4-star 2024 shooting guard Jamari Phillips commits to Arizona men’s basketball

Arizona men’s basketball hosted top shooting guard Jamari Phillips for an official visit over the weekend.

Phillips was impressed with what he experienced, so much so that he committed Sunday evening, giving Tommy Lloyd his first commitment for the 2024 class.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Phillips is the No. 6 shooting guard and No. 25 player in the class, according to 247Sports. Phillips, who plays for Modesto Christian in Modesto, Calif., chose Arizona over offers from UCLA, USC, Oregon, Kansas, Illinois and others.

Arizona was one of the last schools to get in on Phillips, extending an official offer in early November. The Wildcats made up for lost time, bringing him in for a visit for the Tennessee game.

Phillips experienced an electric, sold-out McKale Center crowd cheer on the Wildcats to a 75-70 victory over the 6th-ranked Volunteers.

“I chose Arizona because they fit me and I fit them,” Phillips told On3. “I believe in the coaching staff and they believe in me. I can see myself going there and being really successful in that program. I know it’s going to feel like home. When it’s my time to come in, I’m going to make the best of it and really go after it.”

Though the Arizona coaching staff has a reputation for recruiting international players, Lloyd and Co. are established a solid track record in the United States, too.

Phillips is the third highly-touted American guard to commit to Lloyd’s program, joining Kylan Boswell and 2023 signee K.J. Lewis. Like Lewis, Phillips is considered a combo guard.

A Pasadena native, Phillips moved to Bakersfield at a young age where he played competitive football before transitioning to basketball full-time.

“I shoot the ball at a high rate from behind the arc and that’s mostly what I’m great at and I like to attack the basket and try to create contact and convert it into and-ones,” he said in a Q&A with Prospective Insight. “As far as my play style, I like playing at my own pace, not too fast, not too slow. Just flowing with it and then not trying to rush anything too quickly.”

Phillips said he compares himself to Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green.

A former Arizona legend once told Phillips that he was so advanced for his age he could go straight from high school to the pros.

“Damon Stoudamire said he wouldn’t recruit me to come to his school because he said I would never touch a college floor,” Phillips said. “I just found it crazy to hear that coming from him since he was a big athlete back in the day. I was like “wow.” Like he thinks I’d go straight out of high school and I was surprised that he’d say that.”

Instead, Phillips is following after Mighty Mouse’s footsteps by attending Arizona.