Arizona is adding Catalina Foothills High School center Will Menaugh as a preferred walk-on for next season.
A 6-foot-10-inch senior, Menaugh had received mid- and low-major attention from schools throughout the West, according to Catalina Foothills coach Doug D'Amore. But he instead opted instead to walk-on to Arizona, where he has already landed an academic scholarship and where multiple family members are alums, after a recruitment led by UA on-campus recruiter David Miller.
"It's truly a development opportunity," D'Amore said. "He's not at that level yet. He doesn't even turn 18 till late July. So he's very young and I think physical maturity wise he has a long way to go. But he has support around him to give his entire focus and develop over the next two or three years."
Heading to UA was also a good option considering how difficult the pandemic has made it to land a Division I scholarship offer, D'Amore said.
Menaugh was not able to showcase himself last summer or so far this season,ย while the fact the NCAA and junior-college players won't have this season counted as a year of eligibility effectively reduces the pool of spots many teams are looking to carry next season.
"Given the nature of everything thatโs going on right now, in a sense high school seniors are in the worst predicament possible," D'Amore said. "Unless you're on one of the top players in the country, nobody's going to want to pull the trigger on you.
"Heโs had a number of Big Sky schools, some of the California schools, they were just 'let's see' going into last summer. ... I think he would have been in a great position.ย He didn't start playing until his freshman year and we wanted to prepare him and the (2020) summer was his chance to shine. But we all know that story."
Instead, Menaugh is expected to play a limited season for Catalina Foothills starting next month and then begin working out with the Wildcats next summer.
