CHICAGO — Terrance Ferguson doesn’t know yet where he’ll play this fall, but it’s not just the coaches that are recruiting him.
Fellow guard and McDonald’s All-American Kobi Simmons is pushing hard for Ferguson to join him in the desert to play under Sean Miller. The addition of Ferguson would add even more talent to Arizona’s already-impressive backcourt, which includes new recruits in Simmons and Rawle Alkins and possibly Allonzo Trier, if he elects to return to campus.
On Tuesday, Ferguson hung out with and participated in a photoshoot with another uncommitted prospect in Josh Jackson at the McDonald’s All-American Game media day at the United Center. Ferguson, however, said the two don’t really discuss the recruitment process or the potential to team up somewhere. The two have mutual interest in schools like Arizona and Kansas.
“We don’t even talk about school,” Ferguson said. “We just pretty much like to have fun around each other, just get our minds off of school. The media and everybody else talks about [recruitment], so it’s nice to relax and have fun.
The same can’t necessarily be said about Ferguson and Simmons. The two became friends after attending a camp together during their freshman year. They’ve been close ever since, and Simmons apparently hasn’t been shy about his desire to play with Ferguson in college.
“Kobi’s always in my ear,” Ferguson said with a laugh. “Wherever I am, I know Kobi’s going to be there like ‘Bear Down, Bear Down, Bear Down.’ That’s all I hear from him. I mean he’s a cool guy, so I appreciate him and all the effort he puts into it.”
Simmons downplayed his recruitment tactics when asked about the subject, saying he knows that Ferguson and the other uncommitted players need to decide on their own terms.
“I’ve been talking to [Terrance] before coming here, but I just want to let [the undecided players] enjoy their time here,” Simmons said about the players’ time in Chicago. “It’s a great experience so I don’t want to be in their ear, just want to let them have a great time.”
Though Simmons did acknowledge that he isn’t exactly staying silent.
“I may put in jokes here or there,” he said as he cracked a smile.
Simmons and his future coach Miller spoke on the phone Tuesday morning about everything from recruitment to potential for improvement in Simmons’ game. Needless to say, he’s excited about playing in Tucson.
“It’s a winning program, Sean Miller’s a winning coach,” Simmons said. “I just fit in there. Pac-12, up-and-down; that’s how I play so I feel like I fit in perfectly there.”
Ferguson also had nice things to say about Miller, but was less committal. He played under Miller on last summer’s USA U-19 team, but he also told Rivals.com earlier this week that he wouldn’t feel comfortable committing until he made official visits to his other top schools, Baylor and Kansas.
“Me and Coach Sean have a real good relationship,” Ferguson said. “But I have a good relationship with every other coach, so I can’t really single him out.”
Though Ferguson hopes to make his visits when his schedule opens up, he didn’t give a specific week when he thought it would happen.
“I don’t have a timetable but it can pretty much happen whenever, whenever I feel like I made the right decision for me and for my family,” he said.
And if Simmons’ recruiting has worked on Ferguson, he certainly isn’t showing it. The Texas native says that one school doesn’t stand above the others at this point.
“I still need time,” Ferguson said. “I just need prayer, to talk to my family and just see where it goes from there.”
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