Arizona Basketball: Terrence Ferguson Heading Overseas

Speculation and rumors have about Terrence Ferguson’s future have been out there for weeks. Well, the news if finally here, and the Wildcats are losing an elite wing.

For a couple of months, the future of Terrence Ferguson has been up in the air. The rumors were flying about his intent to either play in Australia, or go the European route. We all had an idea of what was going to happen, but today, as Ezra Amacher tweeted out, Sean Miller cleared the air.

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According The Player’s Tribune, via an article written through the voice of Ferguson himself, Terrence will be playing in Australia for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League in Australia.

The news isn’t surprising at all. If you look back, it was actually a surprise Ferguson committed to Arizona. It seemed his recruitment, and interest came out of the blue.  But that doesn’t excuse the fact that this is a big loss for the Wildcats.

Ferguson was going to be the special 3-and-D guy for Arizona. His elite athleticism, smooth shooting stroke, and long arms would have created match-up nightmares for opposing teams.

Arizona fans couldn’t wait to see what he could do in the open court after seeing several videos of his dunks.

Yes, I am definitely going to miss not seeing him in the Arizona colors. But there are a couple of things to point out.

If you remember, this isn’t the first time an Arizona commit decided to turn pro overseas. Brandon Jennings went the same route after he committed to play for Lute Olson. Personally, I’m surprised more kids haven’t done this. If your intent is to be a one-and-done player, I can’t blame a kid for going overseas to make six figures for a year.

But we all need to look at this in a different way. Terrence Ferguson, Brandon Jennings, and even Thon Maker (although he was in a tad different situation) all have one thing in common: Prep Academies. These for-profit academies are popping up everywhere it seems these days.

Now, there are some Prep Academies who have done the right thing and have been given the NCAA approval on transcripts. In Ferguson and Mudiay’s case, the academies they attended provided transcripts with classes the NCAA would not approve. The disaster that is known as Prime Prep is a prime example (see what I did there?) of what they can become. Most of these places only focus on one thing: money.

When our Editor Shereen Rayan  Interviewed Terrance at the ballislife showcase he was “all in” for playing at Arizona, flashing his wildcat sign, he couldn’t wait to get to the school. The family is said to have wanted Terrance to go to school, and he wanted to as well. It just didn’t work out with the NCAA which is really a travesty.

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Hopefully, his situation will raise more awareness to these for-profit academies looking to take advantage of kids and their families. The Wildcats lose out on an elite player who would have made a big impact. On the bright side, there no longer is as big of a logjam at the guard position. Here at Zona Zealots, we wish nothing but the best for Terrence next year, and in his very likely NBA future.