Arizona announced Thursday that Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker won his NCAA appeal to play immediately this season, giving the Wildcats significant depth in the backcourt.
Baker was expected to sit out the redshirt year required of transfers when he committed to Arizona last May but decided to appeal last summer based on his history of injuries and other issues at Kentucky.
UA called the reasoning "Jemarl’s unique situation" on Twitter. UA coach Sean Miller was not immediately available for comment Thursday and had declined to comment in detail about Baker's request during the team's preseason Media Day on Sept. 25.
“Jemarl and his family are working towards the possibility of (playing immediately), and that's really all I can comment on regarding that,” Miller said then. “But if you'd say is there a possibility that he might be able to play, I would say yes. And I think I'll stop there.”
The loss of Brandon Williams for the season due to continuing knee issues made Baker's availability much more critical for the Wildcats this season. Williams played a combo guard role last season, starting off the ball and backing up Justin Coleman at the point.
We are excited to have Jemarl Baker eligible to play this season. We would like to thank the NCAA for their consideration of Jemarl’s unique situation, and we appreciate the University of Kentucky’s support throughout this process. #BearDown
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) October 31, 2019
The NCAA approved Baker's request just before the Wildcats hold an exhibition game with Chico State on Friday. Baker sat out an intrasquad scrimmage last Sunday with a pulled hip muscle but is expected to be able to play Friday.
Baker will likely become UA's backup point guard behind Nico Mannion, while he might also play on the wing along with Dylan Smith, Max Hazzard, Devonaire Doutrive and Josh Green. With Baker in limbo previously, the Wildcats had been using Doutrive and Hazzard behind Mannion at point guard.
Baker played in just 28 of 37 games last season for Kentucky, averaging 2.3 points and 31.0% 3-point shooting in nine minutes a game, but he had a career-high eight points with a strong defensive effort in UK’s second-round NCAA Tournament win over Wofford.
“His injury in his first year and even the early part of this year set him back a little bit, but I still believe he’s an impact player who can score and defend,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a statement upon Baker’s departure.
“He’s a better defender than people give him credit for, and we knew we could play him this season in any situation because we knew he was always going to defend.”
During UA's media day, Baker said it felt “great” to be fully healthy this season but otherwise declined to detail much about his Kentucky experience nor his waiver request.
“I just think it made me stronger mentally,” Baker said. “But other than that, I’m not really here to talk about my experience there. I’m here to talk about being here in Arizona and the players we have here, the coaching staff we have and just working every day to get better.”
Five-star wing Ziaire Williams is taking an official visit to Arizona this weekend, according to 247 Sports and Stockrisers.
Australian 2021 big man Harrison Hornery, who had drawn some recruiting interest from the Wildcats, has committed to USC. Hornery plays for the West Coast Elite program where Nico Mannion, Josh Green, Ira Lee, Stone Gettings and Baker played.
☑️ COMMITTED ☑️Congrats to Harrison Hornery 2021 (Mater Dei) on his commitment to USC! The native Australian has solidified himself as one of the most skilled bigs on the west coast & will be a key piece on our 17U team this upcoming AAU season. #ALLIN #WCEUA #WestCoastElite pic.twitter.com/zltxfDfkiq
— West Coast Elite (@wceua) October 31, 2019
