Arizona Basketball has had many top-ranked recruiting classes under Sean Miller. Time to rank the Top 5 classes.
We’ve recently ranked the Top 5 transfers under Sean Miller, during his tenure as head coach for Arizona Basketball. Now it’s time to rank the Top 5 recruiting classes under Miller. No easy task because of the amount of talent that has passed through McKale Center, but I’ll Bear Down and get it done!
From being drafted into the NBA to setting single-season records, many incoming freshmen have made a significant impact. Miller has proved year after year why he is one of the greatest recruiters in college basketball.
The Top 5 recruiting classes under Miller is based on the following criteria:
- Overall athleticism
- Freshman season stats
- Impact they made
There have been some recruiting classes with multiple highly talented freshman players in a single class and some that have had only one or two players that stand out in their class. The amount within each doesn’t impact these rankings. As the saying goes, it’s about quality not quantity.
Let’s get started with the No.5 recruiting class. Please note we are not including this upcoming recruiting class for 2019 because they have not yet played a single game at Arizona. Also, National and Pac-12 rankings in this article are per 247 Sports.
No.5 – Class of 2014
National rank: 3rd
Pac-12 rank: 1st
Players: Stanley Johnson, Craig Victor, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and Dusan Ristic
Leading freshman scorer: Stanley Johnson led all freshman and the entire team with 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game
During the 2014-15 season, the Wildcats were led by five-star shooting guard freshman Stanley Johnson. He started in all but one game and averaged 28.4 minutes per game. Besides being the leading scorer on the team, he also filled the stat sheet in all categories.
His aggressive style of play made him a hard guard for most opponents. Johnson had the confidence and the swagger that made him one of the best freshmen in the Pac-12 and in the country.
Watching him play it was hard to believe he was only a freshman. He had the body frame of an upperclassman, which he used to his advantage. It usually takes most incoming talent a couple years to build the type of strength he had. For Johnson, he was in great condition from day one.
He was one of the main reasons why Arizona Basketball made it all the way to the NCCA Tournament Regional Final before falling to Wisconsin. The other three freshmen saw limited playing time, but that was because they were playing behind the likes of T. J. McConnell and Kaleb Tarczweski.
Both Dusan Ristic and Parker Jackson-Cartwright played in almost every game during the season, but not start in a one. The experience they gained that season from the sideline, on the court, and during practice helped them become impact players their senior years.
Even though this class only had one player that stood out, it was the impact he had that put this class at the No.5 spot.
No.4 – Class of 2013
National rank: 11th
Pac-12 rank: 1st
Players: Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Elliot Pitts, and Eric Conklin
Leading freshman scorer: Aaron Gordon was second in the team in scoring at 12.4 points, 8.0 rebound and 2.0 assist per game
The Class of 2013 was lead by two future NBA stars in Aaron Gordon and Rondae-Hollis Jefferson. Both were listed according to 247 Sports as five-star freshman and deservingly so. They each had the skillset to back up their rating.
Gordon not only was second in scoring on the team, but he also led the team in overall rebounds. Listed at 6 foot 9 and 225 lbs at the time, he had the ability to drive the ball down the court and finish on his own with ease. He was always taking the ball aggressively to the rim and found all sorts of ways to finish. Like Jefferson, Gordon could throw down dunks with authority!
Hollis-Jefferson was fourth in scoring at 9.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Known for his shimmy, he also knew a thing or two on defense and on the glass. Plus his leaping abilities were a thing of beauty. He had one of the greatest dunks in Wildcats history his sophomore year with a standing dunk over a 7 foot 6 player!
Gordon was a starter all season long and Jefferson was one of Sean Miller’s go-to bench players. These two were one of the main reasons why the Wildcats made it all the way to Elite 8 before losing to Wisconsin in overtime.
Both players are currently still playing in the NBA and continue to bear down!
No.3 – Class of 2009
National rank: 6th
Pac-12 rank: 2nd
Players: Solomon Hill, Kyryl Natyazhko, Lamont Jones, Kevin Parrom, and Derrick Williams
Leading freshman scorer: Derrick Williams led the entire team in scoring with 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
In Sean Miller’s first year as head coach for Arizona Basketball, he immediately set the bar high with this recruiting class. Even though there weren’t any five-star rated commits, overall this class produced with Derrick Williams and Solomon Hill leading the way. Both of them have gone on to establish themselves as legit players in the NBA and overseas.
The Wildcats did not make the postseason during the 2009-10 season, but that didn’t stop these two freshmen from making an impact while they were on the court. Williams made such an impact that he was part of the 2009 Pac-12 All-Freshman team. At 6 foot 7 and 210 lbs, he had a variety of moves down low and was very confident with his shot.
Hill was slightly smaller in size and strength, but had an arsenal of moves and had good ball handles as well. He had the second-highest field goal shooting percentage behind Williams at 49%. Because of their ability to shoot a high percentage, both played over 25 minutes per game.
Lamont “Momo” Jones did start in just one game but was able to average 6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Kevin Parrom only played in 17 games and averaged 4.6 points per game. Both of these players would go on to have more significant roles at Arizona. Lastly, Kyryl Natyazhko did play in all 31 games, started in 3 of them and only averaged 1.9 points per game his freshman season.
No.2 – Class of 2017
National rank: 3rd
Pac-12 rank: 1st
Players: Deandre Ayton, Brandon Randolph, Ira Lee, Alex Barcello, and Emmanuel Akot
Leading freshman scorer: Deandre Ayton led all freshman and team in 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
The Class of 2017 is No.2 for a couple of reasons, but the true reason is that they only had one true star, Deandre Ayton. The other four had the skillset to be great their freshman season but never put up the numbers to put them at the No.1 spot.
What Ayton accomplished in just one season for Arizona Basketball as a 7-foot freshman was GOAT like. Records, Pac-12 and National year-end accolades, Ayton dominated college basketball. Yes, he wasn’t able to get the Wildcats past the first round of the NCAA Tournament but that shouldn’t take away what he did at Arizona.
Ayton, of course, went on to become the first-ever player in Arizona Basketball history to be drafted as the No.1 pick in the NBA Draft– that’s all. He has gone on to have a great start to his long career in the NBA.
Ayton was the only starter of the incoming freshman, the other four saw limited playing time off the bench. No one received more than 11 minutes per game. Brandon Randolph had the most points of the bench with 3.7 points per game, followed by Alex Barcello and Ira Lee with 2.4 points per game and Emmanuel Akot had only 1.8 points per game.
Reason for lack of minutes is because the Wildcats had a core starting lineup that played a majority of the season. Not known to really use his bench, Miller didn’t really give them the chance to showcase the talents. After the 2017-18 season was done, the entire starting lineup left, which opened up the door for these four to shine.
No.1 – Class of 2016
National rank: 9th
Pac-12 rank: 1st
Players: Rawle Alkins, Kobi Simmons, and Lauri Markkanen
Leading freshman scorer: Lauri Markkanen led all freshman with 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game
Choosing the Class of 2016 as the No.1 pick for Arizona Basketball may surprise some, but based on the ranking criteria this class deserves to be at the top. Some may immediately think the Class of 2017 because of Deandre Ayton, but the other freshmen of that class didn’t produce as this one did.
Mr. Savagelife and The Finnisher made up the top two of the top three scorers on the team during the 2016-17 season. Allonzo Trier led all Wildcats with 17.2 points per game. Not a bad trio to have on your team.
Rawle Alkins and Lauri Markkanen both had their own unique style and approach to the game that made them a dangerous duo to handle. Let’s not forget Kobi Simmons, who was a five-star recruit, also produced on offense with fifth in scoring with 8.7 points per game.
What Markkanen was able to accomplish as a 7 footer was remarkable to watch. He had one of the purest looking three-point shots at Arizona and continues to knock down threes for the Chicago Bulls.
Alkins could do it all. He had that maturity of an upperclassman on both ends of the floor during his freshman season, which is one of the things Sean Miller loved about him.
During their freshmen year at Arizona, they help lead their team to become regular season Pac-12 champs and Pac-12 Tournament champs and all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to Xavier.. Also, both Alkins and Markkanen were named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
All three have gone on to have great careers in the NBA so far and they aren’t done yet.
At Zona Zealots, we would like to know what you think about these Top 5 recruiting classes under Arizona Basketball head coach Sean Miller. Agree, disagree, let us know. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!