Arizona Scores Big With Kaleb Tarczewski Commit
Posted by AMurawa on October 31st, 2011Monday was a big day on the recruiting front in the Pac-12, with Arizona garnering the biggest headlines by getting a commitment from 7’0” center Kaleb Tarczewski – the sixth rated 2012 recruit according to ESPNU and eighth according to Scout. Tarczewski puts a nice bow on Sean Miller’s second-straight top-five recruiting class and likely seals up the top overall ranking for Arizona. Joining Tarczewski in Tucson next year will be 6’8” power forward Brandon Ashley (Scout’s #3 recruit, ESPNU’s #4), 6’10” center Grant Jerrett (Scout #23, ESPNU #9) and 6’2” shooting guard Gabe York (Scout #42, ESPNU #36). And, Miller’s still got a line in on the recruitment of the top recruit in the 2012 class, Shabazz Muhammad, although it appears UA trails a few others schools in that race. Most impressive, perhaps, about the job Miller has done is the fact that the Wildcats are once again recruiting on a national basis, pulling not only kids from California and the Southwest, but going back east and stealing Tarczewski away from Kansas, among others.
Miller Just Scored The Sixth-Ranked Recruit In The 2012 Class
Regardless, Miller has put together an impressive cast of characters in the desert. With his four-man 2011 recruiting class still just getting its feet wet, the Wildcats could have an impressive two-deep roster next year, allowing him to play a full ten-man (or more) rotation, as he seems to prefer. Check out this potential depth chart for 2011-12:
- PG Josiah Turner/Jordin Mayes
- SG Nick Johnson/Gabe York
- SF Kevin Parrom/Solomon Hill
- PF Brandon Ashley/Angelo Chol
- C Kaleb Traczewski/ Sidiki Johnson
Pretty impressive, and even going ten deep in that manner forces me to leave off Jerrett, not to mention Kyryl Natyazhko, who may start this year at the five with a year of eligibility remaining next year. While there was talk this offseason about Miller perhaps leaving for Maryland, with the type of elite talent he has drawn to the desert, it would figure that he’s a long-termer for sure now.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, a couple other programs got good news on Monday. In Eugune, Dana Altman was the beneficiary of point guard Dominic Artis’ (Scout #63, ESPNU #72) decision to de-commit from UCLA. Artis will join the Ducks in 2012 and could form an electric backcourt in tandem with current freshman shooting guard Jabari Brown, with whom Artis was a one-time AAU teammate. The Artis signing was a big get for Oregon, after they were dropped from the list of four-star point guard Tyrone Wallace (Scout #77) last week. Incidentally, Wallace will apparently decide between two other Pac-12 schools: California and Colorado.
Johnny Dawkins also got a big commitment on Monday when 6’9” forward Rosco Allen (Scout #63, ESPNU #72) chose the Cardinal over Oregon, UNLV, and North Carolina. Allen is the third 2012 commitment for Stanford, joining power forward Grant Verhoeven (Scout #78, ESPNU #95) and shooting guard Christian Sanders.
All things considered, this is shaping up to be quite the haul for Pac-12 schools this season. UCLA and USC continue to be in the mix for Muhammad, while the Bruins have already earned commitments from five-star point forward Kyle Anderson and four-star wing Jordan Adams, while Tad Boyle has put together an impressive four-man recruiting class at Colorado. While there has been some concern the last couple seasons over the talent drain in the conference, with plenty of elite talents heading off to the NBA early while few elite recruits replaced them, it looks like the Pac-12, bolstered by Arizona’s lightning-fast return to national prominence, is on its way back. And fast.
Andrew Murawa Likes Basketball.
