The Wildcats were lucky enough to enjoy a visit from standout power forward Kadeem Jack last week. Jack visited the campus and from the vibe I'm getting he really enjoyed his visit. Jack is listed at 6'8" and is It didn't hurt that Jack was in attendance when the Cats took down Stanford 76-68 on Thursday. There is no better way for young high schoolers to get excited about going to college than to attend a game where your recruiting team wins and you get to see the students going wild. It's also nice that we have students who are involved in the recruiting and know who these guys are when they visit. Jack had this to say about his visit:
"I know it was a great experience. We got to see the campus, which is nice. The fans were amazing. Some of them came up to me and said hello. They were great. The team was great. Everything was great."
Jack would be a nice compliment to Derrick Williams down low and he knows it. Jack speaking of playing with Williams:
"Oh man, if I go there we would be quite a combination," Jack said. "I could tell they needed somebody down low. I think I can come in and make an impact."
Arizona is one of Jack's "medium" interest schools but I have a feeling that after that visit, he will put us higher up on the list. He has the opportunity to come in and get a lot of playing time and make an immediate impact. Jack made the visit with his mentor, Damian Leslie, who intimated that Jack will slow the recruiting process significantly after this visit. He also said, as I mentioned above, that he and Kadeem were impressed with the fans at Arizona and how they were involved in the game, understood it, and came up and talked to him Kadeem about coming to Arizona to help rebuild the program.
"Definitely the hospitality of the people at Arizona," Leslie said. "Not only the staff, but people were coming up to him, saying how bad they want him there. It's a rebuilding situation and they're trying to get Arizona back to the level they once were at.
"We definitely enjoyed the fans. We're sitting there in the crowd and they're breaking down the game. They're involved just like the players and the coaches. Like I told (Kadeem) today, it's a real family atmosphere. Even though there's 15,000 people, everyone is into it.""Four more?" he asked. "I don't know. We were talking on the way back and he was telling me, 'Four more of these? I don't know.' The way he was talking to me today, four different schools? No, no. Especially not officially.
Arizona got another visit this past weekend from Jordin Mayes, who is rated 106th by Rivals. Mayes is from Los Angeles and is one of Arizona's main targets considering the need for a point guard in the 2010 class. Mayes knows this and should be feeling pretty warm and fuzzy about the opportunity he could have next season in Tucson as a freshman. Mayes has visited Boston College, California, and Utah so far this year. The elder Mayes thinks that Mayes has probably limited his decision down to Arizona, Oklahoma and Boston College. Oklahoma does have a guard position opening up as well so they are high in the recruiting process for Mayes as well. Arizona can make a huge impression on Mayes today if they handle Cal and McKale is rocking like it should be.
(Mayes could be an immediate impact player next year)
Isn't recruiting fun? I feel bad for guys like Momo Jones though with all the talk around the net regarding how Arizona needs a point guard for next year. What is he? Chopped liver? Oh well. That's how it goes.