Last remaining member of Arizona's 2018 recruiting class reopens recruitment
The last remaining member of Arizona’s once-heralded 2018 recruiting class has reopened his recruitment.
Point guard Brandon Williams tweeted Friday that he is decommitting from the Wildcats as a result of the “current climate” surrounding the program.
DECISION MADE pic.twitter.com/tyiLscqFiG
— Brandon Williams (@TheeBWill) March 2, 2018
Arizona has struggled to recruit since September when it became ensnared in the FBI’s investigation into bribery and corruption in college basketball. Five-star prospects Nassir Little, R.J. Barrett, Bol Bol and Simi Shittu each stopped considering the Wildcats after word began to spread that longtime assistant coach Book Richardson had been arrested.
Prized Arizona commit Jahvon Quinerly reopened his recruitment before the November signing period and eventually committed to Villanova last month. Williams and forward Shareef O’Neal both signed non-binding scholarship papers in November, but both players decommitted this week after new allegations against Sean Miller surfaced.
On Thursday, Arizona announced it was retaining Miller as head coach hours after he defiantly refuted an ESPN story alleging that an FBI wiretap intercepted him discussing paying heralded prospect Deandre Ayton $100,000 to commit to the Wildcats. Miller insisted that conversation never took place, calling any reports that it did “inaccurate, false and defamatory.”
Williams, who attends Crespi High School in Encino, Calif., is Rivals.com’s No. 37 prospect in the 2018 class. In his statement Friday, Williams insisted he isn’t ruling out Arizona.
Said Williams, “I am NOT closing the door on Wildcat basketball and wish nothing but the best for coach Miller and the Arizona basketball program moving forward.”
– – – – – – –
Jeff Eisenberg is a college basketball writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
