TEMPE — Arizona players Rawle Alkins and Chance Comanche still have three weeks to decide whether to stay in the NBA draft pool or not, but Sean Miller may already be bracing for at least one of them to leave.
The UA coach told a gathering of Wildcat fans at a Tempe restaurant Wednesday that he expects to add two more recruits this spring, which would put UA one over the 13-player scholarship maximum — unless Alkins or Comanche opt to leave school for good or if forward Talbott Denny does not return to play a sixth year of eligibility.
“I think we’ll bring in a class of six,” Miller said, after discussing his four fall signees. “I know some of you are curious over who’s gonna stay and who’s gonna leave. If I knew, I would tell you. I do know those four are coming in. I think that everybody here should be excited about a class of six.”
Both Alkins and Comanche have declared for the NBA Draft without signing with an agent, meaning they have until May 24 to return to school if they choose. That means UA will have either one, two or three scholarship spots open to recruit to – at a time when they have at least three strong recruiting prospects still on the board.
So earlier Wednesday, after the Pac-12 basketball coaches met in Phoenix for their annual spring meetings, the Star asked Miller if the decisions of Alkins and Comanche are holding up his spring recruiting efforts.
He responded by saying, “No. 1, it’s really to support both of those guys.
“And in some ways the best support you can give them is to really leave them alone,” Miller said, “to allow those guys to move through the process like they want to, support them in any way that they would need. Clearly any help that they would need from us, they’re going to get.”
Miller said he was happy to see Alkins get an invite to the 70-player NBA Combine next week, and said the lack of an invitation for Comanche doesn’t necessarily make it more likely he returns.
“I think Chance is going to have the opportunity to have several NBA workouts (with individual teams), and I think when they are is yet to be determined,” Miller said. “That’s a process that’s ongoing right now. But he’s worked hard to get ready for those opportunities.”
While Alkins and Comanche go through the predraft process, Miller’s staff hasn’t stopped recruiting – possibly even to fill their spots. Among other recent developments, UA is scheduled to host transfer forwards Cameron Johnson (Pitt) and Chase Jeter (Duke) for a recruiting visit this weekend, while five-star high school wing Brian Bowen is still considering UA.
“There is some anticipating, since you have young players who are trying to figure out what’s best for them,” Miller said. “Our total responsibility, especially myself, is to run our program and make sure we’re going to be the best we can be regardless of what happens this spring.
“So with that, if you’re visiting and we bring you in for an official visit, of course we have a scholarship.”
In all, UA has five players in the NBA Draft pool: Alkins, Comanche, Kadeem Allen, Lauri Markkanen and Kobi Simmons. All but Comanche have been invited to the Combine, though Markkanen will not play in five-on-five drills because he’s a lottery pick candidate with little to gain by doing so.
Allen wasn’t expected to land a Combine invitation until he put up a strong performance offensively and defensively in the seniors-only Portsmouth Invitational Tournament last month.
“The feedback we got is he played extremely well,” Miller said.
Miller also said Allen is finishing up the final courses toward his UA degree this week, and that Alkins and Comanche are staying current with their spring classes – suggesting UA won’t take an Academic Progress Rating hit if either leaves early for pro ball.
“Both guys are doing a good job,” Miller said. “That’s the hardest part. In fairness to them, they have a lot going on, a lot to think about, but both of them are still finishing right now and they’ve done a good job for sure.”
Exposure sought
New Arizona AD Dave Heeke said he’s been trying to mostly listen and learn during the Pac-12 meetings this week but noticed one big theme within them.
“The big elephant in the room is trying to get our arms around the Pac-12 Network and how we can continue to work together to grow that so that it’s beneficial for all of us,” Heeke said. “There’s not a person in the conference who doesn’t want it to prosper. So we have lots of conversations around that.”
Heeke said the Pac-12 Network and all network partners have been interested in getting more access to sidelines and locker rooms, to “take the viewer into an experience that’s different” but said the conference needs to be careful not to make a television experience that’s better at home than at the venue.
“I want to know how we can also do that inside of our arenas and stadiums,” Heeke said. “Sitting in the stands on the 40-yard line — how can we bring some of those elements that TV brings to that?”
Rim shots
- Miller said his son, former Salpointe standout Cameron Miller, will join the Wildcats as a manager after considering playing elsewhere. “He could have played at a lot of different levels,” Sean Miller said, “but when he took the big picture and thought about actually going to school at these places, and what he really wanted to do when his time ended in college I think he wanted to come to Arizona.”
- Former UA guard Gabe York has been invited to a D-League Elite Camp that will take place before the NBA Combine next week in Chicago, after he spent last season with Erie, Pennsylvania.
- Utah forward Kyle Kuzma announced he’s staying in the draft and hiring an agent. He was the Utes’ leading scorer (16.4 points) and rebounder (9.3) last season.
