Arizona Wildcats expect to add five-star guard to growing recruiting class

Arizona is expected to add a second five-star guard to its 2019 recruiting class on Thursday, when Australia’s Josh Green announces his college decision.

Several prominent national recruiting analysts predict Green will choose the Wildcats over North Carolina, including 247Sports.com’s Josh Gershon and Evan Daniels, and Rivals.com’s Corey Evans and Eric Bossi. And UA commit Nico Mannion hinted strongly that Green would become a Wildcat.

Mannion retweeted a post that said “it will be a sunny day in Tucson tomorrow” by adding the comment “All thanks to my brother @josh_green6.” Mannion and Green spent the past two summers together playing for the West Coast Elite travel team.

Green posted Wednesday morning that he would announce his decision within 24 hours. At that time, 83 percent of the analysts who weighed in to 247Sports.com’s Crystal Ball had Green picking North Carolina. Two hours later, 73 percent predicted he would choose the Wildcats.

Bossi and Evans plugged in predictions to Rivals.com on Tuesday that Green would pick Arizona, while Gershon and Daniels posted picks to UA on Wednesday to 247Sports.com’s Crystal Ball.

“That’s what we’re hearing,” Gershon said.

Landing Green would likely propel the Wildcats into the top 10 among 2019 recruiting classes. Arizona’s 2018 recruiting efforts suffered in the wake of the federal investigation into college basketball.

Green could also supercharge the Wildcats’ new push to play three guards at once. Coach Sean Miller spoke about that strategy at the team’s preseason media day Monday, saying he could mix in point guards Justin Coleman, Brandon Williams and Alex Barcello with others.

Arizona also has a chance to land four-star wing Terry Armstrong, a Michigan native now playing at Scottsdale’s Bella Vista Prep. Armstrong will take his official visit to Arizona this weekend, Bella Vista coach Kyle Weaver said Wednesday.

A 6-foot-6-inch, 180-pound wing from Australia who now plays at Florida’s IMG Academy, Green is noted for a 6-10 wingspan and athleticism that allows him to drive, defend and rebound well for his size. He could play either wing spot in college.

Green has long been a recruiting target for the Wildcats, having spent the 2016-17 season playing with former UA star Deandre Ayton at Phoenix’s Hillcrest Prep, where Weaver was then the coach. Green’s family still resides in Phoenix.

North Carolina jumped in later, offering Green a scholarship in July. While Green has acknowledged that North Carolina was a dream school for him as a youth, he told 247Sports.com that “North Carolina could be any other school at this point. I want go where I fit in and am the happiest as a player and student.”

Of Arizona, Green also told 247Sports.com: “I personally believe that any school who has recruited you for three years means a lot. Arizona obviously has a great relationship with me. It shows that they have trust in me, I think.”

UA will honor Bayless;

Ayton also qualifies

of Honor on Oct. 14

Former UA standouts Jerryd Bayless and Deandre Ayton both have qualified for Arizona’s Ring of Honor, and the school announced Wednesday it will formally honor Bayless during the Oct. 14 Red-Blue Game.

Bayless qualified by spending 10 years in the NBA. Ayton made it after becoming a first-team All-American and the Pac-12 Player of the Year last season.

Ring of Honor players, whose names are displayed on a banner at McKale Center, can qualify via accomplishments during or after they played for Arizona.

The criteria include being a first-team All-America pick, gaining a major national player/freshman of the year honor (which also qualifies players to have their jersey retired), being a Pac-12 player/freshman/defender of the year, leading UA in three or more career statistical categories, being an Olympic medalist or spending 10 years in the NBA.

Bayless played for interim head coach Kevin O’Neill in 2007-08 and became the No. 11 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Bayless, who’s now a teammate of former UA guard T.J. McConnell in Philadelphia, has made more than $40 million in the NBA.

The Suns made Ayton the No. 1 player in the NBA Draft last June.

Cats targets Walker,

Thomas turn elsewhere

Five-star Florida forward C.J. Walker dropped Arizona and Florida from his list of finalists Wednesday, and junior college forward Khalid Thomas committed to Texas Tech five days before he was scheduled to visit Arizona. Walker now lists only Miami, Oregon and LSU in his top three. Walker’s move was not a surprise, since he had not visited Arizona officially while raving about an official visit to Oregon last month.

“The trip was unbelievable — first — class trip,” Walker told The Oregonian. “The facilities are second to none. (It was) definitely my favorite trip so far, because of the facilities.”

Thomas, a product of suburban Portland now playing for the College of Southern Idaho, opted not to take scheduled visits to UA, Oregon and Baylor.

“I shut it down,” he told The Oregonian. “To be honest, I just didn’t think I was going to find a visit better than that one.”