Several transfers leave Arizona out of consideration

The Arizona Wildcats have expressed interest in several transfers as soon as the offseason started, but evidently most of attention isn’t mutual.

Several of UA’s targets have already ruled the Wildcats out of consideration. Here is the breakdown:

• South Dakota State wing David Jenkins is down to Gonzaga, Memphis, Oregon, UCLA, UNLV and Washington State or returning to SDSU.
• William & Mary forward Justin Pierce is down to Michigan, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
• Utah Valley guard Jake Toolson is down to Arizona State, Duke, Stanford, Utah State and Virginia
• Charleston Southern wing Christian Keeling is down to Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, North Carolina and Purdue.
• Little Rock guard Rayjon Tucker is down to Arkansas, Auburn, Iowa State, Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.
• Valparaiso center Derrik Smits is down to Arizona State, Butler and NC State.

One likely reason for this is Arizona does not actually have room to add a transfer at the moment.

The Wildcats, right at the 13-scholarship limit, need to clear a scholarship player in order to add one. Surprisingly the only player movement they have had is Brandon Randolph declaring for the NBA Draft.

And technically he can still return to school — he has until May 29 to remove his name from the draft — so Arizona can’t ambitiously try to fill his spot until he makes a final decision.

Moreover, the Wildcats can’t guarantee big minutes to any of these transfers. Nico Mannion, Brandon Williams and Josh Green will comprise the backcourt next season while Chase Jeter, at least as it stands now, will be the starting center.

At power forward there is a logjam with Zeke Nnaji, Stone Gettings and Ira Lee.

Arizona may still add a transfer like UC Irvine’s Max Hazzard into the mix, but it appears as if UA’s roster won’t undergo as much turnover as previously thought.

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