No matter what anybody thinks about the future of the Arizona basketball program, there’s one undisputed truth: There’s opportunity next season.
Tons of it. In playing time, shots, support, everything.
That’s largely why four-star Southern California guard Devonaire Doutrive committed to the Wildcats on Saturday, becoming the first piece of what could be a completely rebuilt 2018 recruiting class after guard Jahvon Quinerly, forward Shareef O’Neal and guard Brandon Williams all decommitted in the wake of the federal investigation and an ESPN report saying coach Sean Miller allegedly discussed paying a recruit.
A versatile 6-foot-5-inch combo guard from the San Fernando Valley, Doutrive had been recruited by the Wildcats for the past several months and received a scholarship offer in early February. His guardian and workout coach, Laurian Watkins, said UA’s interest ramped up “when everybody decommitted.”
“But we never looked at that in any negative way, because sometimes when things like that happen, it opens up doors,” Watkins said. “We don’t look at that. We just look at what was the right fit.”
Watkins, who accompanied Doutrive on a recruiting visit to Tucson that concluded Saturday, said the two left having no doubt that Arizona was the right fit — even at a time when off-court issues have scared off recruits and led to speculation about Miller’s future.
Miller did not coach Arizona at Oregon on Feb. 24, a day after the ESPN report, and did not return to coach the team for another five days while UA officials held discussions with him. Then, after the season, Miller shot down speculation about his future when he issued a statement saying he was not a candidate to become Pitt’s head coach.
“We heard all kinds of things, and we heard he might go to Pitt,” Watkins said. “But to me, he’s a plus guy. … When he stepped away at Oregon when things were going on, for the benefit of the team so he wouldn’t be a distraction, I just thought that was a class move. I thought anybody who was a team player would come up with a remedy like that.”
Watkins said he didn’t ask Miller in depth about the allegations, but said he talked with coaches and compliance officials about what penalties, if any, UA could be facing, and left satisfied. (NCAA president Mark Emmert has said the NCAA will not conduct its own investigation until federal officials finish their investigative process, and Miller has denied wrongdoing.)
“As a parent, I’m always going to ask what kind of sanctions could be handed down, what could be the worst case and what could be the best case,” he said. “They never felt or leaned in the direction that it could be a possibility. I don’t see it happening.”
Watkins said Arizona itself was appealing regardless of the coaching situation, considering its substantial fan support and basketball tradition, while adding that Doutrive wanted to play in the Pac-12. His brother, Devante, is a freshman at Utah who redshirted last season, while Devonaire also grew up with Cal guard Deschon Winston, another player Watkins is a guardian of.
While Doutrive played mostly for Watkins’ travel-ball club, he spent part of last summer playing with O’Neal and former UA target Bol Bol with the California Supreme. There, club director Gary Franklin said, Doutrive proved a versatile talent with upside.
“He can get to the basket and he understands how to play on both ends,” Franklin said. “Once he gets stronger and gets in the weight room, he’ll be able to really turn some heads at that level.”
Already, 247Sports analyst Josh Gershon said, Doutrive has been a fast-rising prospect who began catching his attention as a sophomore at Birmingham High School in 2015-16.
“His older brother (Devante) was the big name on that team but Devonaire was a 6-4, lengthy kid,” Gershon said. “You wouldn’t have known he was a Division I prospect but over the next two years he continued to progress. He seems to get better every time out.”
Gershon said Doutrive is more of a shooting guard now but has the passing ability to become a point guard, a position he may have to help out at if Williams does not recommit and the Wildcats do not find another point guard.
Arizona still has six more scholarships to fill for next season, while Miller also has two coaching vacancies (Ball State assistant Danny Peters, a former Miller aide at UA, has surfaced as a possibility for one of them).
But regardless of what happens with Williams, who visited ASU this weekend and has plans to visit Oregon next weekend, Gershon said Doutrive is a key piece the Wildcats wanted.
“He’s not some emergency recruit where you’re just trying to fill a roster with holes,” Gershon said. “He’s a really good fit.”
