When Sean Miller misses out on a top recruiting target, it’s hardly unusual for him to have to scout and prepare to defend that guy a year or two later.
But T.J. Leaf wasn’t just another miss. The five-star San Diego-area forward was committed to play for the Wildcats from November 2014 to August 2015, before decommitting and choosing UCLA during the November 2015 signing period … and then blowing up as a freshman.
Yet, when asked Friday if scouting Leaf was more difficult for that reason, Miller expressed no bitterness.
“I don’t think we can take that personal,” Miller said. “T.J., in fairness to him, made a great decision. If you look at how he’s doing, and he’s from San Diego, he’s thriving, he’s doing better than maybe he would have expected and that’s to his credit.
“As a kid you want to make a right decision. Sometimes if you rush into a decision, that’s why they transfer. If you’re not completely sure, it’s smart to slow it down and do what he did. He comes from a great family. He’s a great kid. He was honest with us. And I think he genuinely liked Arizona but felt maybe it was in his best interest to go to UCLA. It’s hard to argue based on how he’s doing.”
Of course, Miller wound up doing pretty well with the power forward who essentially replaced Leaf in the 2016 recruiting class. His name is Lauri Markkanen.
