What’s Next For Our Beloved Arizona Wildcats Basketball Players?
Jan 15, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard T.J. McConnell (4) forward Brandon Ashley (21) forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) and center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) walk to the bench during the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Wildcats Basketball: As we close the books on this season with an Elite Eight bid, a Pac-12 Regular Season and Tournament championship and a 38 home game winning streak, let’s look at next season and the NBA Mock drafts.
Last Season: Last year, about mid-April 2014, Arizona Wildcats Basketball held a news conference and announced that freshman forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and sophomore center Kaleb Tarczewski would return to the team for this last season. Hollis-Jefferson was rumored to declare for the NBA Draft but didn’t, instead he re-enrolled and joined a fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi. Rumors about Tarczewski were rampant as well but he was expected to return.
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Both Aaron Gordon (4th pick) and Nick Johnson (42nd pick) declared for the NBA Draft at the same time and were both drafted in the first round. Of course as we know, our beloved T.J. McConnell returned as the lone senior on the starting five. Brandon Ashley was healthy and had some really great games this season. Guard Gabe York showed us he is becoming more mature and confident every day and it showed in post-game interviews.
Seniors Matt Korcheck and Drew Mellon will be missed, they are going to be graduating from the University of Arizona next month in May along with T.J. McConnell and we send them our early congratulations.
Next Season: We have a number of notable returns next season as far as we know; guards Gabe York, Elliot Pitts and Parker Jackson- Cartwright and our 7’ tall center Dusan Ristic. They all got some great experience this year.
Also returning are fellow former high school teammates and now Wildcat contributors Jacob Hazzard and Trey Mason. We really enjoyed their passion for the game and the way they showed us how to be a great teammate.
Sean Miller recruited the No. 1 JUCO shooting guard Kadeem Allen last year who red-shirted and will be playing in this upcoming season. Along with Kadeem is Ryan Anderson who transfers to Arizona from Boston College. Ryan will be a senior next year and has one last season of eligibility remaining in 2015-16 as he sat out this season under the NCAA transfer rules. Forward Craig Victor transferred to LSU.
That leaves Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and of course, T.J. McConnell.
Next: T.J. McConnell and what Assistant Coach Book Richardson is saying