Arizona Basketball

Arizona Wildcats social media reactions: Simon says … he’s signing with UA in 2015

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Arizona’s latest recruit, Class of 2015 guard Justin Simon, celebrated his birthday yesterday with a commitment to Arizona. Simon, of Temecula Valley (Calif.) High School, joins fellow guard prospect Tyler Dorsey of Los Angeles St. John Bosco, as two of the highest profile California recruits to commit to Sean Miller and his staff.

Check out Simon’s athleticism and size at 6’5″ and 180 pounds. He can play either guard position. He blocks a shot attempt from Arizona Class of 2014 recruit Stanley Johnson (Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei) at the 31-second mark of the video.

Johnson offered his birthday wishes for Simon yesterday. They may or may not become teammates at Arizona dependent on whether Johnson stays past his freshman season and does not enter the NBA draft.


Justin Simon's commitment continues Sean Miller's cornering of the California talent market in the Pac-12 (YouTube video capture)

Justin Simon’s commitment continues Sean Miller’s cornering of the California talent market in the Pac-12 (YouTube video capture)

Synposis from Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com of Simon and Dorsey impact in 2015: Arizona now has commitments from two of the best guards in 2015, with Tyler Dorsey making his pledge back in January. Dorsey is more of a scoring guard who can also handle the ball, and I do think they can co-exist in the same backcourt at Arizona. Dorsey has said in the past that he would like to play the point guard position unless he grows a few inches, but playing alongside another big guard like Simon could create mismatches for opponents. Kadeem Allen, Gabe York and Parker Jackson-Cartwright will also battle for minutes in the backcourt, although incoming freshman Stanley Johnson could play the small forward spot (if he’s still in Tucson). With the future backcourt in good hands, Sean Miller can now focus solely on the frontcourt for the rest of the class. Elite big man Ivan Rabb is the main target, with Chance Comanche, Chase Jeter and Ray Smith also among the potential recruits.

No mention of Elliott Pitts. Include him in the backcourt mix.


Miles Simon is the last “Simon” to play for Arizona. You remember what happened when he was the Final Four MVP in 1997 right?

Arizona’s next potential target for 2015 is Rabb, the No. 1-rated recruit out of Oakland (Calif.) Bishop O’Dowd. Miller and his staff have actively recruited Rabb over the last couple of years. Rabb, a 6’10” and 210-pound prospect who resembles Chris Bosh, will likely take an unofficial recruiting visit to the Arizona campus soon.

Quite a representation for Arizona in Colorado Springs, Colo., next month.

Looks like Miller’s work never ends and extends to the Class of 2017.

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.

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