Jerryd Bayless is arguably the biggest recruit the Arizona men’s basketball team has ever signed, but he won’t be coming to Tucson next fall with an Arizona state championship in tow.
Bayless and No. 5 Phoenix St. Mary’s fell to No. 2 Mesa Mountain View 78-60 last night in the Arizona 5A-1 state championship game at Jobing.com Arena despite 35 points from Bayless, the nation’s No. 9 recruit according to recruiting Web site rivals.com.
Previous UA players Mike Bibby, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye – all now in the NBA – won Arizona state championships as seniors before moving onto Arizona.
Mountain View has now won three consecutive state titles, the first coming over St. Mary’s when Bayless was a sophomore.
UA head coach Lute Olson attended the game in Glendate, the night before the Wildcats take on Oregon at 1:20 p.m. in Los Angeles in the Pacific 10 Conference Tournament.
