Before heading out in search of younger prospects at recruiting events this weekend, Arizona coaches made progress with some more immediate potential help.
The Wildcats landed a visit from five-star Canadian forward Leonard Miller last Sunday while making the top-12 list for former Washington State standout Efe Abogidi. They also appear to be recruiting well-regarded Estonian big man Henri Veesaar.
Miller, a 6-foot-9-inch wing with sound perimeter skills, has been considering both pro and college options. He visited the G League Ignite developmental program in Northern California, and is eligible to be taken in Juneβs NBA Draft, after which he could wind up playing in the NBA and/or on a standard G League club.
In interviews with Rivals.com and On3 last week, Miller did not mention Arizona among the college options he was considering. He decided to visit Tucson on Sunday after visiting Kentucky two days earlier.
Arizona has also been in contact with the 6-10 Abogidi, who is both testing the NBA Draft and exploring his transfer portal options.
Abogidi posted a video on April 15 in which he said he had decided to βstart a new chapter in my life,β without specifying where he might head next.
An honorable mention pick for the Pac-12βs all-defensive team as a sophomore last season, Abogidi averaged 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while coming off a knee injury he suffered last summer while training with the Nigerian national team. According to Coug Center, Abogidi missed workouts from July through September and was limited well into last season.
Arizona did not host Washington State last season, but held Abogidi to 3-for-13 shooting during the Wildcatsβ 72-60 win in Pullman on Feb. 10. Abogidi finished that game with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Kriisa, Tubelis promote shirts
Rising juniors Kerr Kriisa and Azuolas Tubelis have posted images of products with their names that Arizona Assist is selling. Kriisa expressed appreciation for an image of one shirt with his head-banded likeness on Twitter, while Tubelis posted pictures of their βZUβ shirts in an Instagram story.
While international players still face student visa work rules that severely limit their NIL activity, many UA international athletes have been set up to benefit from passive activities.
B-Will sends Miller present
Ex-UA coach Sean Miller thanked former Wildcat Brandon Williams on Twitter for sending his Trail Blazers jersey after a breakthrough season in which Williams played 24 games for Portland and signed a two-way deal after years of injury related setbacks.
βI will hang it on my wall with great pride,β Miller tweeted, posting a photo of him holding the jersey in front of a wall with a giant Xavier βXβ logo. βThey said you couldnβt make it, and they kept saying it, AND you proved them ALL wrong!β
Once a five-star prospect whose UA career and draft stock were hobbled by a congenital knee injury, Williams was the only one of Millerβs initial class of 2018 commits to stick with the Wildcats after the FBI investigation into college basketball became public in September 2017.
Williams played for the Wildcats in 2018-19, but missed six games late in the season when his knee flared up again. After the season, Williams underwent a second surgery β his first knocked out a season of high school basketball β then rehabilitated and trained for for nearly two years before breaking through in 2021-22.
Over 24 games for the Blazers, Williams averaged 12.9 points and 3.9 assists per game.
SoCal bound
After declaring for the draft, both Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko appear to have relocated to Southern California for workouts. A photo of Mathurin from UC Santa Barbaraβs arena was posted to Twitter on Thursday, while Koloko posted video of him shooting 3s at a San Fernando Valley facility to his Instagram story.
Neither player was on hand Monday for the UAβs βCatsysβ athletics awards, in which Koloko was named menβs junior of the year and Mathurin the menβs sophomore of the year. Mathurin was also given βPlay of the Yearβ honors for his emphatic dunk against TCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
