Arizona and head coach Sean Miller beat out Bill Self and Kansas for the ESPN No. 6 recruit today as 7-foot New Hampshire center Kaleb Tarczewski chose the Wildcats over the Jayhawks.
“The real surprise in this to me is that Kansas invested so much time in Kaleb,” said ESPN Analyst Dave Telep. “For Arizona to get him, to beat out Kansas for a guy like this, it’s a huge commitment.”
Between Tarczewski, and power forwards Grant Jerrett and Brandon Ashley, the Wildcats now have an “embarrassingly talented frontcourt,” according to Telep.
Ashley, a 6-foot-8, 215 athletic forward from Findlay Prep, is the No. 4 ESPN-rated recruit, while Jerrett, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound banger, comes in at No. 9.
“I think all three of those guys have a real good chance to be professional basketball players,” Telep said. “They’re all very different. It’s an imposing collection of guys. I think it’s interesting how they just re-tooled the backcourt and retooled the frontcourt for the following years.”
Telep said that Tarczewski, a more traditional post player who visited Tucson during Arizona’s Red-Blue Game, will mesh well with the more athletic and versatile Ashley.
“He’s a guy who’s capable of owning his area,” Telep said. “He’s going to play off the athleticism of Brandon Ashley really well. He’s a more upright guy. He’s a true back to the basket player.”
What impressed Telep most about Tarczewski, of St. Marks School in Massachusetts, committing to Arizona is the Wildcats’ ability to now recruit on a national level — something that didn’t even exist during UA’s days as an annual Final Four contender.
“The real interesting part in this to me is how Arizona can go both coasts,” Telep said. “They’re bi-coastal right now. I don’t ever know if they’ve ever been like that before. Even when they were playing for championships and final fours I don’t know if their reach was as big as it is right now. They are back to being a national recruiting power.”
With Jerrett, Ashley and shooting guard Gabe York, the Wildcats already had the No. 1 2012 recruiting class according to ESPN. Now with Tarczewski, Arizona’s class is undoubtedly the best in the country. Assuming 2011 guards Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner stay in Tucson until next season, Miller will have unlimited options and an extremely balanced roster moving forward.