Shareef O’Neal to Arizona
By JACOB POLACHECK Shareef O'Neal, the 6-foot-9 power
NEW YORK — Arizona signee Brandon Randolph gave Wildcats fans a glimpse of what they’ll be getting next year when he went off for 32 points en route to MVP honors in Friday’s Jordan Regional Game at Barclays Center.
“It feels great, we were focused on the win,” said the 6-foot-6 Yonkers, N.Y., native who added nine rebounds as the Red Team beat the Blue Team 170-162. “It wasn’t really about scoring buckets, but I did what I did. That’s what I do, I score buckets and that’s it.”
Randolph, who ran with the PSA Cardinals and played at Westtown (PA), is part of a four-man recruiting class ranked No. 4 by ESPN.com. DeAndre Ayton, who went for 19 points and eight rebounds in the National game, is the No. 2-ranked player in the class by ESPN.
Regional game MVP goes to Brandon Randolph ? @brandolph902 @WTbbasketball #NEXTvsNEXT pic.twitter.com/o82ppx9l62
— Overtime (@overtime) April 14, 2017
Going forward, Randolph will now join an Arizona team that will include returning junior shooting guard Allonzo Trier, who opted to return to campus in part because of his relationship with new Arizona assistant Lorenzo Romar, the former Washington coach.
By JACOB POLACHECK Arizona freshman forward Lauri Markkanen will
A Pac-12 team hasn’t advanced to the Final Four since UCLA in 2008, but this year three teams from that league could make a deep run.
Arizona, which won the Pac-12 Tournament championship over Oregon, is the No. 2 seed in the West, UCLA is the 3 in the South and Oregon the 3 in the Midwest.
“I’ve been impressed with all three of those teams,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “I think any one of those three can make a deep run, a Final Four run. If I had to choose one, I’d probably choose Arizona just because of how they defend and the balance that they have on their team.
With their loss to the Nets on Sunday night at Barclays Center, the Knicks dropped to 26-41 on the season and now own the NBA’s seventh-worst record.
The latest Mock on DraftExpress.com has the Knicks taking 7-foot Arizona star Lauri Markkanen, a native of Finland, at No. 7.
Perhaps because he plays on the West Coast, Markkanen hasn’t gotten as much national attention this season as some other freshmen, including UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, Kansas’ Josh Jackson, Duke’s Jayson Tatum and the Kentucky duo of De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. All except Monk (No. 8) are projected ahead of Markkanen.
