With the surprise de-commitment from T.J. Leaf, Arizona now has zero commitments for the 2016 recruiting class. Is it time for Wildcat fans to panic? Not in my opinion, in Coach Miller we trust.
Unless you’ve avoided all Arizona Wildcats recruiting sites and all social media you may have heard that Arizona lost their only 2016 commitment in T.J. Leaf. Announced about a week ago, T.J, Leaf de-committed and re-opened his recruiting, leaving Arizona off of his list.
Thank you to Arizona for the opportunity to play for an outstanding program but I've decided to reopen my recruitment pic.twitter.com/YMynXuhD6o
— Tj Leaf (@leafsquad22) August 7, 2015
The reasons for his de-commitment from Arizona have been flying around Twitter. Anything from him being salty about being cut from the USA team, to playing professionally in Europe, to not being happy with other power forwards being offered. The guessing game will continue until he comes out and gives his reasons.
Whatever his reason, Arizona fans felt a punch to the gut upon hearing that the only 2016 commit had changed his mind.
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It is easy to immediately panic and question whether Sean Miller can continue to dominate in recruiting. He was named the U19 USA coach earlier this year, which in turn demanded all of his time on the team and preparation and not the recruiting trail. But we can’t forget that although Miller only had one official commit, there are several offers out there.
In recent weeks we have seen more offers being sent out to power forwards on the recruiting trail. De’Ron Davis (four-star) and Mitchell Lightfoot (four-star) are the more recent PF’s to gain attention and momentum down the stretch. Both have cut down their lists, with Arizona being included and being a real option.
"Final five, in no particular order. All the glory to God"
https://twitter.com/DDavis2016/status/626498437492551680
On a side note, another five-star recruit No. 3 point guard in the nation De’Aaron Fox yesterday narrowed his list as well. Arizona made his list!
https://twitter.com/Swipathefox5/status/632307399362154500?s=90
Hold on though..we can’t forget the other PF’s Miller has been after for a long time: Michael Cage Jr (6’9″, four-star), Isaac Humphries (6’11”, four-star), Javin DeLaurier (6’9″, four-star), and Lauri Markkanen (6’11”, four-star), will visit Arizona last.)
We also can’t forget offers to five-star Josh Jackson and Markelle Fultz. From the Twitterverse things are looking great for Arizona when it comes to the No. 1 recruit in the nation, Josh Jackson.
I really think TJ Leaf is headed to UCLA. I'm told Sean Miller/Arizona, feeling very confident w the #1 overall recruit in 2016 Josh Jackson
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 7, 2015
And as I was drafting this article, Arizona was again named to another recruits top teams. Andrew Jones sent this out today:
Needless to say, it is not time to panic. And yes, to be 100% honest, it’s a bit unnerving knowing that Arizona has zero commitments for the 2016 class. As Wildcat fans we have been spoiled since Sean Miller took over. Each year we kept seeing top recruit after top recruit commit to the Wildcats.
So take a deep breath, count to 10, and breathe out slowly. Things are just fine in Tucson, and everything will be just fine heading into 2016. All it takes is one domino to fall to cause a ripple effect. In Coach Miller we trust!
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