It was not too long ago that Aaron Gordon, one of the top recruits in the nation out of San Jose, California committed and signed with the Arizona Wildcats basketball team. When it happened, is was celebrated by the Wildcat faithful but many wondered how Sean Miller would balance the unbelievable depth he had in the front court. Not that it’s a bad problem to have.
Well now we have our answer. In the weeks following, forward Grant Jarrett declared for the NBA draft and now this week, back-up center Angelo Chol is going to transfer from the team.
Many were surprised by Jarrett’s announcement. There was speculation that this draft is weaker than ones coming up so he decided to take his chances. Or he saw the depth coming in and decided to not be apart of it. Jarrett is now preparing to begin his ‘prove the world wrong’ campaign as he hopes to blow away NBA execs in pre-draft workouts.
The Chol announcement might not be as surprising seeing as he has been the back-up the last two seasons and is slated to be the back-up once again next season behind Kaleb Tarczewski. Despite Chol’s lack of playing time at times over the last couple seasons, Miller was always very high on Chol and loved his attitude. Initial reports have Chol transferring back to his home town San Diego to play for the Aztecs of San Diego State. That would be a huge get for the Aztecs because I think Chol will be a very productive big man and one of the nations best shot blockers in college basketball by the time he is a senior.
“After much consideration and several conversations with both Coach Miller and my family, I have decided to transfer to another university,” said Chol to Arizona Athletics. “I believe this change will put me in a better situation to earn more playing time and a starting role elsewhere. I have enjoyed my time in Tucson and want to thank my teammates, coaching staff and the fans for their support.”
Two members of the front court are gone and if that happened to just about any other team in the nation, it would be cause for great concern. However, for the Wildcats it won’t at least for next season with Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, freshman Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and also 6-10 Cochise College transfer and former Sabino Sabercat Matt Korcheck still makeup the deepest front court in the conference and maybe the nation. But as mentioned, Chol has the makings to be great in college basketball defensively in a couple of years. So only time will tell when the Wildcats feel the brunt of this transfer.
The change could still be coming in the form of additions as the Wildcats have scholarships to work with after Jarrett and Chol’s departures.
In related news, the Arizona Wildcats football team will in fact be getting new uniforms next season. Here is a sneak peak provided by Arizona Athletics:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvpoIEVOo0c]
