Arizona Basketball: Top 8 Wildcats recruited from Arizona High Schools

The Arizona Wildcat basketball program has recruited great local high school players over the years, but who are the top eight?

Recently, ArizonaCentral.com released their Arizona’s Top 50 high school basketball players of all-time according to Richard Obert. There was a lot of feedback, including from one of the players on the list, intimating that it was not entirely accurate. The list did include non-Wildcats as well, but here is how the Wildcats were ranked by Obert:

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• No. 2 – Mike Bibby
• No. 3 – Richard Jefferson
• No. 4 – Sean Elliot
• No. 6 – DeAndre Ayton
• No. 8 – Jerryd Bayless
• No. 20 – Alex Barcello
• No. 29 – Channing Frye
• No.31 – Nick Johnson

It’s safe to say that this post was just one individual’s opinion. Time to give mine from a Wildcat fan perspective!

The order of this list is comprised of multiple factors: Overall athleticism regardless of position played, impact the player had on the program (or will have), total stats while at Arizona, professional basketball career they had (or will have) and personality.

Now some may not completely agree with this list, but I can assure you it’s a more accurate representation of Wildcat players that played locally. That said, I have my own opinion.

Here are my top eight starting with No.8.

No. 8 Alex Barcello

At 6-foot-2 and 165lbs, Alex Barcelo has the whole package when it comes to playing the point guard position! He played for Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe and averaged almost 25 points and three assists per game.

Barcello has a real “sense” of where everyone is on the court when running the point position and has sweet looking ball handling skills. You remember coach Miller and his ball handling skills? You have to think Miller was impressed. Barcelona already showed us he is not shy on the court. Miller has expressed that he sees T.J. McConnell in him, ‘a winner,’ so he is expecting a new floor general.

He is one of four incoming freshmen this season that will have an immediate impact.

https://twitter.com/AlexBarcello23/status/769325256582373376

No. 7 Channing Frye

From high school to the NBA, Channing Frye has had a remarkable basketball career. While playing for St. Mary’s high school in Phoenix, he put up some “sick” stats! Frye averaged 22 points, 15 rebounds, six block and three assists per game in his senior year and led his team to a 5A state championship!

Frye continued his dominant performance while at Arizona. He averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game, which included 93 double digit point games and 35 double digit rebound games – wow! Also, he won several All Pac-10 awards. What actually stands out more than anything for Frye is that he stayed all four years at Arizona and that he was a key contributor to the Cats’ success.

After playing at Arizona for four years, Frye was drafted in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Knicks. He ended up playing for several other teams before landing on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 – the year they won the NBA Championship.

In this past NBA Playoffs, Frye showed he still has that touch from outside:

No. 6 Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson has had a very similar basketball career as his current teammate, Frye. Jefferson played for Moon Valley High School in West Phoenix, where he helped his team win the 4A state championship.

While at Arizona, Jefferson averaged almost 11 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. He was also a key contributor to the team advancing to the 2001 NCAA Championship game, where they ended up losing to Duke. After his junior season, Jefferson decided to go to the NBA – where he’s played 18 seasons!

Jefferson was drafted in first round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets (then traded to the New Jersey Nets).  After seven seasons with the Nets, Jefferson played for multiple teams and currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

RJ shows us at 36 he still got those hops!

In 2007 Jefferson gave back to the University of Arizona. He donated $3.5 million towards the basketball/volleyball practice facility on campus. They ended up naming it in his honor – the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium.

No. 5 Nick Johnson

Not everyone is going to agree when you compile a top 50 list – especially an ‘All-Time’ list. Nick Johnson was one of those players who did not agree with the list and was placed at No.31.

His first two years of high school basketball were played in Gilbert for Highland before transferring to Nevada to play for Findlay Prep.

While at Arizona, he averaged 12 points, three assists and three rebounds per game. Also, he received multiple Pac-12 awards, including a Pac-12 Player of the Year his junior season. What made Johnson stand apart were the intangibles he provided night in and night out: toughness, fearlessness and someone that could be called upon in clutch moments.

Johnson was drafted in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. He played one year with them, then one year for the NBA Developmental team Austin Spurs, before being signed by Bayern Munich team of the German league for the 2016-17 season.

This past summer he took part in the NBA Summer League, playing for the Portland Trailblazers. Johnson played all eight games and averaged seven points and three rebounds per game.

No. 4 Jerryd Bayless

Jerryd Bayless has an impressive basketball resume and is still adding to it!  He started his journey at St. Mary’s High School in Phoenix, which was the same high school Frye went to. Bayless’s senior season was highlighted by scoring 52 points in one game!

Enjoy some footage of Bayless in high school:

Bayless stayed for just one year at Arizona but did average 20 points, four assists and almost three rebounds per game. He did win multiple Pac-10 and National college basketball awards, including All-Freshman honors. Another remarkable stat was that he lead the team in scoring as freshman, last player to do that was Sean Elliot – heard of him?!

At 6-foot-3 and 200lbs, Bayless fits the perfect mold for an NBA point guard. Plus he can shoot from inside and out, making him a stretch point – shooting guard.  In his 11th season in the NBA, Bayless is currently playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, along side Wildcat fan favorite TJ McConnell.

No. 3 Mike Bibby

Mike Bibby was a highly talented freshman and was a key component to the Wildcats 1997 National Championship run. He had that natural ability and confidence to get things accomplished on the court.

Bibby started his basketball career at Shadow Mountain High in Phoenix and is currently the head coach of the varsity team there. His son, Michael Bibby, went there as well and is playing for the University of South Florida.

In Bibby’s freshman year at Arizona, he averaged almost 14 points, five assists and three rebounds per game. He won multiple All Pac-10 and National honors, including Pac-10 Player of the Year during his sophomore year, putting up some solid stats: 18 points, six assists and three rebounds per game.

During the 1997 NCAA Tournament, he took over and was the Wildcat’s true leader on the floor, along side Miles Simon. Against the Kentucky Wildcats in the championship game, Bibby scored 19 points in overtime – leading the Cats to their first national championship!

Bibby stayed one more year with Arizona, then went to the NBA to have a very respectful career. He played for multiple teams over his 14 season tenure, including leading the Sacramento Kings to the 2002 Western Conference final, before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

On November 11, 2004, the Arizona Wildcats programs paid the ultimate respect to Bibby, by retiring his No. 10 Wildcat Jersey. Recently, he also took part in Ice Cube’s Big 3, 3-on-3 leagues, where he was the captain of the Ghost Ballers and showed off his four point touch!

No. 2 Sean Elliott

If it weren’t for the No.1 pick choosing to play at Arizona this next up coming season, Sean Elliot would be the unanimous choice to be at the top of this list.

A true local, Elliot played his high school basketball in Tucson at Cholla High School. It was meant to be that his next logical choice would be right down the street at the University of Arizona.  As a Wildcat, he averaged 19 points, six rebounds and three assists per game. For those who were lucky enough to watch Elliot in person or on television, he had one of the smoothest looking jump shots and made it look so effortless when he took it to the basket.

In his senior season, Elliot broke “the” record. He surpassed Lew Alcindor for the all time scoring leader in Arizona Wildcat history! Additionally, Elliot won the Wooden Award – what a year for No.32! Similar to Bibby, Elliot also had his No. 32 jersey retired at McKale Center – as it should be.

After his college years, Elliot played 11 seasons in the NBA, 10 of those with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 14 points and three rebounds per game and made one of the greatest shots in NBA Playoff history against the Portland Trailblazers in the 1999 Western Conference Final:

No. 1 DeAndre Ayton

The Harasser, The Dominator, Dr. Dre, D-Rex. He goes by many names, but everyone knows him as DeAndre Ayton! There are certain players in our lifetime that are gifted with the special ability to do extraordinary things, Ayton is one those.

He is listed as a 7-foot, 220-pound power forward – a power he does have! Ayton is the highest listed recruit to play for Arizona and is promising great things this season:

Even the great Lute Olson is impressed:

Before the Wildcats trip to Spain, Coach Sean Miller had some great things to say about Ayton during the latest press conference:

"The headliner is DeAndre. Never seen anyone like him at his age, I don’t think I will again because he is so physically imposing. He is as strong and as gifted running for somebody that size that I have worked with and he loves the game. He really competes and loves to win."

Ayton’s last two years of high school basketball were played at Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, where he put up some ridiculous numbers – 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks per game! Ayton even led Hillcrest to their first ever championship in school history!

https://twitter.com/RealDeandreAy/status/888576708541952000

He was also selected to take part in the 2017 McDonald’s All American. Ayton put eight bounds, 11 rebounds and three steals during the game.

Earlier in the year, Ayton was also invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic XXXI, where he finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Also, he worked on One-on-One post drills with fellow McDonald’s All American and five star class of 2017 Texas Longhorn commit Mohamed Bamba while at the event – the strength Ayton has is HULK like!

In the Wildcat’s most recent outing in Spain, Ayton scored 10 points and had nine rebound game against Combined Valenciano. The second game against Mataro All-Stars he had 18 points and ten rebounds – the first of many double doubles he will have this season!

Ayton’s strong baseline two handed dunk he made while in Spain gives Wildcat fans a sneak peak of what’s in store for this season:

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Hope you enjoyed my top eight Wildcat players that went to high school in the state of Arizona. Please let us know your thoughts and comments on the list. As the years go by, this list is sure to change. And as always, BEAR DOWN!