NEW YORK — Lamont "Momo" Jones on Wednesday became the second straight Oak Hill Academy starting point guard to commit to Arizona.
Only this time, ironically on the eve of Brandon Jennings' ascension into the NBA draft, Jones says he's coming for sure.
Whereas Jennings opted to go straight from Oak Hill to Italian pro ball last season, rather than enroll at UA, Jones said he decided to become a Wildcat guard after taking an impressive visit to Tucson last weekend and meeting with new coach Sean Miller. Jones originally planned a Monday news conference but said Wednesday he did not need to wait.
"Sean Miller is a great coach," Jones said. "I watched him at Xavier and, with what he did there, I have no doubt he will do the same at Arizona. Me and my mother sat down with him and listened to him talk, and we believe this is the best place for us."
Jones signed with USC in April but was released from his letter of intent after USC coach Tim Floyd resigned this month.
This is absolutely great news. Arizona seemed like it was MoMo's #1 school after he left USC, so this isn't surprising. I'm really happy to see him coming to Tucson and he'll definitely be a big asset to us. Interestingly enough, he has a family connection to Arizona's staff: Emanuel 'Book' Richardson, one of our assistants, is Jones' godfather.
What makes this so good is next year. If Miller can put this good of a recruiting class together in this short of a time as our coach, imagine what he'll be able to do for our 2010 class when he's got a full recruiting period to work with. I'm extremely happy about this and I can't wait to get back to McKale Center next year.
One other thing from the article that really stood out to me:
Miller "getting (the UA) job proves how much of a great coach he is," Jones said. "You don't just give anybody the University of Arizona coaching job. You have to be some type of special coach."
Although Miller has not yet coached a game at Arizona, he is drawing praise for his recruiting. Since being hired in April, Miller has lined up four Top100 freshmen, including Parrom, Solomon Hill and big man Kyryl Natyazhko. Arizona could get a fifth after Southern California wing Derrick Williams visits the UA this weekend.
Williams said via text message Tuesday, during a visit to Memphis, that he will visit Tucson this weekend and probably make a decision early next month.
Clark Francis of HoopScoop recruiting service said Jones' addition already gives the UA a 2009 recruiting class tied for 24th.
"This shows Sean Miller can recruit good players, and (Jones) is as good as it's going to get right now," Francis said. "If I were an Arizona fan, I'd be very excited."
Huzzah!
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