HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: JULY 19 adidas Gauntlet Finale

LADERA RANCH, CA - JULY 19: D1 Minnesota guard Kerwin Walton drives to the basket during the adidas Gauntlet Finale on July 19, 2018 at the Ladera Sports Center in Ladera Ranch, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

After an entire weekend of delays, four-star wing Kerwin Walton announced he will play at North Carolina over Arizona and home-state choice Minnesota.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound wing had also been considering Vanderbilt, Creighton and Georgetown while drawing impatience from fans of all the involved teams with his silence after stating he would make a decision on Saturday.

By late Saturday night, 247's Evan Daniels reported that his father said he would announce on Sunday but he did not, instead posting his choice on Twitter on Monday and talking about it with Daniels.

Walton played with former UA forward Zeke Nnaji at Minnesota's Hopkins High School in 2018-19 and Nnaji's fast rise into a projected first-round pick was Arizona's major selling point to Walton, a longtime UA target who visited for Arizona's Red Blue Game last September.

Walton is the third player the Wildcats have lost to North Carolina and its loaded 2020 recruiting class, after forward Puff Johnson and guard Caleb Love chose the Tar Heels last fall.

Not landing Walton means the Wildcats could leave more opportunity for incoming freshman wings Dalen Terry and Bennedict Mathurin. 

The Wildcats also have five combo guards on paper for next season: James Akinjo, Jemarl Baker, Terrell Brown, Kerr Kriisa and Brandon Williams.

While Akinjo enrolled in January and sat out the second half of the season after transferring from Georgtown, Arizona pulled in winter and spring commitments from Mathurin, Brown, Kriisa and French forward Daniel Batcho.

Arizona is still recruiting to add a wing and a big man to fill out its 2020-21 roster, and Turkish forward Tibet Gorener is among its remaining targets.

Here's Arizona's men's basketball roster to date for 2020-21. Two scholarship spots remain open, three if Williams does not return. 

James Akinjo* Jr. G 6-0 180 Richmond, Calif.

Jemarl Baker Jr. G 6-4 200 Menifee, Calif.

Daniel Batcho Fr. 6-10 225 Paris

Jordan Brown So. F 6-11 210 Roseville, Calif.

Terrell Brown Sr. G 6-1 175 Seattle

Christian Koloko So. C 7-0 215 Douala, Cameroon

Kerr Kriisa Fr. G 6-2 170 Tartu, Estonia

Ira Lee Sr. F 6-7 240 Los Angeles

Bennedict Mathurin Fr. F 6-6 190 Montreal

Dalen Terry Fr. G 6-6 190 Tempe

Brandon Williams** So. G 6-3 190 Los Angeles

* Will not be eligible until December 2020, unless he receives a waiver to play earlier.

**Tentative


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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe