13 HRS AGO - Courtesy 247Sports The Arizona Wildcats may be on the cusp of landing their first commitment of the 2021 class. K.J. Simpson, a 4-star guard from California, is set to announce his decision on Saturday and it appears the UA is the frontrunner. Or at least that’s how it looks to a pair of Rivals.com Futurecast predictions, which have listed Arizona as Simpson’s choice on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Simpson is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 111 player in the 2021 class, as well as the seventh-best combo guard and the No. 7 prospect from California. From West Hills, Calif., he plays for Chaminade High School and AAU program West Coast Elite, the latter of which recent Wildcat freshmen standouts Nico Mannion and Josh Green played for. Here’s what 247 Sports national recruiting expert Josh Gershon had to say about Simpson, who also holds offers from ASU, Cal, Colorado, Georgia Tech, USC and Washington State: Simpson is an athletic combo guard with okay size but good length and Collapse

21 HRS AGO - Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Will the Pac-12 find a way to play football early next year, after deciding it couldn’t safely do so this fall? That process will determine how much of a financial hit the athletic department takes from the postponement of all sports through the remainder of 2020, a deficit that could be as high as $65 million according to Arizona Wildcats athletic director Dave Heeke. “Without football, we’re estimating a $60 to $65 million impact in revenue loss,” Heeke said Friday on a Zoom press conference. “The financial implications are pretty significant.” Heeke said Arizona’s projected 2020-21 athletic budget is about $94 million. The most recent U.S. Department of Education numbers, from the 2018-19 academic year, showed football produced $43.3 million in revenue with a large chunk of that coming from media rights, while it had $23.3 million in expenses. Arizona received more than $32 million from the Pac-12 after the 2018-19 season, Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Photo courtesy Oregon State Athletics Mark your calendars for Sept. 9! That’s the day Arizona Wildcats target Ben Gregg will announce his college decision. (It’s also his mother’s birthday.) The four-star forward from Clackamas, Oregon is considering 17 schools, the logos of which you can see in this graphic below: I will be committing on my moms birthday. She’s always been my biggest fan, and I couldn’t think of a better way to thank her for all she’s done for me❤️ pic.twitter.com/CtOV00TsbE— ben gregg (@bengregg20) August 13, 2020 Gregg is the No. 59 player in the 2021 class and No. 2 player in Oregon. The No. 1 player in Oregon is Nathan Bittle, who the Wildcats are likely battling the Oregon Ducks for. Gregg beat out Bittle for the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year award after averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his junior season at Clackamas High School. Gregg recently told The Oregonian that Arizona is one of the schools that contacts him the Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images We ran another Twitter poll Tuesday asking our followers if the Pac-12 made the right decision postponing all sports until January 2021. The results were basically 50/50, with “no” having a slight lead. Here’s what our staff members think. Kim Doss: I have no problem with the postponing of fall sports. I think there are too many unknowns, too many concerns about testing turnaround, too many cases to do the amount of traveling necessary right now. That’s especially true in women’s sports where they almost always fly commercial. Last year, Arizona Volleyball had exactly one charter flight—on the Oregon trip when football was also up in that state. They sometimes stayed overnight in Phoenix to fly out early in the morning because it was cheaper. How do you do that with so many unknowns? I am less certain about the decision to call off the beginning of the basketball season at this point. I think we have too much time to see how Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images A little under a year ago, Jason Gardner resigned as the head coach at IUPUI after being arrested for drunk driving. Now he’s getting a fresh start at his old stomping grounds. On Wednesday, the former Arizona Wildcats point guard was approved as the new boys basketball coach at North Central High School in Indianapolis, where he won a state championship in 1999 on his way to be named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. Gardner said in an interview with The Indy Star that he has spent the last year reflecting on his mistakes at IUPUI, and is excited to be back in coaching, especially at his alma mater, where he said he’s “always wanted to coach.” “It was something that I didn’t shy away from. It was a mistake that I made, but at the same time, I’m past it,” Gardner said. “That was almost a year ago now and I’m ready to get back at it. I miss being on that sideline and being there for the kids. It was tough. You build your name up and Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Jada Talley | Photo by Ryan Kelapire The Pac-12 announced Tuesday that fall sports have been postponed until at least Jan. 2021. Here’s how that decision affects the Arizona Wildcats soccer team. More time for the freshmen to adjust The Wildcats have 13 freshmen, the largest class in the Tony Amato era. Normally, newbies only get a month of summer workouts and two weeks of practice before their first games, leaving many unprepared to contribute at a high level by the time the season opener rolls around. Now? If the season starts in January, the freshmen will have five months and an entire semester to get acclimated before their debuts. That’s great considering Arizona lost five starters from last season and will need some of its newcomers to produce immediately if it’s going to reach the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year. A smoother transition for the new assistant coach Last I heard, Arizona soccer is expected to hire its new assistant coach by the end of August. Had the Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - On the same day the Pac-12 postponed the 2020 football season, the Arizona Wildcats managed to get some good news. Three-star wide receiver Kyion Grayes, one of the best prospects in the state, announced his commitment to the Cats on Tuesday, becoming the first member of the 2022 class. Grayes is a 6-foot-1 wide receiver from Chandler High School. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 6 player in Arizona. He also had offers from Michigan State, UCLA, ASU, Miami (FL), Oregon State, Kansas and Iowa State, but cited a desire to stay close to home due to coronavirus pandemic. Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future“. Let’s get it done #BearDown ⬇️ @CoachSumlin @TaylorMazzone1 @GarretsonRick @HIT4ATHLETES @NzoneFootball pic.twitter.com/a9nPMWjlG6— Kyion Grayes II (@k2gocrazy) August 12, 2020 In 2019, Grayes led Chandler in receptions (43) and yards (805). Here are his sophomore Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images There will be no college football in 2020, at least in the Pac-12, after the conference announced Tuesday it was postponing all competition through the remainder of the year. Plenty of Arizona Wildcats players have taken to social media to express their opinions on the decision, and head coach Kevin Sumlin has also weighed in on Twitter: Although our football program is disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to compete this fall, we know that this decision was made in the best interests of the health and safety of our student-athletes. I hurt for the young men and coaches in our football program who have devoted their lives to the game. But we will persevere and support our student-athletes and be ready for when we are able to compete again. I am extremely proud of how our entire staff, and most importantly, our student-athletes have handled—and will continue to handle—the ever-changing dynamics of 2020. We are grateful for the Collapse