

Garland Judkins – Another player who was discovered at the Cactus Classic. Judkins was going to head to prep school before his impressive play that spring led to him being offered a scholarship by the Wildcats.

Brandon Jennings – Jennings shocked the recruiting world when he committed to Arizona just days after the 2007 Cactus Classic. He was able to make an unofficial visit with the Wildcat staff the day after his Belmont Shore team lost in the finals of the event.

This story may have taken on a completely different slant if Lute Olson had not retired. The Wildcats had three players committed before Olson retired in 2008 and all three participated in the 2008 Cactus Classic, of those three (Hill, Mike Moser and Abdul Gaddy), only Gaddy was committed before the event.

The Cats lost out on a lot of players at the Classic, including some of their top recruiting targets like Gary Johnson, Demar Derozan, Luke Babbitt, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, Terrence Jennings, Jordan Hamilton, Avery Bradley, Keith Gallon, Peyton Siva, David and Travis Wear, Hollis Thompson and Jeremy Tyler, just to name a few.

The sad irony of all of this is that another far more kosher event on campus was actually responsible for more players who made an impact at Arizona to commit or to even get offered a scholarship. Arizona signed 15 players in the 1006, 2007 and 2008 recruiting classes and of those 15 players, at least eight participated in the Lute Olson Advanced Skills Camp a.k.a. the Arizona Elite Camp. 

Chase Budinger, Jerryd Bayless, Laval Lucas Perry, Horne, Zane Johnson, Alex Jacobson, Brandon Jennings and Withey all played in the elite camp, as did Daniel Bejarano, a player signed for 2010.

To learn how the proposed sanctios will affect Sean Miller and the current Wildcat staff, see the companion story on WildcatSportsReport.com.

I am not a college basketball coach, though I do play one frequently on radio and on the Internet. I have never built a program and was really pretty young when I witnessed Lute Olson build Arizona.

Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com

From the outside looking in it seeems to me that Sean Miller has two options play for today or prepare for tomorrow.

While making the NCAA Tournament is tough, it is not an impossibility. The Cats would need to win 10 or 11 down the stretch to get into the tournament and it appears that the only way that is going to happen is if Sean Miller shortens his bench.

The Wildcats played with just eight players against UCLA and played their best game of the season. For the final 25 minutes against USC the Cats also played with an eight-man rotation and nearly came back against the Trojans.

It seems to me that the Wildcats’ best chance at getting those wins and making a push at the tourney is to shorten the bench.

The Cats’ starting line-up of Jamelle Horne, Derrick Williams, Solomon Hill, Kyle Fogg and Nic Wise may lack height but is a strong group. It seems as if it can fare favorably with most in the Pac-10 as the players are talented and versatile, if inconsistent.

The bench is even more inconsistent. If Miller wants to really make a push for No. 26 he should go to the bench a lot less. He’s been going with rotations that have gone nine, 10 and even 11 players deep.

As of now the best combination seems to be Kevin Parrom as the wing off the bench, with whoever is practicing better between Kyryl Natyazhko and Alex Jacobson in the post and the Brendan Lavender and MoMo Jones splitting minutes as the third guard.

While that line-up may be best for making a push this season, it does not bode well for the future. The Cats need to get guys minutes and in-game work. Odds are the Cats will need significant contributions from Natyazhko, Jones and the other next season, but right now they are struggling. Do you trim minutes form more solid performers in hopes of getting some wins or do you keep making sure guys like Jones and Natyazhko get in-game action, even if they struggle?

Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com

It’s not an easy decision and one reason Miller makes upwards of a million dollars a year.

If it was me I’d use the next three or four games as a litmus test for the shortened bench. If the Cats can rattle off some wins and get into a position to make a push at the tournament then I think you have to do it. However, if a shortened bench does not produce right away, then I think Miller has to go all out and prepare for next year. This means seeing if Jones and Fogg are capable of playing to point, possibly sliding Wise to the off guard so he can still showcase his scoring for the pros. This means seeing just what Lavender, Jacobson and DJ Shumpert are capable of and whether  they have a chance to be rotation players in the future or whether they are destined to be role players.

They have to get Natyazhko minutes and hope that at some point things start to click.

It’s a delicate time for Wildcat basketball. No one wants to play for next season, but at the same time no one mortgage the future for current success that may or may not happen.

I was having visions of a certain left handed shooter, with a headband on his head and a scowl on his face. Only it was not Salim Stoudamire winning games on a buzzer beater, it was Nic Wise.
Two games, two game winners. When has that happened? Not sure the Cats have had a buzzer beater since Salim Stoudamire in the 2005 Sweet 16 and Wise is drifting into Salim territory at the end of games.

Under Lute Olson the Cats actually were not great with last second shots. Granted, many of his teams were so good that they rarely got into those positions, but when games were tight, Wildcat fans would rather see the defense on the court on the final possession.

Stoudamire was a monster in his senior season, with last second wins over UCLA, ASU and Oklahoma State to name a few. Wise has now got a pair of his own.

So now the big question is whether the Cats can make a run in the Pac-10 and crack the top-three or four and get a tourney bid? As of now I’d say no. Lipscomb is not very good and I do not think the NC State is a top ACC team, especially with Tracey Smith sitting this one out. Despite that, the Cats got the wins.

This sets up a huge game with BYU and the weekend in Los Angeles. The Cats need another quality non-conference win and getting a conference road win or two would go a long way in getting them into position to make a run at the post season. If they fail to win two of the next three, you can probably wave goodbye to the NCAA Tourney.
Apparently Jamelle Horne is a better power forward than he is a doctor. Sean Miller was quoted as saying after the Lipscomb game that Horne told him he was out until February. Well, Horne played, in fact he sparked the team after they went down 8-1 and Miller called a quick timeout. The Cats showed in the Lipscomb game just how much the team needs Horne. Without him they barely beat a bad team from a bad conference. Although Wise is the MVP, Horne is the NMVP, the Next Most Valuable Player.

The Cats have landed in San Diego on Wednesday night and took in the Pointsetta Bowl. While at the game Mike Stoops was interviewed by ESPN and he did say that he felt the Mountain West Conference deserved an automatic BCS bid. Of course Stoops is just 2-5 against the MWC in his time in Tucson.

The Cats wanted to go on Chrstmas Eve, but travel arrangements could not be worked out and they went a day earlier. They will have a morning practice on Christmas but the players with family in town will get to spend the day with their families. Those wth no family in town will do some things with the coaches, their families and the other players.

Recruiting is rolling along for the Wildcats. They received a commitment DT Kirifi Taula this week and now have 20 commitments. Word is that since the Wildcats were invited to the Holiday Bowl that recruitment has really ramped up. Apparently players that were offered scholarships back in the spring but had shown little interest the past few months, have started calling about taking visits to Tucson. The Cats are in a good position. They have filled most of their needs in the class and can afford to take the best possible athletes, regardless of position.

No offense to Alex Zendejas, but not only was he not the Conference’s best special teams performer this week, but he wasn’t even the Wildcats’ best special teamer. Sure his game winning field goal instantly placed him in Wildcat lore, but he also had an awful kick earlier in the game on a missed chip shot field goal.

Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com

While Kyle Williams certainly gets the credit (or blame) for the muffed punt, you can’t ignore the play Mike Turner made. Turner grabbed the ball on the move, not an easy thing to do. Sure he thought he was going to score the go-ahead touchdown, but had he not hung onto the ball, the odds are that the Devils would have recovered.

Orlando Vargas also gets huge praise. It’s tough enough to block a punt. It’s even tougher to recover your own block. But to block the punt without laying out, then grabbing the bouncing ball on the run and scooting into the endzone? That is crazy. Of course, with the offensive struggles, his touchdown proved to be huge.

And don’t forget Keenyn Crier. Crier punted nine times, averaging a very solid 47.3 yards a kick. When the pressure was on, Crier got off great kicks, including one from his own endzone without the benefit of a full 15 yards to work with. He was also key as a holder on the final play. The snap was a tad high and tight into his body, but Crier handled it and got it down for Zendejas’ game winner…

If Arizona beats USC odds are the Cats will be in the Sun Bowl. Although a second place finish is possible with an Oregon win Thursday night, it is not a sure thing that the Holiday Bowl would select the Wildcats over Stanford, Cal (assuming they beat UW) or Oregon State. Conversely, all the word out of El Paso is that the Sun Bowl really wants the Wildcats and their fanbase that is just four hours from them…

Sean Miller is concerned with the foul situation for the Wildcats. They had foul trouble in all three games in Maui. His staff suggested after the games at the Maui Classic that they would review the tapes and see if it was a problem with the officiating or the team.

Miller would not answer questions about the official, but did mention that the Cats did a lot of reaching in the three games, especially on dribble penetration.

While Miller would not comment on the officials anymore, Jamelle Horne was not as cautious. When asked about what the players could do to improve upon what they did in Maui, and what could continue to hamper them, Horne gave a long list of ideas, then added, “we could have a bad draw of having suspect refs.”

(LINK for the full Horne press conference)

Rick Faust/Wildcat Sports Report

Speaking of Horne, Miller is really pleased with his play, especially on the glass and blocking shots, but wants him to do more offensively. Miller wants Horne to attack the basket more and rely on three-point shots less. With Horne’s explosiveness he should be able to score near the buck, as well as get to the line far more frequently. While he has the green light to continue shooting beyond the arc, Miller wants more variety from his offense…

Miller also discussed the injury status of Kevin Parrom, or more specifically, a lack of updates. Parrom is two weeks removed form the injury and although things are progressing well, there is still a long way to go. Miller indicated they could have the rookie forward back by the end of December, or maybe not until next season. Miller said there have been talks about a redshirt if, and only if, Parrom does not return in a timely manner. Of course, to quote Miller, “there is still a lot of basketball to play.”