Arizona lands commitment from five-star guard Kobi Simmons
A lot can change in a week. Last week Arizona was not the first program people associated with five-star point guard Kobi Simmons. Saturday afternoon he committed to the Wildcats becoming the team’s second 2016 commit and yet another five-star get for Sean Miller’s program.
Simmons did not take a visit to Arizona prior to making his choice, but ultimately that didn’t factor into his decision as he chose the ‘Cats over a number of offers and a final group that also included Kentucky and Ohio State.
"Me and (Sean) Miller we've got a great relationship," Simmons said on the broadcast of his announcement. "We've built a strong relationship ... you know they've been recruiting for the last four years. So we've built a strong relationship. Same with coach Book (Emanuel Richardson). We've been rocking together and I feel like that's where home is."
For Arizona the latest five-star commitment comes at a time when the perception Arizona fans had of Miller and his team’s recruiting efforts was beginning to change. The Wildcats have not been moving at their usual pace and when UA signed just one recruit in the early signing period it caused concern among many in the fan base.
Saturday, Miller showed that his program has not quite lost its mojo yet with Simmons being the 14th five-star recruit to commit to the Wildcats in the UA head coach’s seven seasons at the school.
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Video: GOAZCATS.com breaks down Kobi Simmons' decision
Recruiting wise it did not always look like Arizona would be in the mix with Simmons let alone be his final destination, but as situations changed and spots began to fill up an opportunity presented itself for Miller’s staff to make its move. After UNLV parted ways with head coach Dave Rice the Wildcats made their way onto Simmons’ short three-team list during the week and became the final school Saturday.
Coming out of the summer Arizona made it clear that it wanted a guard in this class and preferably one who could play both the point guard spot as well as off the ball when needed. When four-star prospect Andrew Jones stuck with the in-state program and picked Texas it meant another chance for UA to make another push for Simmons eventually leading to his commitment on Saturday.
Moving forward Simmons only enhances the class as UA continues to have versatile five-star prospect Josh Jackson as its top target. The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2016 class has already visited Arizona officially and continues to go through his recruitment with a spring decision likely. If UA is able to pull in Jackson and Simmons in this class next year’s roster could feature as many as five former five-star recruits.
The Alpharetta (Ga.) St. Francis standout joins four-star power forward Lauri Markkanen as the two current commits in Arizona’s class. Markkanen singed with UA back in November. Simmons will not be able to officially become part of Arizona’s 2016 recruiting class until April 13 when the regular signing period begins.