Bear Down Wildcats

jsbowl16 wrote:“With who he is, it’s better that he’s not in a classroom,” Weaver said.

I was a little thrown off by this quote in the article above. If he doesn't belong in a classroom then where does he belong?

Maybe he gets easily distracted by other students.

He belongs on the basketball court. If you're DeAndre Ayton, your future is basketball. School is an obstacle to the ultimate goal that just has to be overcome.

Beachcat97 wrote:

dcZONAfan wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Will Ayton really qualify, though? Aren't there issues with his prep school?

How miserable must it be to be you. You literally can't enjoy ANYTHING.

Remember how stoked we were when Ferguson committed?

I also remember when you were giving yourself anxiety attacks over Rawle Alkins eligibility and that turned out to be ok. Look, most things in life we have absolutely no control over. Cautious optimism provides a good balance. In the back of your mind, you can still remind yourself that there is a possibility he wont be in an Arizona uniform while enjoying the fact that there is still a good chance that he is will. That way you can enjoy the fact that we signed out biggest recruit in history and stole one of the highest regarded prospects in recent years from Kentucky and Kansas, out of nowhere too. Smile now, cry later, enjoy the moment. This is something you are going to have to work on as you get older for the sake of your physical and mental health, our bodies cannot take that stuff in older age.

How exactly did the #1 player in the class go unmentioned here until 40 minutes before he committed? I saw a couple posts in January stating we weren't recruiting him so what changed? Was this really a last minute switch?

Still cant find any KU or UK reaction videos on youtube

Jefe wrote:How exactly did the #1 player in the class go unmentioned here until 40 minutes before he committed? I saw a couple posts in January stating we weren't recruiting him so what changed? Was this really a last minute switch?

Still cant find any KU or UK reaction videos on youtube

The conventional wisdom was that we had no shot. I posted his crystal ball percentage a few hours prior to the announcement and it was literally 100% Kansas. I don't think anyone really expected this.

It's strange. I mean, he lives in AZ, so there's that. But I cannot remember a time when a guy this highly rated commited without even the slightest "right where we wanna be" vibe. Nada.

I knew. How? Get Premium!

Either it's written on the wall that he's not going to qualify, or this is the single most impressive recruiting success of Miller's time at AZ, in terms of this guy being #1 overall and when you consider he was down to KU, UK, and us. It's a big deal.

Beachcat97 wrote:Either it's written on the wall that he's not going to qualify, or this is the single most impressive recruiting success of Miller's time at AZ, in terms of this guy being #1 overall and when you consider he was down to KU, UK, and us. It's a big deal.

It can be a little bit of both. He has eligibility questions that don't usually exist, but he is still looking at college (seriously, if you see the latest tweets) and I'm sure every school in the nation would take him.

No premium either, but I knew too. Had my secret decoder ring, and a gut feeling about it after reading the announcement on this site.

Jefe wrote:How exactly did the #1 player in the class go unmentioned here until 40 minutes before he committed? I saw a couple posts in January stating we weren't recruiting him so what changed? Was this really a last minute switch?

Still cant find any KU or UK reaction videos on youtube

Let me help you out. I spent 15 minutes perusing Phog.net..........I couldn't stop laughing.

The KU fans believe:

1) They really didn't want Ayton
2) Ayton will never qualify
3) Even if he does qualify he's going overseas
4) They are recruiting better players
5) Miller bribed someone

HiCat wrote:No premium either, but I knew too. Had my secret decoder ring, and a gut feeling about it after reading the announcement on this site.

Confession: This is how I found out, too. Just wish that ring weren't at the bottom of a cereal box.

'We can make history:' Top basketball recruit keen on Arizona Wildcats

By Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star Updated 2 hrs ago


Ayton insists he will be in Tucson, and insists that he will be for only one season. There is no stated uncertainty about either his college choice or how long he’ll be in college, even as other elite players often publicly waver, keeping zealous fans hanging on their every word.

Ayton said he’s just not into all that.

“Definitely, I’m solid,” he said. “My family and I don’t do drama. When we say something, we do it. If that’s what we want to do, we stay firm. We don’t go back on our word.”


Weaver said Ayton was so sure about playing for Arizona that he purposely scheduled his announcement for last Tuesday, three days before the opening of the fall recruiting period that allows coaches to make in-home visits with players.

In other words, just before Kansas’ Bill Self and Kentucky’s John Calipari were scheduled to visit Ayton .

“I knew already,” Ayton said. “To be honest, I didn’t feel like that at Kentucky. Just couldn’t see myself playing there.”

But while taking a quiet, under-the-radar visit to Tucson last month, Ayton says he could see it.

He could see himself playing for UA coach Sean Miller, and for the often sold-out crowds at McKale Center.

He could see a Final Four, too.

After practice last Thursday, Ayton reviewed his winnowed-down schedule. Pasternack was coming to visit just as the recruiting period opened on Friday, while Miller was expected soon for an in-house visit that promised to be more of a celebration than a sales pitch.

Sounded good to him.

“That’s going to be fun,” Ayton says. “To me, I’m glad I committed to U of A, man. So glad. If I had committed to the others, I think I would have been mad because I didn’t want to leave my family.

“And with a coach like coach Miller, we can make history. I really intend to give him his first Final Four. And I think I can really change the college game.”

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... 04833.html" target="_blank

dmjcat wrote:

Jefe wrote:How exactly did the #1 player in the class go unmentioned here until 40 minutes before he committed? I saw a couple posts in January stating we weren't recruiting him so what changed? Was this really a last minute switch?

Still cant find any KU or UK reaction videos on youtube

Let me help you out. I spent 15 minutes perusing Phog.net..........I couldn't stop laughing.

The KU fans believe:

1) They really didn't want Ayton
2) Ayton will never qualify
3) Even if he does qualify he's going overseas
4) They are recruiting better players
5) Miller bribed someone

Ha! None of that is true.

1) We wanted Ayton
2) We were concerned that he may not qualify and would end up a situation like Diallo
3) Always a possibility, but the arguments over there were the same as here
4) No one said that
5) Maybe that was posted, but I didn't see it.

The more I hear from the kid, the more I like.

Same could be said of the Fergusons last year I guess as well.

But this kid and his family are really making a point that he wants to go to college for one year, show out, bring a FF to Arizona, and go get picked #1.

One can only hope he will be our Anthony Davis.

Also w the amount of times we have been burned, you have to think Miller at least believes there's a greater than 50% chance he suits up for Zona.

I wonder if it could be a situation where the eligibility question lingers into next season, and DA actually misses games. Hopefully not, but it's happened with more than a few guys.

The good news is, BeachCat, you have a year to worry about it.

Beachcat97 wrote:I wonder if it could be a situation where the eligibility question lingers into next season, and DA actually misses games. Hopefully not, but it's happened with more than a few guys.

Or maybe he'd steal a bagel and then get thirsty and break a soft drink vending machine at a hotel and and an assistant coach would pay for the damage, resulting in NCAA sanctions.

I can't believe enfuego is sounding reasonably... reasonable.

Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

rgdeuce wrote:Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

If I'm reading right, Ayton is the beautiful woman who wants me but may have an STD.

Thanks for the sexual confusion. I'm pretty sure this ends in shame regardless of the technical outcome.

STD = playing overseas. Maybe I should have used gonorrhea, since a last minute 'i'm going overseas" only burns you for a little while, while herpes is forever.

rgdeuce wrote:Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

Pretty sure your second sentence is about to happen soon.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

If I'm reading right, Ayton is the beautiful woman who wants me but may have an STD.

Thanks for the sexual confusion. I'm pretty sure this ends in shame regardless of the technical outcome.

Just lay back and enjoy it...

Chicat wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

If I'm reading right, Ayton is the beautiful woman who wants me but may have an STD.

Thanks for the sexual confusion. I'm pretty sure this ends in shame regardless of the technical outcome.

Just lay back and enjoy it...

Couldn't you just keep your knees together?

gumby wrote:I knew. How? Get Premium!

Well maybe I will. How soon before the official announcement was it up there?

Puerco wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Beachcat, this is you in a nutshell dude

A beautiful woman this man works with randomly sends him a text message saying she has always wanted him and is on her way over to give him the best sex he ever had. He had no clue she was into him like that. She finally gets there, throws him down to the bed and goes straight for his pants, confirming that. All kinds of things are going through his head: "What if she has herpes?" "What if I finish too quick?" "Is she going to find me to be of adequate size?" "What if I can't maintain an erection?" "What happens if I smash and she never calls me again?" "Will that mean I wasn't any good?" "Is my breath ok?" "What if the condom breaks?" "Crap, do I have extra condoms, just in case?" The worrying does not even allow him to enjoy the foreplay, and forget sex, he can't even get a semi with all of the anxiety.

Without the worrying, even if the man didn't get a hard on and never sealed the deal, A) The man would have still been able to enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted him; and B) The man still could have had a beautiful woman butt naked putting her mouth all over him. And of course, at the end of the day, the guy obviously had an ability to attract beautiful women and there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

If I'm reading right, Ayton is the beautiful woman who wants me but may have an STD.

Thanks for the sexual confusion. I'm pretty sure this ends in shame regardless of the technical outcome.

Just lay back and enjoy it...

Couldn't you just keep your knees together?

This is what comes from keeping your nuts in a shell.

Man I hope this kid can be a Wildcat for one year. Just one.

It's official: Ayton signs letter-of-intent to play for Wildcats


On Wednesday, the first day of the fall signing period, guard Alex Barcello, wing Brandon Randolph and forward Ira Lee all signed their letters-of-intent for Arizona.

The Wildcats have not formally announced their signings but have been waiting until their fall class is complete.

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... 3b420.html" target="_blank

It's always something.
The he says highly doubtful he'll play college ball. That tweet is gone. Then this.

Phoenix in December is sort of like the Bahamas.

Snowing on the prairie. Ah, to be stuck with a jerk and a chicken no visa out.

Again, our 5 stars are just always seem to have something extra outside of basketball, that UK, Kansas, Duke, and UNC just don't have to deal with.

CalStateTempe wrote:Again, our 5 stars are just always seem to have something extra outside of basketball, that UK, Kansas, Duke, and UNC just don't have to deal with.

That's not really true. For instance:

Nick
Ashley
Zeus
Aaron
Rondae
Stanley
Kobi
Lauri

That was being super conservative and not listing GJ (issues regarding him leaving), Victor (was he a 5 star?), Ray (knee, which is unfair to Ray a little), Zo (no issues until now) and Rawle (not eligible in NYC as a sr, but only bc he played varsity in 8th grade). All of those guys, I don't really see as having "issues," but I was still able to list 8 with no issues without reaching, and that's only since 2011.

Ayton not among them, there are "red flag" five stars / McD AA's, but these also work out well for Arizona (Simmons, Alkins). The Ferguson disappointment doesn't put a dent in that. Imagine being without Simmons and Alkins right now just because we didn't want to look past red flags.

I don't see an issue with Ayton just because he had a temporary visa problem that sounds like it's already cleared up.

Longhorned wrote:I don't see an issue with Ayton just because he had a temporary visa problem that sounds like it's already cleared up.

Yeah, I'm not sure why Jerry Meyer jumped from "hasn't received his renewed visa yet" to "he'll never play college basketball".

Chicat wrote:

Longhorned wrote:I don't see an issue with Ayton just because he had a temporary visa problem that sounds like it's already cleared up.

Yeah, I'm not sure why Jerry Meyer jumped from "hasn't received his renewed visa yet" to "he'll never play college basketball".

Trump's election?

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Longhorned wrote:I don't see an issue with Ayton just because he had a temporary visa problem that sounds like it's already cleared up.

Yeah, I'm not sure why Jerry Meyer jumped from "hasn't received his renewed visa yet" to "he'll never play college basketball".

Trump's election?

Actually, I hear that works out well for future multi-millionaires...

Unless DA needs a student loan, I think he is OK...just don't go driving a nice car late at night in his millionaire neighborhood.

then he posted this

@jerrymeyer247
And for the record, any doubts I may have about DeAndre Ayton playing in college have nothing to do w his Visa.
Diego ‏@diegosa443 Dec 4
then what is it about?

‏@jerrymeyer247 Dec 4
his school and his earning power

‏@johnniepromo Dec 4
His school as in Arizona?

‏@jerrymeyer247 Dec 4
Hillcrest Prep

So basically the same thing as when he signed.

I don't want her, you can have her.

She's too fat for me.

Just heard she lost a hundred pounds, she's beautiful, and thinks I'm a shallow jerk.

But for the record, the reason I didn't want her had nothing to do with being fat.

So Jerry had no new info but decided to reiterate old suspicions in tandem with the visa issue.

Ok.......

Sucks that sports reporting has devolved into this.

Longhorned wrote:I don't want her, you can have her.

She's too fat for me.

Just heard she lost a hundred pounds, she's beautiful, and thinks I'm a shallow jerk.

But for the record, the reason I didn't want her had nothing to do with being fat.

Suddenly you're the big marriage expert...oh, I forgot, your wife is dead!

This forum is motivating me to dust off my Arrested Development DVDs and do a holiday marathon.

Chicat wrote:So Jerry had no new info but decided to reiterate old suspicions in tandem with the visa issue.

Ok.......

Sucks that sports reporting has devolved into this.

Blame Twitter. All of a sudden it's okay to report news in 50 characters.

Meyer certainly got everyone up in arms with very little.

My understanding is that Westwind Prep did, in fact, get visited by the NCAA. The prep school it was using for academics was very suspect, and the initial letter grade given its performance was a D. The NCAA came to town, investigated, and while they were not thrilled with WP, they did, in fact, “clear” the school. So Ayton is not looking at being in a Ferguson/Prime situation.

As for the “overseas” thing…I don’t see this as a smart or lucrative option for any player, and cannot imagine a handler who is looking for a long-term payday pushing this route at all. Jennings and Ferguson, being 2 of the big 3 that have done this, both were without other choices. Both maintain they would have gone to college/one and done if they could have. I do not see any advantage for a player going to Europe. Yes, they get paid a year early. But it is not NBA money, and they are facing damaging their “product” at the NBA level. You have an 18 year old kid who has been, usually, rather coddled, now facing going to a foreign team with maybe a couple of Americans, a roster that isn’t really open to young kids with NBA futures dropping in and taking a spot in their highest possible league at their talent level, and opponents in their mid-20s and 30s who feel the same, but without any sense of teammate loyalty, and would love to sit the kid on his ass. Then, you have new foods, new languages in some cases, and a kid trying to learn to play the game at a professional level (not protected by NCAA practice time restrictions, nor guided by big time program NCAA training and nutrition coaches) while feeling probably as uncomfortable as they have ever felt.

The risk of being “exposed” as a player is high. The chance of excelling and bettering your status is exceptionally low. And the “exposed” bit could come just from the lack of comfort with the surroundings and be something that is easily fixed back in the states, but no one is going to know that.

So for half of a guaranteed NBA year in salary, minus agent fees and taxes in other locales (thinking many destinations have much higher tax rates than America), you risk position in the draft, the guarantee of 1st round slotted money, and possibly damage the overall “product” that could have been built by a year at an Arizona or Duke or wherever, highlights on Sportscenter, exposure in March unlike anything you are getting in the Aussie league.

It seems to me to be a really, really risky move unless you absolutely have to go somewhere else because American colleges cannot admit you. Forget being an Arizona fan and wanting Ayton for a second…I could not recommend this to any kid I was advising, because the risk is too great and not really easy to mitigate. You can search for a “good fit”, but all the societal factors and chip on the shoulder of teammates, opponents, and sometimes coaches will be there in the best of situations.

I'll just put it this way: if overseas was a better situation than college, why have only 4 major players utilized that route, and all 4 did so after significant eligibilty questions arose?

Spaceman Spiff wrote:I'll just put it this way: if overseas was a better situation than college, why have only 4 major players utilized that route, and all 4 did so after significant eligibilty questions arose?

So what you are saying is you will put it into about 7 less paragraphs than I did in a much more clear and concise manner?

Yup. That.