Roughly two months after decommitting from the Arizona Wildcats, Brandon Williams is back in the fold.
The four-star point guard committed to Arizona over the Oregon Ducks and Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday, making it a triumphant Cinco De Mayo in Tucson.
Williams joins an Arizona class that includes four-star prospects Devonaire Doutrive and Omar Thielemans. It ranks 21st in the country, per 247Sports.
Brandon Williams explains why he chose the Arizona Wildcats #BearDown pic.twitter.com/i2fKSo1WHV
— PlayersProgramU.com (@playersprogramu) May 5, 2018
Williams should have a major impact from day one at Arizona, taking over as the team’s lead guard.
The Wildcats’ other point guards are Samford graduate transfer Justin Coleman and soon-to-be sophomore Alex Barcello, who hardly played as a freshman.
The 6-foot-3 Williams averaged 24.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game as a senior at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California (those numbers are a bit deflated since he was on a minute-restriction early in the season).
Arizona coach Sean Miller believes Williams would have been a McDonald’s All-American if he didn’t miss his junior season with knee surgery.
“What we love the most about him is he can score and be a playmaker,” Miller said in November. “Great off the dribble, physically strong, can shoot the 3-point shot. The way the game has changed where you put different guards out there at the same time and don’t worry about what position they are, Brandon can be on the court with anybody and we look for him to come in and make an immediate impact.”
Williams initially committed to Arizona back in June of 2017, and signed with the UA in November.
But due to Arizona’s involvement in the FBI investigation into college basketball, Williams inked non-binding financial aid paperwork that allowed him opt out of his commitment.
He exercised that option on March 2, shortly after ESPN reported that FBI wiretaps have Miller discussing a $100,000 payment for Deandre Ayton.
Williams reopened his recruitment and visited Oregon, Gonzaga, and even Arizona State.
But he once called Arizona his dream school and he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make it a reality.
The Wildcats’ focus will now likely turn to five-star forward Jordan Brown. The McDonald’s All-American is choosing between Arizona, Cal, and Nevada.
His father said he will likely pick a school in the “next week or two.”
Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire