Armstrong to pursue professional options over attending Arizona

Arizona 2019 signee Terry Armstrong will bypass college and will instead pursue professional options, GOAZCATS.com and Rivals.com learned Wednesday. The four-star prospect who committed to the Wildcats back in October has been one of the incoming players who has concerned fans because of some of the things that were posted or removed from social media even after he signed with the program back in the fall.

He has remained steady in his decision to attend Arizona, and doubled down on that choice this spring when he posted a picture of himself in a UA uniform with the words "never left" attached to the post.

That gave fans some level of comfort that he would be making his way to Tucson for his college career. However, things changed and he informed the staff that he would not be coming to UA and instead look to sign a professional contract in an as of yet undetermined league.

There have been some questions about whether or not Armstrong would be able to qualify at Arizona, so that is also something to consider with this situation. Armstrong is originally from Michigan and moved to Scottsdale to play at Bella Vista Prep over the last couple seasons.

The 6-foot-6 wing was someone the Wildcats certainly made a strong play for last year as he continued to shine on the travel ball circuit. A versatile wing with a unique skill set that would have allowed him to play and defend several different positions with the Wildcats made him a strong fit for Sean Miller's system.

It is that fit that drove him to commit to Arizona over New Mexico, Oklahoma and others last fall. In addition to that he built a good bond with the rest of UA's incoming recruiting class that includes five-star players Josh Green and Nico Mannion. The trio formed an impressive in-state haul for Miller and his staff.

"I'm excited, and I feel like it's going to be a fun year," he previously said looking forward to his career at UA. "Talking to the guys I feel like we've got a great connection already, so I feel like it's going to be a fun year next year."

Rated the No. 66 prospect in the 2019 class certainly helped Arizona in the overall team rankings at the end of the year with UA finishing among the top five in those rankings. Losing Armstrong certainly will have an impact as he could have been a Swiss Army knife of sorts for Miller in a unique group of wings on the current roster.

While he was not projected to be a starter, it certainly seemed likely that he would get a chance to play significant minutes with the recent departure of sophomore wing Devonaire Doutrive. Arizona is now at the 13-man scholarship limit (assuming Jake DesJardins returns to walk-on status) for the upcoming season with Armstrong's decision to turn pro as the Wildcats adde d several transfers this offseason who will take up some of the spots.

The move by Armstrong leaves UA with four incoming freshmen including Mannion, Green and front court players Zeke Nnaji and Christian Koloko. Three of the four arrived to campus over the weekend while Nnaji remains in Colorado with the hope of making the USA Basketball U19 squad that will play in Greece in the next week.

As for Armstrong, he will have to decide on his next move that could include a move to the NBA G-League or go overseas to begin his professional career. The high-flying wing is the fourth high-level recruit to opt for a professional career over going to college joining players such as RJ Hampton, KJ Martin and LaMelo Ball.