Terrance Ferguson to Arizona: Wildcats Land 5-Star SG Prospect

The Arizona Wildcats were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament this season, but their immediate future became much brighter Wednesday.

According to Evan Daniels of Scout.com, shooting guard prospect Terrance Ferguson has joined Arizona’s 2016 recruiting class. The 6’7” and 180-pound Ferguson is a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Ferguson is the No. 15 overall player, No. 2 shooting guard and No. 2 player in the state of Texas in the 2016 class, per 247Sports. The Dallas native was originally a verbal commit for Alabama, but he reopened his recruitment on March 1. Daniels noted his six finalists were Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

The quality of schools on that list are a testament to Ferguson’s talent, but he was impressed with Arizona coach Sean Miller and his style of play, per Daniels: “I have a lot of trust in Coach Miller. He coached me at USA. He believed in me. He played me in the right style. They play the same style, run and gun. I love the style of play and just I love Coach Miller as a coach.”

Ferguson will slide into that uptempo offense he described as a dangerous three-point shooter. He also uses his athleticism to attack the basket off the dribble and defend quicker ball-handlers. However, it is that shooting that will likely immediately endear him to Arizona fans during his freshman campaign.

Ferguson joins an already loaded recruiting class at Arizona. The Wildcats were the No. 3 class in the country on Wednesday, per 247Sports, and he isn’t even the only 5-star prospect. Kobi Simmons, Rawle Alkins and Lauri Markkanen are also all 5-star prospects, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Simmons is a combo guard and Alkins a shooting guard, which means the Wildcats will be stocked with young talent in the backcourt next season. That’s not even including the fact Allonzo Trier elected to return to school for his sophomore season and Ray Smith will be coming back from an injury.

It is not all guards, though, as Markkanen is a power forward who will give Arizona a rebounding presence down low.

Bleacher Report’s C.J. Moore ranked the Wildcats No. 14 in his preseason rankings, and that was before the addition of the sharp-shooting Ferguson. This will be a young team in Arizona, but the talent is in place to challenge for a Pac-12 crown after a disappointing postseason exit in 2015-16.

Ferguson makes the Wildcats all the more dangerous.