Four-star Los Angeles guard K.J. Simpson received a release from his letter-of-intent he signed with Arizona last November, his club director tweeted Monday.
2021 pg KJ Simpson Chaminade has received his full release from Arizona. Please contact Coach Cantwell Chaminade @CCPEaglesHoops with recruiting inquiries. pic.twitter.com/OxMIwDsPP6
— Ryan Silver (@RyanSilver1) April 19, 2021
Simpson followed up with a tweet Monday night saying he had decommitted from Arizona, then deleted it.
Simpson was the first player from the class of 2021 to commit to the Wildcats, and did so without visiting campus because of COVID-19 restrictions. But he was mostly recruited by then-coach Sean Miller, who was fired on April 7, and assistant Danny Peters, who may not return.
βI just felt like thereβs no better time," Simpson said after his August commitment. "I was ready. I was all in. It just felt right.β
The future of Arizona's two other fall signees, Shane Nowell of the Seattle area and Shane Dezonie of Pennsylvania, remains unknown. Nowell's coach at Eastside Catholic High School said he wasn't sure if Nowell would want to stay with Arizona, while Dezonie has not returned messages seeking comment.
While roster transition always follows a new coach, UA's Tommy Lloyd said his first priority was in re-recruiting current players and then communicating with the Wildcats' signees. Since he was hired last Wednesday, guard Kerr Kriisa and James Akinjo have entered the transfer portal while Simpson dropped off UA's tentative 2021-22 roster.
Assuming Akinjo and Kriisa do not return, Arizona now has nine players lined up for next season as of now. The Wildcats also have no point guards left without Simpson coming in, although 2021 guard TyTy Washington has listed them among his top six choices.
The Wildcats' roster looks like this at the moment:
POSTS
C Christian Koloko Jr.
F Jordan Brown Jr.
F Azoulas Tubelis So.
WINGS
F Bennedict Mathurin So.
F Dalen Terry So.
F Tibet Gorener So.
F Tautvilas Tubelis So.
G Shane Nowell Fr.Β
G Shane Dezonie Fr.
POINT/COMBO GUARDS
None (though Kriisa has said he is keeping open the possibility of returning)
