Pittsburgh Panthers graduate transfer Ryan Luther is officially visiting the Arizona Wildcats, this weekend per Corey Evans of Rivals.com.
The 6-foot-9 forward has one year of eligibility left and can play immediately. Luther sat out all but 10 games of his senior year because of a foot injury.
When he was healthy, he averaged 32.5 minutes per game and led the Panthers in scoring (12.7 PPG) and rebounding (10.1 RPG), and was one of just four players in the ACC to average a double-double.
Arizona is hosting Pitt grad-transfer forward Ryan Luther this weekend for an official visit, a source tells @Rivals. Averaged over 12 points and 10 rebounds this past season. @MattGOAZCATS
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) April 14, 2018
On paper, Luther is a great fit for the Wildcats. For one, he adds a third big alongside Chase Jeter and Ira Lee, solidifying UA’s depth up front.
But Luther is also a great complement to those two as well. He’s the only one that can space the floor.
The Gibsonia, Pennsylvania native is a career 41.5 percent 3-point shooter and was 12-of-31 (.387) from behind the arc in 10 games this year, before suffering a season-ending foot injury.
Luther also rated extremely well defensively in those 10 games, though the Panthers weren’t in conference play yet which means the numbers are probably skewed.
Luther had the second-best defensive box plus/minus on the team (4.2) and the Panthers allowed a team-best 102.3 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court.
At worst, he would add some proven talent to a UA frontcourt that is otherwise full of question marks.
Arizona is also hosting 2018 prospect Omar Thielemans this weekend.
Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire