Arizona Basketball: Brandon Ashley Pushes 2012 Recruiting Class to No. 1 Slot

Brandon Ashley is already a Derrick Williams clone.

Now Ashley, a 6'8" native of Oakland, California, will be moving into Williams' old gear, deciding earlier this week that he will play for Sean Miller at Arizona in 2012, according to the Arizona Daily Star and ESPN.

Here's what Ashley told ESPN after making his choice:

"

"I'm ready to commit to Arizona," Ashley said. "After all the time thinking about it and getting to know Coach Miller and having two great teammates, (fellow 2012 commits Grant Jerrett and Gabe York) I knew it was the right choice for me."

"

According to ESPN's recruiting rankings, Ashley is the No. 4-ranked player in the country for 2012, joining Jerrett, another top-10 talent, and York to form what is currently listed as the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation by several sources.

There was a gang of competitors for the Findlay Prep star, including John Calipari at Kentucky and Ben Howland at UCLA.

But it was Miller's unrelenting style, showing up at every turn while still making Ashley feel at ease, that finally won over the five-star forward.

Here's what Ashley's AAU coach, Mark Oliver, told Scout.com's Josh Gershon about the prep phenom:

""Number one is he vibes with Sean Miller; Sean can really talk to him. The comfort he felt with Sean was incredible. He felt very comfortable. Number two is that he has a great relationship with Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson. I think the direction of the program also has a lot to do with it. When you finish in the final eight, your program is on the swing. That always helps, no question.""

An explosive athlete with healthy range on his jumper and tenacious shot-blocking ability, Ashley is a combo-forward of the top caliber, a projected lottery pick and the highest profile recruit of Sean Miller's time at Arizona.

Ashley's decision puts yet another exclamation point on Miller's immediate resurrection of Arizona. It also adds a sense of relief to the Wildcats' faithful worried about him returning to his East Coast roots.

How could he ever leave this class hanging? 

It also proves just how quickly Miller has regained his ground as the talk of Tucson. 

Panic set in back in May with the flurry of rumors regarding Miller's interest in the Maryland program, making for one of the longest weekend's in program history.

Ultimately, Miller decided that staying in Tucson at Arizona was the premier route to take to the national championship, leaving Maryland coach-less.

The fear at the time was that, by just inferring his interest in possibly moving east, Miller hurt his own recruiting profile at Arizona.

Consider those fears unfounded.

Miller appears to be Tucson-bound for the long haul, and now Brandon Ashley is on his way, too.

Arizona, a surprise Elite Eight squad last year (losing to eventual champ UConn in the final seconds), is on a dramatic upward trajectory.

All is well in the desert.