Figuring he could attract a scholarship offer after a standout senior year at Santa Rita High School last winter, Darnell Shumpert turned down an initial offer to walk on to the Arizona Wildcats basketball team.
His gamble paid off Wednesday better than he could have imagined.
Shumpert, a 6-foot-8-inch, 195-pound forward, instead will receive a scholarship to play at Arizona, after the Wildcats offered him their final ride Tuesday. Shumpert said he had been deciding among scholarship offers at Alabama-Birmingham and George Washington or going to a prep school in order to seek better offers for 2009.
"Everybody was telling me I could go anywhere I wanted after a year of prep school," Shumpert said. "But I loved Arizona so bad, it was just great when they offered me. It's always been my dream to play for them."
Although Shumpert was not certified Wednesday, preventing UA officials from confirming his addition, he said he was enrolling in classes and having scholarship papers processed. He will be the first Tucson player on a UA basketball scholarship since John Ash, a former walk-on, received one for his senior season of 2000-01.
Shumpert said he did not know if the offer would be renewed for up to four years, but he is expected to be subject to walk-on status if the Wildcats hit the maximum of 13 scholarships in future seasons.
Before Shumpert's addition, the Wildcats already had 13 players scheduled for 2009-10. Although they are likely to lose Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill to professional basketball after this season, giving them two more scholarships to offer, they are also expected to add at least one or two more players to their three-man 2009 recruiting class.
But for this season, there is no question Shumpert will be needed at least in practice. The Wildcats have just four true post players on the roster and one of them, Fendi Onobun, is coming off surgery for a leg fracture that continues to sideline him.
"They expect me to be a high-wire guy," Shumpert said. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to redshirt because they need help in the frontcourt. But I'll be playing behind guys like Jordan and Chase, so I understand I need to take my time and learn from them."
If Shumpert continues to improve at the rate he did last season â when he averaged about 11 points, 10.9 rebounds and 10.6 blocks for the Eagles â Shumpert could develop into a solid contributor.
"D.J. is the typical clichÊ: He's got a huge upside," Santa Rita coach Jim Ferguson said. "It's hard to find guys who are 6-8 and athletic. He's got good hands and runs the floor well. âĻ I think he can go there and get stronger, and hopefully down the line, he'll be a valuable player for them."
Shumpert might also pioneer a Santa Rita pipeline of sorts for the Wildcats: He was a co-star last year at Santa Rita with junior guard Terrell Stoglin, whom Arizona has also been recruiting. But Stoglin, the Star's Southern Arizona Player of the Year last season, does not yet have a UA scholarship offer, Ferguson said.
Texas A&M, San Diego, Iowa, Penn State and USC have also expressed interest in Stoglin so far, Ferguson said.
cats from tucson schools
Tucson scholarship players under Lute Olson at Arizona:
Player High school Years at UA
Harvey Thompson Cholla 1981-84*
Troy Cooke Flowing Wells 1982-84**
David Haskin Sahuaro 1982-1986**
Sean Elliott Cholla 1985-1989
Deron Johnson Sunnyside 1990-92
John Ash Salpointe 2000-01***
Darnell Shumpert Santa Rita 2008-
* Played one season under Fred Snowden and one season under Ben Lindsey. ** Played one season under Ben Lindsey. ***Walk-on from 1996 to 2000.
