Men's basketball recruiters flock to Pima College

Former UA assistant coach Phil Johnson, part of Arizona’s 1997 national championship team, was at Pima College last week to recruit/evaluate Empire High School grad Deion James, a 6-6 wing player. Johnson is an assistant coach at UTEP. Also at Pima last week: UA assistant coach Joe Pasternack watched the nation’s No. 1 prospect from the Class of 2017, 7-foot center DeAndre Ayton, who played for Hillcrest Prep in a practice game against PCC. Ayton was as advertised: fluid, athletic, a dominant inside presence with a shooting touch to 12 feet. Ayton won’t be without good competition this year: Hillcrest plays games in the Bahamas, in Mississippi, Kentucky and Florida before New Year’s.

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