Arizona misses out on second top-40 recruit in two days

In arguably the worst recruiting week of Tommy Lloyd's career, the Arizona Wildcats struck out on a high profile target for the second day in a row.

One day after 5-star center and Phoenix native Darius Wabbington committed to Indiana, 4-star big man Kamsi Awaka announced his commitment to Todd Golden and the Florida Gators.

Awaka, whose brother Tobe played at Arizona for the past two seasons, picked Florida over Arizona, Michigan, Michigan State, and UConn.

The loss of Awaka means Lloyd is now 0-2 on players who attended Arizona's Red-Blue Showcase, with all attention now on 5-star guard and consensus top 10 recruit Adan Diggs, who is set to visit Arkansas this weekend and Kentucky later this month.

NEWS: 4⭐️ Kamsi Awaka has committed to Florida, he told @Rivals. ⁰⁰The 6-foot-10 center is the No. 31 overall recruit in the 2027 class. He also visited Arizona, Michigan, Michigan State, and UConn. https://t.co/DOxhkRIOl7 pic.twitter.com/157JVDYciq
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) October 7, 2026

Go your own way

Awaka is a 4-star big man ranked as high as No. 31 in the 2027 class. Standing 6'10 with a 7'4 wingspan, Awaka starred at Blair Academy in New Jersey last year, picking up serious interest from some of college basketball's biggest programs.

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) passes the ball against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half in a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While they aren't exactly the same player, it's not hard to see the similarities between Awaka and his brother Tobe. Both are big, physical interior presences who thrive on strength and toughness down low. Kamsi is a great rebounder and rim protector, and is currently ranked as the No. 6 center in the 2027 class, five spots below Wabbington.

Florida has been exceptional at turning big men into NBA caliber talent, including returning senior Rueben Chinyelu who is molded similarly to Awaka and has developed into an elite rebounder and defender.

What's next for Arizona

The Wildcats remain without a commitment in the 2027 class, and now have just one outstanding offer to a post player in Cherif Millogo. Millogo is a monstrous 7'4 big man from California who currently ranks No. 5 among centers and No. 36 overall in the class according to 247Sports composite rankings.

Millogo also has offers from Alabama, Kentucky, BYU, and Georgia, among others, and has not set any official visits or revealed a list of finalists as of this writing.

The 7'4 big man now becomes a crucial target for coach Lloyd and the Wildcats, alongside Diggs who has long been considered a heavy Arizona lean.

Millennium Tigers guard Adan Diggs (1) dunks the ball against the O'Connor Eagles at Millennium in Goodyear, on Dec. 2, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Landing the 6'4 guard from Millennium High School would certainly ease some of the sting of missing out on Wabbington and Awaka, as Diggs is ranked No. 6 in the 2027 class and has real potential to be the next great one-and-done guard superstar in college basketball.

After his visit to Arizona, Diggs will head to Arkansas Oct. 10 and has plans to visit Kentucky Oct. 22. A miss here would really hurt coach Lloyd and the Wildcats, who have relied on a balance of elite high school stars, international talent, and supplementary transfers to become one of the steadiest programs in the country over the last half decade.

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