More offseason motivation arrived Wednesday for the Arizona Wildcats.
USA Today's The Big Lead doesn't have list any UA players among its Top 50 players — and the 21 who "just missed" — heading into next season.
The list is also a reminder of the federal investigation's impact on Arizona's roster: Five players listed among the Top 50 either were committed to the Wildcats or had UA on their short lists at the time the investigation surfaced last September: No. 33 Jahvon Quinerly (Villanova), No. 29 Naz Reid (LSU), No. 28 Bol Bol (Oregon), No. 3 Nassir Little (North Carolina) and No. 1 R.J. Barrett (Duke).
Bol is also one of five opposing players on the list that UA will face this season. The others are No. 42 Payton Pritchard (Oregon), No. 41 Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), No. 40 Bennie Boatwright (USC) and No. 26 Jaylen Hands (UCLA).
Of course, UA returning players aren't likely to make this sort of preseason list because potential breakout players such as Brandon Randolph and Emmanuel Akot played limited roles last season.
And if it's any consolation for the Wildcats, some potential Pac-12 MVP candidates next season also didn't make the list — Colorado's McKinley Wright, UCLA's Kris Wilkes and Oregon State's Tres Tinkle among them. Wright and Oregon's Louis King did make the list 21 players just outside the main list, however.
Deandre Ayton will make his NBA preseason debut on Oct. 1 against Marvin Bagley and the Kings at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The Suns released their preseason schedule.
CBS' Matt Norlander has an interesting look at UA target Drew Timme, a forward from the Dallas area.
ESPN's Adam Finkelstein lists UA targets Boogie Ellis, C.J. Walker and Lester Quinones among the top performers in Las Vegas last week.
