While Arizona is still looking to possibly fill one more spot for its roster next season, the Wildcats continue to dive into their 2021 recruiting efforts.
Ben Gregg, a four-star power forward from suburban Portland, is the latest class of 2021 player to report a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.
The Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year last season after averaging 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for Clackamas High School, the 6-foot-9 Gregg has already attracted scholarship offers from Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Texas, Texas Tech, USC, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
βAfter a great talk with coach (Sean) Miller, I am thankful to receive an offer from the University of Arizona,β Gregg tweeted Thursday.
Gregg has long been in touch with the Arizona staff, visiting for the Wildcatsβ home game with Montana on Dec. 19, 2018.
Earlier this week, Arizona landed in the top six for Seattle five-star power forward Paolo Banchero, who previously had a top nine that did not include the Wildcats.
Banchero told Pro Insight that he didnβt like adding schools to his list but that Arizona was the one school he would make an exception for.
βThey were recruiting me early, then stopped ... and I always loved Arizona,β Banchero said in a Pro Insight interview published Thursday. βFor basketball, it was Washington and Arizona as my two favorite schools without a doubt. Iβve been following Arizona for a long time β I know a lot of the players that have come through there. Iβve always loved their playing style and just kind of the swag that they carry.
βThey just called me kind of like out of nowhere asking if they could recruit me and I was like βyeah.β Coach Miller and their whole staff, theyβre real energetic and real confident in what they do. I did a virtual visit and they showed me around campus β the facilities are super nice there β everything is top of the line there.β
Banchero also told Pro Insight that he had a good relationship with a lot of former and current NBA players from Seattle, including Jason Terry, who is expected to be named an assistant coach for the Wildcats after NCAA recruiting restrictions are eased.
The Wildcatsβ increased efforts in the Seattle area also include landing Seattle U grad transfer Terrell Brown and offering a scholarship to 2021 point guard Nolan Hickman.
The Wildcats continue to pursue Goodyear Millennium forward DaRon Holmes, the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, while they have also offered Kendall Brown, a 6-foot-7-inch, four-star forward from Kansasβ Sunrise Christian.
NBA postpones combine, lottery
Arizonaβs three departing freshmen now face more uncertainty in the predraft process after the NBA announced it will indefinitely postpone the Draft Lottery and NBA Combine.
The lottery draw was to be held May 19 and the combine from May 21-24. While none of UAβs freshmen might have played in the combine, since most first-round prospects opt out, they might have shown up for measurements, testing and/or interviews with individual teams.
The NBA draft is still scheduled to be held June 25 but could be postponed, especially if the NBA opts to resume the 2019-20 season. The draft typically includes many trades of current players who might be still competing on June 25 if the season were delayed.
Meanwhile, CAA announced it has signed Josh Green, while Zeke Nnaji has previously signed with agent Adam Pensack.
USC menβs basketball coach Andy Enfield is part of a trio of Trojans who will return a combined $1 million to the school during the pandemic.
Oregon, USC coaches take pay cuts
Coaches at five Pac-12 schools have agreed to take pandemic-related pay cuts, according to reports and school announcements.
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that USC athletic director Mike Bohn, football coach Clay Helton, and menβs basketball coach Andy Enfield will return a combined $1 million to the school, while Oregon announced Thursday that all of its head coaches have agreed to take 10% pay cuts while forgoing all performance or academic bonuses in 2020-21.
At Colorado, football coach Karl Dorrell, menβs basketball coach Tad Boyle and womenβs basketball coach JR Payne have agreed to 10% cuts while other CU coaches will take 5% cuts.
At OSU, AD Scott Barnes, football coach Jonathan Smith and basketball coach Wayne Tinkle are giving back 7% of their salaries with other coaches giving up to 5% back.
At WSU, AD Pat Chun, football coach Nick Rolovich and menβs basketball coach Kyle Smith are taking 5% cuts with all coaches giving up bonuses in 2020-21.
Itβs unclear if Arizona coaches may also agree to a pay cut or donation at some point. The school told the Star in a statement last week that it was continuing to βwork through the complex structuresβ of athletic department contracts, which have no specific language allowing cuts for a pandemic or other force of nature.
Maui on distant horizon
Stanford will represent the Pac-12 in this yearβs Maui Invitational, with Oregon scheduled to take part in the prestigious multiteam event in 2021 and Arizona in 2022.
Stanford is scheduled to join Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Texas and UNLV.
The Maui Invitational announced Friday that Oregon will join its 2021 field along with Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Saint Maryβs, Notre Dame, Houston, Chaminade and Butler.
Schools are allowed to participate in one multiteam event per season but not any one particular MTE more often than once every four years.
The Wildcats, who played in Maui in 2018-19, will play in the NIT Season Tip-off next season and the Las Vegas Invitational in 2021-22.
Rim shots
- The Pac-12 will hold its spring meetings virtually next week. The league typically holds its spring meetings in Scottsdale in early May.
- Colorado forward Tyler Bey told Stadium he signed with agent Mike Higgins and will stay in the NBA draft pool, as expected.
- Wake Forest center Olivier Sarr, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds against the Wildcats in the Wooden Legacy final last December, announced he is entering the transfer portal.
