Five-star point guard Kylan Boswell announced Monday he picked Arizona over Illinois and UNLV, giving first-year UA coach Tommy Lloyd his second commitment and a floor leader capable of running at a fast pace.
A 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard originally from Illinois and now playing for AZ Compass Prep, Boswell wrapped up his decision after taking an official visit to Arizona during the weekend of Feb. 18-20, when he watched the Wildcats' 84-81 win over Oregon.
He then made his announcement Monday afternoon via the CBS HQ website.
"I'm feeling very, very excited," Boswell said during his announcement. "I feel like I made the right decision. Since day one, I feel I've like I've been a family member."
Boswell said he was impressed with UA's sports performance program, mentioning athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and strength coach Chris Rounds, and that he saw a good fit in Lloyd's offense. Boswell not only visited UA for its Feb. 19 win over Oregon but also took unofficial visits to watch UA's Red-Blue Game along with home games against UCLA and Colorado.
"Coach Tommy Lloyd's pitch to me was he feels I can fit in his system and he believes in me," Boswell said Monday. "It's a fast-paced transition offense with a lot of open space off ball screens. He feels that's something I can thrive in and I agree."
Boswell is the first player from the class of 2023 to commit to the Wildcats, who have taken a selective recruiting approach under Lloyd. So far UA is known to have offered scholarships only to six 2023 players: Boswell, Australian point guard Tyrese Proctor, forward Mookie Cook of Oregon, forward Matas Buzelis of the Chicago area, Southern California shooting guard Dusty Stromer and El Paso guard KJ Lewis.
Boswell said last week that he and his family haven't decided if he would reclassify to 2022 but it is possible. If so, he would join the Wildcats next season along with UA signee Dylan Anderson, a four-star 2022 center from Gilbert Perry High School.
But whenever he arrives, Boswell is expected to give the Wildcats a team-oriented, physically strong point guard who excels on both sides of the ball.
Travis Branham, a 247 analyst, said Boswell is an “ideal fit” for Arizona because he can play well with ball screens and make good decisions. If Kerr Kriisa is still around when Boswell arrives, the two could both play in the backcourt together and further space the floor, Branham said.
“He’s going to make an immediate impact” either way, Branham said after the announcement. “He’s just an incredibly high IQ player who’s really competitive, is an elite defender and great decision maker. He plays well through contact and can score when playing with confidence.”
Although class of 2023 players could not be heavily scouted during calendar 2020 because of COVID restrictions, Boswell blew up last spring and summer. He led Corona (Calif.) Centennial to the Section 7 championship in Phoenix last June, then went on to lead Team Why Not to the 16U title at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in July.
Rivals analyst Rob Cassidy told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Boswell’s abilities on both sides of the ball made him a top recruit. Rivals ranks Boswell No. 25 in the class of 2023, while 247 has him at No. 13.
“He’s one of the better defensive guards in the country,” Cassidy said. “He’s pretty polished with that, his length — just the motor. I’ve seen him lock up kids who are top-50 kids pretty regularly.”
A native of the Champaign-Urbana area in Illinois, Boswell took official visits to Illinois, Arizona and UNLV, whose coach, Kevin Kruger, lived in Champaign when his father coached the Illini. The other schools pursuing Boswell included Kansas, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Tech, UCLA and USC.
But Boswell watched closely at how Lloyd’s first Arizona team was operating, taking visits to sit in on the Red-Blue Game as well as UA’s home wins over UCLA and Oregon.
“I’m definitely getting to watch Tommy throughout the year, to see how he is with his point guards because that’s my position, and see how the entire team plays,” Boswell told the Star last week. “I love the transition offense. It’s really hard to guard. And Coach (Jack) Murphy, Coach ‘Rob’ (Steve Robinson), Coach Ricky (Fois) and all them are great assistants. So seeing seen this program just grow throughout the years has been an incredible thing.”
After making his official visit to Arizona the weekend of Feb. 18-20, Boswell said it was “kind of nice” to see a great game for a change after having witnessed the Wildcats blow teams out during earlier visits.
The morning of the UA-Oregon game, Boswell sat with Lloyd to watch the “College GameDay” broadcast from McKale Center, saying he also had a chance to meet ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who played for Duke in the 1980s. Then he returned that evening to watch Arizona pull out an 84-81 win over the Ducks before a charged sellout crowd at McKale Center.
“U of A’s atmosphere is crazy,” Boswell told the Star. “To have a packed gym for a game like that is pretty wild. That’s something I really like.”
Two days after he returned from Tucson, Boswell had seen enough. He set an announcement date for Monday, deciding not to visit anywhere else even though he’s still technically just a high school junior.
In fact, Boswell said he had already seen everything about Arizona by then, having received a good feel for the Wildcats’ style of play and how he’d fit into it.
“I know what coach Tommy would want me to do if I came here,” Boswell said last week. “I like how he lets his point guards really play and make decisions. He lets them be players basically and I really like that.”
