Arizona Basketball: Why Jemarl Baker will be a huge boost for Arizona

Arizona Basketball received some great news as Kentucky Wildcat transfer Jemarl Baker has been cleared to play this season.

Great news. That’s what Arizona Basketball received today as the NCAA decided to allow Kentucky Wildcat transfer Jemarl Baker Jr play this season. There was a lot of uncertainty in whether or not he would be eligible to play by the time the season starts. No more uncertainty anymore, he will be playing!

During the Red and Blue game, we saw what Baker brings to this team. Listed at 6 foot 4 and 200 pounds, he has the perfect build to be an impact guard at the college level. He will likely be a backup to Nico Mannion at the point guard position, which is great news considering they will be without one of the top point guards in the country in Brandon Williams.

11. That is the amount of players head coach Sean Miller will have to use in his rotations (not counting Kory Jones, Matty Weyand, and Jake Desjardins). The Wildcats now have a lot of options, in both the front and backcourt. Good problems to have if you’re a head coach.

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The addition of Baker brings experience, depth, and skill to this team. He saw limited playing time at Kentucky, due to the talent they had when he was there. But the overall experience he ha at Kentucky will help Arizona tremendously when it comes to having players who understand what it takes to compete among the best in college.

Because Arizona is already stacked at the guard position with Mannion, Max Hazzard, Devonaire Doutrive, Dylan Smith, Baker likely will come off the bench but should end up seeing significant minutes. He has good ball handles, court vision, and a really good shooter and is going to have a huge positive impact this season. Baker going to be making plays this season!

A true criticism of Miller is that he typically doesn’t use a deep bench. Maybe this could be the season that changes. We can all hope. The addition of Baker will give Mannion some more breathing room as he knows now he won’t have to play all 40 minutes and can rely on someone to support him in a backup role.

https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/1177784773655191552?s=20

At Zona Zealots, we are excited for Jemarl Baker to be part of Arizona Basketball this season. He will get his chance this season to prove how good of a player he is, as an Arizona Wildcat! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!