Five things to know about Ryan Luther, Arizona's newest basketball player
Get to know the latest player to join the Wildcats.
What you should know about Arizona's latest grad transfer
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Pittsburgh forward Ryan Luther, left, looks for a shot against Navy forward Tom Lacey during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Veterans Classic tournament in Annapolis, Md., Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Arizona landed another player to its 2018-19 roster on Wednesday, when Pittsburgh graduate transfer Ryan Luther selected picked the Wildcats. Luther visited the UA last weekend.
The 6-foot-9-inch power forward adds much-needed size to a frontcourt that consists of Duke transfer Chase Jeter and returners Ira Lee and Emmanuel Akot. With Luther's commitment, the Wildcats now have nine scholarship players for next season; coach Sean Miller could add as many as four more.
Who is Ryan Luther? Get to know Arizona's latest addition.
Dangerous from deep
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Pittsburgh forward Ryan Luther (4) drives the baseline against Rice during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham)
Luther will play power forward, but he's not afraid to shoot a 3-pointer. Luther shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range while at Pitt; the only season he shot worse than 40 percent was during a 10-game stretch last fall before he broke his foot. Luther missed the rest of the season.
Arizona's best returning 3-point shooter is Emmanuel Akot, who shot 37.5 percent as a true freshman last season. The next one up is Dylan Smith, who hit 33 percent from 3-point range last year. Luther's outside shooting could help the Wildcats the most.
Foot injuries
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Pittsburgh forward Ryan Luther walks on the court in the final moments of an NCAA college basketball game against Navy at the Veterans Classic tournament in Annapolis, Md., Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017. Navy won 71-62. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Luther averaged 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season, but missed Pittsburgh's final 22 games after going down with a season-ending foot injury.
Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Luther tore his third metatarsal in his right foot last season, and his second metatarsal during the 2016-17 season, which kept him out for 12 games.
Transferring was ideal option
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Pittsburgh's Ryan Luther answers a question during the Atlantic Coast Conference men's NCAA college basketball media day in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Luther applied for a medical redshirt, which would've given him another year of eligibility as a senior.
The NCAA denied his appeal, saying in order to receive the redshirt, Luther would've had to compete in less than 30 percent of Pitt's games. Luther was left with two options: either prepare for a professional career, or become a graduate transfer.
Pittsburgh connection
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Arizona Wildcats guard T.J. McConnell (4) kisses the floor before leaving it for the last time in the second half during a game against Stanford on Saturday March 07, 2015 at McKale Center. Arizona won 91-69.
The last time Arizona landed a transfer from the city of Pittsburgh, things worked out.
But T.J. McConnell, a transfer from Duquesne, wasn't a graduate transfer. The point guard played for two seasons and led Arizona to back-to-back Pac-12 regular season championships and Elite Eights.
McConnell's hometown of Bridgeville is a 40-minute drive south of Luther's hometown, Gibsonia. And Miller's hometown, Ellwood City, is an additional 40 minutes north of Gibsonia. All three are suburban towns of Pittsburgh.
He's a twin
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Duke’s Brandon Ingram (14) handles the ball against Elon’s Collin Luther (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C. Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
There's a clone! Luther has a twin brother, Collin, who also played college basketball.
The 6-6 Collin just wrapped up his final year at Elon University. He played small forward for the Colonial Athletic Association school.
The Luthers' older brother, Bill Jr., played at Pitt-Johnstown, which is a regional campus of Pitt that competes as a Division II program in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
There are Luthers everywhere, but Ryan will be the first to play in Arizona.
