Point guards highlight Pac-12 incoming talent
Advertisement
Leading the way for the Pac-12 is Arizona, which landed an impressive four-man class that is ranked No. 4 nationally. Five-star prospects Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson are the top point guard and shooting guard entering the Pac-12. A couple four-star interior prospects round out the class.
Outside of Arizona, the Pac-12 experienced limited recruiting success in 2011. Washington (No. 20) and Oregon (No. 21) are the only other nationally ranked teams from the conference. Both have dynamic five-star prospects in their classes with Washington landing power point guard Tony Wroten and Oregon landing sharpshooter Jabari Brown.
Arizona State, UCLA and Stanford were each able to land a four-star prospect, while conference newcomer Colorado registers in the top half of the conference rankings with two ranked prospects in its four-man class.
Best recruiting battle
For the longest time, it seemed that the only possible destination for Brown would be Washington. The California five-star visited and liked the Huskies early. But Dana Altman arrived in Oregon and the Huskies took a commitment from local combo guard Hikeem Stewart. With Tony Wroten looking as if he was going to Washington, the Ducks were able to sell Brown on becoming the face of their program and locked him up.
Earning honorable mention was Arizona, which locked up Turner by defeating Kansas and Arizona State. The Sun Devils landed local four-star point guard, Jahii Carson, who had initially committed to Oregon State.
Point of contention
Though it was a rough year overall for the Pac-12 on the recruiting trail, the conference did sign a trio of dynamite point guards. Turner at Arizona, Carson at Arizona State and Wroten at Washington are all competitive playmakers. That trio ensures that there should be some classic point guard duels in the years to come.
[rl]