Just missing

Already a two-time Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year, Arizona signee Nico Mannion was one of three finalists for the National Gatorade Player of the Year award earlier this month.

But the award eventually went to Memphis-bound big man James Wiseman and … the same thing happened Tuesday.

Mannion, Wiseman and six other finalists lined up for the Morgan Wooten Player of the Year award during a McDonald’s All-American Game press conference on Tuesday … and Wiseman won again.

“He deserves all the accolades he gets,” Mannion said. “He works hard and he does some special things on the court.”

But just being a finalist spoke highly of Mannion both on and off the court because both awards consider off-court achievement and character as part of their calculations.

Wiseman has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and Second Harvest Food Bank, while Mannion has participated in youth basketball clinics and Out of Darkness walks that benefit mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Stanford-bound Haley Jones of San Jose’s Archbishop Mitty won the girls’ Wooten Award.

Job fair

The McDonald’s All-American game is sometimes regarded as a defense-optional showcase for players who often just finished their high school seasons.

That doesn’t exactly lend itself to motivation for the three full days of practice and scrimmaging the teams to leading up to the event.

But the spectators do.

Because they’re mostly NBA scouts.

“What we tell the kids is that this isn’t like a job interview, you don’t have to put a tie on or answer any questions, but you go out and do what you love,” said West coach Kurt Keener, head coach of Gilbert Christian High School. “The fact that this is their kind of first opportunity to be in front of all the scouts, you don’t need a whole lot more motivation.

“For them it’s not the game — that’s kind of the fun part, the icing on the cake. … I always tell my kids back at Gilbert Christian, you got one chance to make a good positive first impression. So don’t let it pass you by. And they’ve done that. The guys have embraced that.”

Keener said his team also has an ethic that surprised him.

“I came in kind of with the expectation that these players have probably been put up on a pedestal all their life and they’d be a little bit arrogant,” Keener said. “That’s not been the case at all. They’re really good kids and they’ve been competing in practice really hard. So it’s been just a blessing and a joy these last couple of days.”

Zeke Nnaji “will surprise”

While Minnesota forward Matthew Hurt turned down an offer from Arizona — he’s scheduled to announce April 19 among Duke, Kansas and Kentucky — Hurt said the Wildcats “will be great” for former club-ball teammate Zeke Nnaji.

Nnaji, he added, will also be great for the Wildcats.

“He’s 6-11, big, strong, can shoot it,” Hurt said. “I think he’ll surprise most fans and most people in Arizona how good he is ... and everybody else in that recruiting class is so good.”

Hurt and Nnaji played together last summer for DI Minnesota, which also featured four-star guard Tyrell Terry, who has signed to play for Stanford next season.

Eastern Cat

Kansas-based forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl visited Arizona for the Red-Blue Game last October, sitting with Mannion, Nnaji and his IMG teammate, Josh Green, in lower level McKale Center seats.

Even though he committed to Villanova two weeks later, Robinson-Earl indicated he left with a good impression.

“I felt I built a really good relationship with coach (Mark) Phelps, but he’s not there at the moment,” Robinson-Earl said of the departed UA assistant. “But I really liked the coaching staff that was there. I was real good friends with coach (Lorenzo) Romar when he was there and then Coach Miller as well.

“I just thought with Villanova, I built a better relationship overall with the coaching staff but I really did like Arizona as a whole.”

The big number

4

McDonald’s players who have signed with Pac-12 schools — Mannion, Green, USC-bound forward Isaiah Mobley and Washington-bound forward Isaiah Stewart, tying the ACC for the most from any conference.

However, uncommitted players could change the number: Duke could land Cole Anthony and Hurt, while Washington appears to be battling with San Diego State for Jaden McDaniels.

Quotable

“It’s going to depend on the pieces around him and all that, of course, but I just think with his ability to make others better, run a team and shoot the ball, he’s ready to be an instant contributor from day one.” — ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz, on Mannion after watching him this week.