5-star 2023 wing Mookie Cook include Arizona in top 9

The Phoenix area has become a haven for top basketball prospects looking to hone their skills by playing for prep schools, and Arizona is hoping to benefit from this boon of available talent just up the road.

Marquis ‘Mookie’ Cook, a 5-star wing from Oregon who plays for Compass Prep in Phoenix, has released a top 9 that includes Arizona along with Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Tech and UCLA.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Cook is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 4 player in the 2023 recruiting class as well as the nation’s second-best small forward and the No. 1 prospect from Arizona. He is the second Compass Prep player from the 2023 class to include the Wildcats on a recent list of choices, the other people 5-star point guard Kylan Boswell.

Cook and Boswell attended Arizona’s 76-55 win over Colorado last Thursday but have yet to schedule official visits. Cook has an official planned for Feb. 10 at Oregon.

Arizona does not have a player committed for 2023 yet. It also only has signed one 2022 prospect, 4-star center Dylan Anderson.