Arizona guard Alex Barcello announced via Twitter this morning that he is leaving the program after two seasons because it is in his best interest “to move in a direction that’s best for myself and my family.”
Barcello is the second underclassman to transfer from Arizona, joining freshman guard Devonaire Doutrive.
I want to say Thank You to the University of Arizona and the fans for these past two amazing years but I have decided it’s in my best interest to move in a direction that’s best for myself and my family.
— Alex Barcello (@AlexBarcello23) June 24, 2019
Doutrive (11.0 minutes a game last year) and Barcello (9.6) were the least used of the scholarship players in a demoralizing 17-15 season in which the Wildcats failed to make the NCAA tournament.
Barcello led Tempe Corona del Sol to two state titles before his arrival in 2017. He was widely recruited. Some analysts compared his aggressive style to former Arizona guard T.J. McConnell.
Sophomore guard Emmanuel Akot (19.3 minutes) transferred from Arizona midseason last year, later announcing his destination to be Boise State.
Of the 11 recruited scholarship players on Arizona’s roster last season, only five remain and one of them — Cornell graduate transfer Stone Gettings — was not an active member of the team after joining the program in January.
The four players slated to return who played last season include sophomore guard Brandon Williams, senior guard Dylan Smith, senior forward Chase Jeter and junior forward Ira Lee.
The departures include Doutrive, Barcello, Akot, Brandon Randolph (who opted to turn pro after his sophomore season) and Justin Coleman and Ryan Luther (both of whom exhausted their eligibility as graduate transfers last season).
Incoming recruit Terry Armstrong, a five-star-rated guard, also announced he will not attend Arizona and will play professionally instead.
Best wishes to you my guy! https://t.co/QBQl8SOsru
— J1️⃣2️⃣ (@justincoleman05) June 24, 2019
The roster overhaul could continue with another move this summer, but for now, the Wildcats are one under the 13 scholarship limit.
Joining the active roster in addition to Gettings are Cal-Irvine graduate transfer Max Hazzard and high school recruits Nico Mannion, Josh Green, Christian Koloko, and Zeke Nnaji. Incoming transfers Jemarl Baker (Kentucky) and Jordan Brown (Nevada) have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules.
It is widely speculated that Donovan “Puff” Johnson, a Class of 2020 wing from the Pittsburgh area, may reclassify to 2019 and join Sean Miller‘s program. He is the brother of Phoenix Suns first-round draft pick Cameron Johnson. Their father Gilbert was a teammate of Miller’s at Pitt.
Here is Arizona’s current roster (asterisk indicates unable to play in 2019-20 because of NCAA transfer rules):
[table “” not found /]FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER! ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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