(photo courtesy of Jshecket)
Fall is here, and school is back in session, which means the good times are almost here – the start of college basketball season! To get you ready for this upcoming season, The Hoops Manifesto presents to you its preseason top 25 team rankings, based on the input from our esteemed voting panel. Next up #15: Arizona Wildcats.
Big thanks to our voting panel: Jeff Fox (@HoopsManifesto) from The Hoops Manifesto, Perry Missner (@PerryMissner) from RotoWire, Ray Bala (@CanBallReport) who writes The Can Ball Report on Raptors HQ, Adam Francis (@RaptorsHQ) from Raptors HQ, Ian (@SoxAndDawgs) from SOX & Dawgs, and Alex Gallant (@SeaTownSports) from SeaTown Sports.
#15 – Arizona Wildcats
2011/12: 23-12, lost NIT First Round
Key Returning Players:
Solomon Hill – Small Forward/Power Forward – Senior
13.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 spg, 33-99 3Pts
Nick Johnson – Shooting Guard – Sophomore
9.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg
Top Newcomers:
Matt Korcheck – Power Forward/Center – Junior – #15 ranked JuCo player (JucoRecruiting.com)
Mark Lyons – Point Guard – Senior (transfer from Xavier)
Kaleb Tarczewski – Center – #3 rated recruit (Rivals.com)
Grant Jerrett – Power Forward – #15 ranked recruit (Rivals.com)
Brandon Ashley – Power Forward – #23 ranked recruit (Rivals.com)
Gabe York – Shooting Guard – #46 ranked recruit (Rivals.com)
Top NBA Prospect:
Kaleb Tarczewski – lottery pick – late first round pick in 2014
Outlook:
The Wildcats lost a lot of talent (and dysfunction) in the offseason, with only two players returning who played over 20 minutes a night for the team last year. Luckily one of those players is First Team All-Pac-12 selection Solomon Hill, arguably the best returning player in the conference. However, despite the massive turnover, this year’s team looks to be much stronger than last season’s. That’s due to one of the top recruiting classes in the country, led by three five-star big men. In addition to the precocious freshman, Sean Miller has added one of the top junior college players in the nation, Matt Korcheck, as well as a player he recruited while at Xavier, point guard Mark Lyons, who made multiple All-Atlantic 10 teams in his three years as a Musketeers. Look out Pac-12 – the Wildcats are stacked this season.
Preseason Top 25
#16 – Wisconsin Badgers
#17 – Baylor Bears
#18 – Creighton Bluejays
#19 – Florida Gators
#20 – Kansas State Wildcats
#21 – San Diego State Aztecs
#22 – Saint Louis Billikens
#23 – Memphis Tigers
#24 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
#25 – Texas Wildcats
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