Alex Barcello to transfer from Arizona

Junior guard Alex Barcello is transferring from the Arizona Wildcats, he announced Monday morning on Twitter.

The former four-star recruit averaged 2.9 points per game in 51 games at Arizona. Barring a waiver, he will have to sit out the 2019-20 season before having two years of eligibility at his new school.

“I want to say thank you to the University of Arizona and the fans for these past two amazing years, but I have decided it’s in my best interest to move in a direction that’s best for myself and my family,” Barcello wrote.

Barcello was a top-100 recruit coming out of Tempe’s Corona del Sol High School, where he won two state championships and was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, but he was unable to carve out a consistent role with the Wildcats with whom he averaged 9.6 minutes per game.

Head coach Sean Miller often lauded Barcello’s shooting ability, but the 6-foot-2 guard shot just 29.7 percent from 3 in his UA career.

Barcello’s departure brings the Wildcats down to 12 scholarship players, meaning they now have room to add another player this offseason. (This assumes Jake DesJardins, who was on scholarship in 2018-19, will revert to being a walk-on this season.)

Arizona also lost four-star guard Terry Armstrong last week when he announced he is skipping college to go pro, so the Wildcats could use some depth on the perimeter.

Update: the Wildcats added that depth in the form of Devonaire Doutrive, who has decided against transferring from the UA.