Cats in the transfer market
Arizona is once again in the transfer market. With the NCAA basketball season abruptly cancelled, a number of players have hit the transfer portal.
There has been a mass exodus of players from the Wichita State program and Arizona has reached out to at least two of them. The Wildcats are looking at backcourt mates Jamarius Burton and Erik Stevenson.
Burton is a 6-4 point guard who averaged 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a sophomore this past season. Arizona is one of over a dozen schools trying to court the Charlotte native.
The Wildcats appear out of the mix for Stevenson. The Washington-native will likely stay on the West Coast and has an early top-five of Gonzaga, San Diego State, Washington and Oregon, along with Maryland.
Arizona is also looking towards the Ivy League. Columbia guard Mike Smith is hearing the most from the Wildcats and Michigan. The 5-11 scorer led the Ivy League in scoring with over 22 points a game and has averaged over 18 for his career.
Smith is from Illinois and as a grad transfer can play right away, regardless of whether the NCAA changes their transfer rule.
The Wildcats will also lose a transfer. Former walk-on Jake DesJardins will leave Arizona for his final season. He redshirted this past season in an effort to grad transfer, presumably to a smaller school where he could see more playing time.
Arizona also offered 2021 guard Malik Thomas. The 6-3 Californian is a 4-star prospect and rated anywhere from 87-126 in the nation.