In less than a month as the Arizona men’s basketball team’s head coach, Sean Miller has already managed to ink three recruits for next season.
Three-star recruit Kevin Parrom joined four-star players Solomon Hill and Kyryl Natyazhko as Arizona commits after the three had their official visit to Tucson during the weekend.
“”The sum is greater than the individual parts. To obtain three top-100 commitments weeks into the job, when basically nobody was left ð-ÿthey had to get some things to break their way,”” said Scout.com analyst Dave Telep, who ranked Parrom No. 88 among 2009 high school seniors. “”Everything broke their wayÿð- perfect stormÿ- and they wound up in a very fortunate situation of having three good players.””
Parrom, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound New York native playing at South Kent High School in Connecticut is ranked No. 74 overall by Scout.com and 122nd in the country by Rivals.com. The forward chose Arizona over Pittsburgh, and his prior relationships with parts of the Wildcats’ staff had a lot to do with it.
Parrom originally signed with Xavier but was granted a release when Miller took the head coaching job at Arizona. Miller also brought two Xavier assistants with him to the desert, one of them being New York native Emanuel “”Book”” Richardson.
Technically, Parrom is not allowed to sign two letters of intent, but he was able to sign financial aid papers Sunday morning, binding the school but not the player.
Still, Parrom said he will become a Wildcat.
“”It was just the environment, the guys, coach Miller and his staff,”” Parrom told GOAZCATS.com. “”The weather is great, I met the academics adviser and she is great. It’s just a great environment to be around. I love it there.””
Parrom will become part of a young squad that will only have two upperclassmen – junior Jamelle Horne and senior Nic Wise if Wise elects to return to school after testing the NBA waters.
With Parrom’s commitment, Arizona now has a recruit from the northeast, the west coast (Hill plays in Los Angeles) and the south (Natyazhko is from Ukraine but plays in Florida), something Telep said is reflective of what Arizona’s roster may look like in the upcoming years.
“”I think Sean Miller has every intention of taking this program nationally,”” Telep said, “”and he made good on that promise by delivering a recruiting class that now contains three top-100 prospects, and it’s just a really big coup in the spring.””
Parrom can improve on his ball handling and consistency behind the 3-point line, Telep added, but his ability to get to the basket and finish makes him stand out. Parrom’s game just needs a coat of polish that most players need when making the jump to college.
“”Physically, he’s ready to play at the high-major level,”” Telep said. “”He’s just a tough guy. He’s an extension of Sean Miller.””
