The Arizona Wildcats' chances of a top four finish in the Pac-12 Conference became tougher Wednesday when UCLA's Jaylen Hands and (reportedly) Washington's Noah Dickerson opted to return to their schools.
The Bruins and Huskies will now likely be considered the top challengers to Oregon for the league title, with UCLA also having received Kris Wilkes back from the draft, while the league's top defender, Matisse Thybulle, opted not to even test the draft and stay at Washington.
With no returning starters, Arizona now could be picked to finish between fourth and sixth.
Meanwhile, Washington State's Robert Franks also announced he would return to school after becoming the Pac-12's Most Improved player last season. Franks initially said he planned to sign with an agent but he was not invited to the NBA Combine -- which is usually a sign you won't get drafted.
But the biggest Pac-12 news might have been that Stanford's Reid Travis opted to return to school ... but not to Stanford.
Kentucky is the expected leader for the soon-to-be grad transfer who would have been the Pac-12's MVP last season were it not for somebody named Deandre Ayton. In fact, Travis was probably the biggest thorn in Ayton's side last season, giving him mismatch nightmares in both UA-Stanford games.
At one point, after picking up an and-one off Ayton at Stanford, Travis was even seen yelling to his teammates that "he can't guard me!"
Five-star guard 2020 (or possibly 2019) guard Nico Mannion was seen visiting Arizona on Wednesday.
With his college eligibility still uncertain, Brian Bowen opted to stay in the draft.
UA coach Sean Miller will hold a news conference Thursday, his first media gathering since the Wildcats' season ended (he declined to speak to the Star at Pac-12 meetings earlier this month). Miller is expected to discuss his five new players, his two new assistant coaches and the NBA Draft.
