The showy Red-Blue Game is usually a spark plug for Arizona basketball recruiting, but some things apparently can’t wait this year.
By landing a commitment Wednesday from four-star New York wing Brandon Randolph, two days before the Red-Blue scrimmage and celebration, the Wildcats already have what Scout.com is calling the top 2017 recruiting class so far.
It’s a drastic contrast from this time a year ago, when the Wildcats had zero commitments entering Red-Blue weekend after having lost their only commit, eventual UCLA signee T.J. Leaf, forcing them to scramble for another power forward.
But the UA landed Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen during the Red-Blue weekend and, after a hectic spring, managed to assemble a fifth-straight Top 5 recruiting class.
This time, knowing they need at least five players to offset the usual heavy springtime losses expected in 2017, the Wildcats lined up point guard Alex Barcello of Tempe, then landed a surprise commitment from five-star big man DeAndre Ayton last month.
At 6 feet 6 inches and 180 pounds, with the ability to shoot or drive, Randolph gives the Wildcats their first wing player of the class.
Randolph “excels behind the three-point line and possesses enough size at 6-foot-6 to play either the two or three positions,” ESPN.com’s Adam Finkelstein wrote. “He owns a long and rangy build that is still somewhat lean and will need to continue to fill out in the coming years. He’s also continuing to work on his secondary skill set in order to become a more versatile scoring threat and reliable secondary ball-handler.”
Randolph is rated No. 38 overall in the class of 2017 by Scout.com and 24/7 Sports, 40th by ESPN.com and No. 52 by Rivals.com. His stock appeared to rise during his junior season at Pennsylvania’s Westtown School and on the summer-league circuit with the PSA Cardinals of New York.
According to Scout, he averaged 15.8 points while shooting nearly 38 percent from three-point range for the Cardinals on the high-level Nike EYBL circuit.
“His recruitment absolutely blew up this spring after the first two sessions of the Nike EYBL regular season,” Finkelstein wrote.
After the summer, Randolph narrowed his choices to the UA, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Oregon. He visited Arizona last weekend along with five-star big-man target Brandon McCoy.
While attempts to reach Randolph, his mother and his high school coach were unsuccessful Wednesday, Randolph told Scout.com that Arizona had a “great atmosphere” during his visit last weekend.
“I guess it was just the best fit,” he told Scout.com. “It had everything we were looking for.”
Randolph told Scout he wanted to study accounting and finance at UA and that academics appeared to be a big part of the Wildcats’ program. In addition, he cited the personalized push UA coach Sean Miller made.
“What I like about (Miller) is he basically reached out to me a lot,” Randolph told Scout. “He showed that he was really interested. Not just the assistant, a couple of schools I thought it was just the assistant coaches interested.
“I just felt me having a relationship with the head coach is a lot better. I just thought if he was interested in me and wants me and I loved their program, this would be a great fit.”
Arizona may have a chance for another 2017 recruiting catch during or after Friday’s Red-Blue Game. A number of top UA targets are expected to attend, including five-star guard Lonnie Walker and four-star forward Ira Lee.
According to 24/7’s “Crystal Ball,” Arizona is favored to beat out Cal for Lee while Arizona and Villanova are neck-and-neck for Walker.
As part of the Red-Blue Game celebration, Arizona’s 1997 national champion team will be honored. The UA said Wednesday that all players and coaches have indicated they will attend except Michael Dickerson, Jason Terry, Jason Lee and assistant coach Jessie Evans.
