Brandon Ashley To Arizona Makes Wildcats Scary In 2012

Sean Miller is rolling through the recruiting circuit heading into only his third season at Arizona. On Monday, the Wildcats’ head coach pulled in his biggest recruit yet, landing a top-5 overall prospect in the Class of 2012, Brandon Ashley, to a verbal commitment.

The 6-8, 215-pound power forward transferred this summer to Findlay Prep in Nevada following his time at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, and chose the Arizona over Oregon, UCLA and Kentucky. Scooping Nike U and the country’s best recruiter in Kentucky’s John Calipari is surely a sign of things to come for Miller at Arizona.

“I’m ready to commit to Arizona,” Ashley told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi. “After all the time thinking about it and getting to know Coach Miller and having two great teammates, (fellow 2012 commits Grant Jerrett and Gabe York) I knew it was the right choice for me.”

And for Miller’s crew, Ashley’s commitment gives Arizona quite possibly the best recruiting class of 2012. He joins fellow power forward Jerrett and combo guard York, both top-40 prospects.

Of course, the Wildcats might not even be done with the 2012 class. They’re still in the thick of the hunt for top-ranked Shabazz Muhammad and 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski. In the grand scheme of things, that could make Arizona the early, early favorite for the 2012 national championship, according to Jeff Goodman of CBS.

It’s hard to argue with him, either.

By then, it’s likely that Miller’s first recruiting class, led by now-juniors Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom, will still be around to provide the veteran leadership for the talented 2012 class. And with the 2011 pull of point guard Josiah Turner and dunk-machine Nick Johnson in the backcourt, the Wildcats will have a well-rounded mix of talent and leadership across the board.