Departures drop Wildcats in way-too-soon rankings

A little more than a week ago, the Arizona Wildcats were
ranked by ESPN’s Andy
Katz as the 12th-best team in NCAA heading into next
season.

That was before Josiah Turner elected to
transfer (not
good) and Kyryl Natyazhko decided to leave school to
pursue a professional career in Europe (not bad).

Their departures, along with a few recent commitments
elsewhere, have dropped the ‘Cats to 17th in Katz’s newest rankings.

The Wildcats had to deal with a number of issues this
season, and that has carried over into the offseason as
well. For the second straight year, UA has lost its point
guard to transfer, with Josiah Turner announcing his
intentions this week. But fans in Tucson shouldn’t panic.
Arizona can lean heavily on returnees like Solomon Hill,
Nick Johnson and a healthy Kevin Parrom, but this will be
a team heavy on newcomers. The recruiting class is
currently ranked No. 2 nationally by ESPN, with Kaleb
Tarczewski, Grant Jerrett, Brandon Ashley and Gabe York
heading to the desert. This team will be young in
November, but should make its mark in March.

It makes sense.

As of now, the Wildcats are entering the season with a
huge question mark at the point guard position, with one
of Jordin Mayes, Nick Johnson or freshman Gabe York to man
the spot. Unfortunately for Arizona, none of the three are
what
would be considered a “true point guard,” as they are more
scorers and combo-guard types.

However, Sean Miller now has one open scholarship to use
on someone, and chances are he will look to land a point
guard over the next few weeks.

If he can do that, things could very well be just fine in
Wildcat land. If not, well, it could be an interesting
year down in the Old Pueblo.

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