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4-star former Arizona SG commit Jamari Phillips flips to Big Ten-bound Oregon

Losing the longtime in-state commit hurts Arizona more than the loss of Joson Sanon in the long run.

ByMason Duhon|
Lincoln's Beau Blackman, center, fights for a rebound with Modesto Christian's Myles Clayton, left, and Jamari Phillips during a boys varsity basketball game at Lincoln High School in Stockton. Winterexamples 012
Lincoln's Beau Blackman, center, fights for a rebound with Modesto Christian's Myles Clayton, left, and Jamari Phillips during a boys varsity basketball game at Lincoln High School in Stockton. Winterexamples 012 | CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA

Caleb Love's return to Arizona — while promising — wreaked havoc on the incoming 2024 freshman class. The same day that Love returned and five-star commit Joson Sanon flipped to ASU, four-star shooting guard and Arizona commit Jamari Phillips also re-opened his recruiting.

Less than two weeks later, Phillips announced that he will be taking his talents to Eugene to play for the Big Ten-bound Oregon Ducks.

The losses of Jermaine Couisnard to the 2024 NBA Draft, Brennan Rigsby to Minnesota, and Kario Oquendo to SMU leave the shooting guard spot wide open for Phillips to compete for with the Ducks, where he'll be looking to challenge the returning Jadrian Tracey and incoming transfers TJ Bamba and Ra'Heim Moss for minutes.

The Wildcats losing out on Phillips is a bigger gut punch than Sanon. The in-state prospect had been committed to Arizona since 2022 and was a very vocal unofficial recruiter on social media. He had many positive interactions with the local media over socials and was even poised to join his high school teammate in Tucson.

Phillips projected to fit the same mold that Love already plays for the Wildcats, so the return of the latter threw a wrench in the plans of the former. Between Love, returning sophomore K.J. Lewis, and even incoming transfer Anthony Dell'Orso, the cast of characters set to hold down the 2 for Arizona didn't leave much room for Phillips.

How is the recruiting class looking now?

Tommy Lloyd
Long Beach State v Arizona | Christian Petersen/GettyImages

Now, Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd's incoming freshman class has been cut in half compared to where it stood just two weeks ago. There are only two remaining commits set to be on the roster: Phillips' teammate and center prospect Emmanuel Stephen, and high-four/five-star power forward prospect Carter Bryant.

Frankly, the guard room was starting to look like there may be an excess of mouths to feed. Even without Phillips, Arizona still has Jaden Bradley, Love, Lewis, and returning bench players Conrad Martinez and Grant Weitman — all of whom have spent at least one season under Lloyd's tutelage.

Where the Wildcats need to invest in the future is with the big men, considering the many notable departures like Oumar Ballo and Keshad Johnson. Stephen projects to be the backup center next year, and Bryant has a real shot at earning some playing time at the small forward position alongside incoming Oakland power forward transfer Trey Townsend.

Arizona will also be hosting rising four-star forward prospect Tounde Yessoufou on an official visit on June 16th, but he wouldn't land in Tucson until 2026 as a member of the Class of 2025. For now, though, it seems like Lloyd is looking to run it back with last year's dynamic trio of guards while Phillips gets accustomed to the Big Ten alongside the University of Oregon as a whole.

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