Mark Lyons, a point guard transfer from Xavier, is taking a strong look at the Arizona Wildcats along with the Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks.
If the 6-foot-1 Lyons comes to Arizona, there's a lot the Wildcats gain considering they don't have a dominant lead guard on the roster until next season, and there's also good reason for a guy labeled as a combo guard to spend a year playing for Sean Miller.
But he also comes with question marks.
Here's a look at the good and bad of Lyons heading to the desert.
The good
- Scoring. Lyons brings a go-to scorer to a team desperate for one last season and without a proven pure scorer coming in the 2012 recruiting class. He averaged 15 points per game last year with the Musketeers while playing mostly off the ball.
- A proven commodity. He's played three years of college ball and redshirted his freshman year. That's more experience than Gabe York and Jordin Mayes combined.
- He knows Miller. Lyons was coached by Miller during his redshirt season, Miller's last at Xavier. He was also recruited by Miller out of Brewster Academy.
- Lyons wants to play point guard in his final year of eligibility. He will do exactly that in a season the Wildcats will be without Duquesne transfer TJ McConnell, who must sit out due to NCAA transfer rules.
The bad
- Character issues. Xavier coach Chris Mack didn't have the most encouraging of words for Lyons in the statement of his release, saying Lyons didn't think Mack's expectations for next season were "important," according to Bruce Pascoe's article. The guard was also suspended in the Cincinnati-Xavier brawl this past season.
- Is he a point guard? The biggest knock on Lyons has to do with decision-making. According to the Lawrence Journal World, Mack was upset with Lyons trying to take over games by over-penetrating and taking bad shots.