Mesa Mountain View High School big man Payton Dastrup cut his list of potential landing spots to seven on Friday and the Arizona Wildcats remain in the mix, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The 6-foot-10, versatile center also lists Virginia, Kansas, BYU, Florida, Ohio State and UCLA.
Age-wise, Dastrup is in the 2014 recruiting class but is likely to take a two-year mission before joining an NCAA team, CBS Sports' Jeff Borzello reported in June.
Dastrup is considered a top-100 prospect in the 2014 class and while not an elite athlete has a good basic skillset and the assertiveness to make due with his limitations. According to ESPN's scouting profile, he's a terrific mid-range shooter who with work could stretch his range to the three-point line. That would fit Arizona's model that utilized departed power forward Grant Jerrett as a specialty stretch forward.
But Dastrup is also a very capable rebounder, enough to the point that ESPN labels him similarly to former Kansas big man and NBA rotation player Nick Collison. Considering the likelihood Dastrup pushes back his arrival from whatever campus he decides to make his home, he will join a team as a very mature player with four years of eligibility left -- these days, that could actually be a selling point.
Obviously, for Sean Miller to recruit Dastrup and the potential to land him is a big thing to continue protecting the recruiting scene in ASU's backyard.