Mar 21, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) celebrates with center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) after the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. The Wildcats defeated the Buckeyes 73-58. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Stanley Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski are still deciding whether to stay, meanwhile Sean Miller’s working on the class of 2016, and actively shopping the Graduate Transfer Market.
According to Bruce Pascoe (Arizona Daily Star) Stanley Johnson‘s mom reminded us repeatedly that he is young when asked why he is taking his time making up his mind, “He’s only 18.” Being a parent of young adults, this is a very important fact, he is a young freshman. My young freshman turned 19 last December and still getting used to college life not to mention real life after college. Stanley is still 18!
Stanley was originally slotted in draft spot about four or five before the Elite Eight NCAA Tournament game. After, many still have his spot at five and some have dropped him to nine. If you remember correctly, Aaron Gordon was not projected to go No. 4 in the NBA Draft last year, he rose up in the draft, so you never know. The difference in the picks determines the amount of money Stanley could stand to make, and it could mean millions.
Arizona Wildcats
Stanley’s Mater Dei High School coach Gary McKnight, told Pascoe, “To me that’s a good sign that he’s seriously considering coming back. I’ve encouraged him to stay.”
This means if Stanley gets a one through five pick, he could make double what a nine pick would give him which is about two million dollars. Is this not enough to leave school? I think we would all be very excited if he stayed one more year, it cannot hurt to be more mature when leaving college. Derrick Williams and Aaron Gordon both had mentioned that they missed college in their first NBA season.
As far as Kaleb Tarczewski, most feel he is going to stay and give himself one more year to be a leader, to get even better, to work through the pressure, and to get better projections for the NBA Draft. And oh yeah, he can graduate with a degree from the Eller School of Business, not too shabby.
According to Pascoe, Kaleb’s “former coach and mentor John Carroll, said earlier this month that Tarczewski was taking his time with his decision.”
They both have to decide by next Sunday, April 26th. I want them both to stay, Arizona would be a powerhouse and don’t think we would need any graduate transfers, but I am not the coach, so what do I know? Whatever the case, it’s going to be a wild ride.
Next: What is the Graduate Tranfer Market and who's Miller going after?
Jan 17, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller reacts to a call during the second half against the Utah Utes at McKale Center. Arizona won 69-51. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
What is a Graduate Transfer and what are the rules? Who is Arizona shopping for?
Jen Condarus from the Daily Compliance Item wordpress site on NCAA rules wrote this summation:
“Graduate students who have not previously transferred can use the one-time transfer exception to play right away at their new school. If a player has completed his undergraduate coursework and has a year of eligibility remaining, he’s good to go. No waiver is necessary — a change implemented at the start of the 2011-12 season, according to the NCAA — so it’s easier than ever for graduates to play immediately. Former Xavier guard Mark Lyons used the exception. ”
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Yes, Sean Miller brought over Graduate Transfer and combo guard Mark Lyons, his point guard from Xavier, to play for his new team the Arizona Wildcats. Mark helped the Wildcats make it to the Sweet 16 only to lose to Ohio State in the 2012/2013 season. The Wildcats got revenge for that loss against Ohio State in this last season in the second round of the NCAA 2015 Tournament. So Miller has proved his strategy does work.
There are two notable graduate seniors who have visited Arizona this last weekend: former Drexel Dragon guard Damion Lee and San Francisco forward Mark Tollefsen. Both of these graduates would be available to play immediately next season.
Damion Lee is being evaluated by Arizona, but also Louisville, Maryland, Gonzaga and Marquette per Bruce Pascoe. Damion is going into this visit and later visits to other schools with an open mind, determining if what he heard over the phone matches what he sees and hears during the visit, and he wants to see where he feels most comfortable. He has a number of solid schools on his list you have to admit.
Here are Damion’s stats from the Drexel Dragons website:
http://www.drexeldragons.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3678
As far as Tollefsen, he plays center and is looking at San Diego State, Washington, USC and California. He visited Arizona this weekend along with Lee.
Here are Mark’s stats from the University of San Fransisco Dons:
http://www.usfdons.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=973
Both would add experience to next years Wildcats, both have not yet decided on where they want to play next year.
Next: What's new with Sean Miller's class of 2016?
Mar 7, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23) , guard Gabe York (1) , guard T.J. McConnell (4) , center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) and forward Brandon Ashley (21) watch from the bench during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at McKale Center. Arizona won 91-69 to win the regular season Pac-12 championship. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
What’s new with Sean Miller’s class of 2016?
We will have one year without a T.J. on our team, but following season Coach Sean Miller has his first commit for the class of 2016, his name is T.J. Leaf. Leaf is a power forward who plays for Foothills Christian High School in El Cajon, California (in southern California.)
If you want more information on T.J., read our Zona Zealots article “Arizona Class of ’16: There Will Be a New T.J. in Town- T.J. Leaf.” T.J. is active on Twitter, you can follow him at @TYLeaf_22. T.J. was just named the California D2 State Player of the Year. Earlier this month, T.J. played in the Adidas Gauntlet game in Dallas.
New Video: Arizona Commit TJ Leaf Throws One DOWN @ Adidas Gauntlet (Dallas)http://t.co/CHfyvM8Vr4
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) April 12, 2015
@Tyleaf_22 pic.twitter.com/lbyMKGra5J
In early February, Miller offered Corona del Sol sophomore PG Alex Barcello. Alex is a sophomore who now plays Point Guard for Corona Del Sol High School (23-1) in Tempe, AZ. He stands 6-1 and weighs 165 pounds. To find out more about Alex read our Zona Zealots article, “Sean Millers Latest Offer Goes to Alex Barcello.” Alex has yet to decided where he is going, he has three offers.
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The latest young player Coach Sean Miller has offered a scholarship to is Madison Academy‘s Josh Langford. Langford a five-star guard from Alabama is still growing but at this time stands 6’6″ and weighs 200 pounds.
Josh has been offered by 18 schools, Sean Millers offer this weekend makes it 19 schools. I won’t list them all for you, but the most notable schools are Michigan State, Kansas, Gonzaga, Florida, UConn and only one other Pac-12 school and its a solid one for an education, Stanford.
Highlights from his ESPN Scouting report are as follows:
“Bottom Line: Langford is a power wing that plays in full attack mode. He drives, slashes and finishes through contact on a consistent basis. Langford is also a very good ball handler and passer. He is physical and productive not only in the scoring department but rebounding as well. Langford is tough, physical and one of the most complete scorers in his class and a sure shot high major scorer.”
Landing Langford would be a huge win for Coach Miller. Here is some video from the Adidas Gauntlet game which T.J. Leaf also played in but on the other team.
Other than Alex and Josh, Coach Miller has offers out to 12 other players not yet decided. There were 17 total offers made so far by Arizona for the class of 2016, four decided to commit to other schools (Gonzaga, UNLV, SDSU, and Villanova), one committed to Arizona (T.J. Leaf), and the rest are undecided.
All-in-all I am on the edge of my seat! This is the week we find out what Stanley and Kaleb decide to do and maybe all the pieces will fall into place a little or totally for next years Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team.
BEARDOWN ARIZONA!