Sean Miller, Wildcats coaches hit Las Vegas looking to continue recruiting hot streak

After scrambling to add six players over the past four months, Sean Miller and his Arizona Wildcats staff have a comparatively easier time of it this month.

But, of course, that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Recruiting never is, and Arizona is also trying to shake off the effects of the federal investigation that all but tore apart what might have been a powerhouse 2018 recruiting class.

The Wildcats have rebounded to become serious contenders for many four-and five-star high school juniors and seniors, though they remain without a 2019 high school player heading into the final weekend of the July evaluation period, when three major tournaments are being held in Las Vegas.

“I would say that they’re on about five guys heavily in 2019 and with all of them, they’re in the top two or three” among schools the players are considering, 247 Sports analyst Josh Gershon said.

Gershon said he expected the Wildcats would land at least three of their top targets, then mix in a graduate transfer next spring, while Cornell transfer Stone Gettings will also become eligible in 2019-20. Arizona has three scholarship openings as of now for 2019-20, though early spring departures usually increase the number.

Among UA’s top priorities this weekend is in-state phenom Nico Mannion, a five-star point guard at Phoenix Pinnacle High School who announced last week he is skipping his junior season and will join the class of 2019.

Mannion, who is believed to be favoring Arizona but also considering Duke and several other elite programs, said Wednesday that Kentucky and North Carolina both have entered the mix, and that he’s not yet ready to trim his list to a final five.

Mannion and Australian guard Josh Green, a former high school teammate of Deandre Ayton, will be competing in the Under Armour Association Finals in Las Vegas. Several other prospects will be playing in the Fab 48 and Bigfoot Las Vegas Classic events.

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Among UA’s other top priories to watch this weekend will be San Diego point guard Boogie Ellis; Van Nuys, California, center Christian Koloko; and Seattle forward Jaden McDaniels.

Phoenix forward Terry Armstrong is a top high school prospect and Arizona target but will not take the court in Las Vegas.

The Wildcats are also taking a shot at five-star forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of Florida’s IMG Academy, though their class overall is expected to be a notch lower than the perennial Top 10 classes Miller pulled in before the investigation became public last September.

Gershon said UA’s class will be lower rated in part because the West Coast talent in 2019 is down. Plus, USC has already pulled in commitments from two of the few five-star talents in the West: Center Onyeka Okongwu and forward Isaiah Mobley. USC hired Mobley’s father, Eric, as an assistant coach. He replaces Tony Bland, who was fired in the wake of the federal investigation.

“I don’t think that the (UA) program right now is going to be competing for top-five classes,” Gershon said. “I think Arizona is going to take another class where it will be made up of mostly top 40-50 guys and transfers.”

The federal investigation, meanwhile, also is putting the entire July recruiting scene in question. The NCAA’s commission on basketball recommended wholesale changes to summer recruiting. The NCAA would run camps in June, according to the commission’s recommendation, while USA Basketball would handle camps in July. It’s an apparent effort to steer control of recruiting away from the shoe companies who sponsor elite showcases.

The current format allows coaches to see clusters of top talent in the same city. Those players are competing against better talent than a camp may provide.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, the chair of last season’s NCAA Tournament committee, is among those who have been observing July events for his work on an “apparel companies working group.”

“Our charge is to be, first and foremost, as open-minded as possible and to consider the best means to address the issues are within our control,” Castiglione told CBS Sports. “Some are obviously more complicated than others.”