Arizona basketball recruiting: Wildcats listed in top 5 for 2018 point guard Brandon Williams

Arizona has struggled to land top point guard recruits lately, but maybe Williams will change that

The Arizona Wildcats have struggled to land top point guard prospects in recent seasons, but maybe Brandon Williams will end that drought.

The 2018 five-star point guard cut his list to five schools on Saturday, and Arizona made the cut along with Kansas, UCLA, USC, and Gonzaga.

The 6-foot-1 guard is the No. 21 player in the 2018 class, per 247Sports.com, as well as the No. 6 point guard prospect.

“Williams is a speedy point guard who thrives in uptempo situations,” reads an evaluation by Scout.com. “He gets up and down the court in a hurry and can either use his ball skills to create for himself or teammates. Williams can really shoot it off the bounce and does a nice job using his handle to create space. He can sometimes be shoot-first, but has the vision to make teammates better. He has good lateral quickness, which aids him on defense. His upside is very high.”

Williams attends Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif and also plays for the California Supreme, the same AAU team 2018 Arizona commit Shareef O’Neal is on.

“He’s got a tremendous feel for the game,” California Supreme head coach Russell White told AZ Desert Swarm in February. “His ability to see the floor. His ability to put the ball in the hoop are elite for his level. He has a knack for making plays at the right time.”

White continued, “He’s just a really good basketball player. He can score it, can pass it, (though he) will need to defend more at the next level, but that’s not abnormal.”

Williams unofficially visited Arizona on Oct. 26. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fall and missed the entire 2016-17 season.

“To my knowledge, no one has fallen off due to his injury,” White said. “He’s going to be really good wherever he ends up going. I would expect him to go in and contribute very early. He’s going to be really good and I have every confidence in that. He’s got things in his make-up that no coach can teach. Those things make him very valuable. He’s got a chance to be the best to come out of Crespi.”

Williams would join O’Neal and five-star prospect Emmanuel Akot in Arizona’s 2018 class.

Perhaps more importantly, he could be the point guard Arizona has been sorely lacking since T.J. McConnell’s departure after the 2014-15 season.

Here are some of Williams’ highlights:

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