Opening night may be a little over a week away, but the UA men's basketball squad has taken steps to ensure the quality of its roster for the years to come.
Arizona inked its third player since the opening of the early signing period on Wednesday, Mohamed Tanagra, to a national letter-of-intent, head coach Lute Olson announced Saturday.
Tangara will join the Wildcats starting in the 2004-05 season. At 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, the native of Mali, Africa will add much-needed height for the Wildcats in the paint.
Tangara will join the Wildcats after he finishes his career at Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., where he averaged 18.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game last year.
"Mohamed is a warrior on the boards who takes pride in doing the little things," Olson said. "He is a person of outstanding character and we are pleased to have him join our program."
Ranked as high as the No. 11 high school player in the country, according to a recent theinsiderhoops.com poll, Tangara chose Arizona over several suitors, including Louisville, Michigan and Miami.
It will be Olson's job to mold the hulking center from a raw, athletic talent and transform his game from the low post, as well as to teach him to move without the ball.
Tangara will have company when he arrives in Tucson next August. On Wednesday, Arizona landed two high school standouts, as Jawann McClellan and Daniel Dillon will join Tangara in shaping Arizona basketball's future. McClellan, playing out of Charles H. Milby High School in Houston, becomes the sixth Texan to join the Wildcats during Olson's 21-year tenure as Arizona head coach.
"Jawann has always wanted to be a Wildcat and he showed a tremendous amount of loyalty to the program throughout the recruiting process," said Josh Pastner, UA assistant coach and fellow Lone Star State native.
Possessing excellent speed and shooting ability, the 6-foot-5 McClellan averaged 22.0 points and 5.6 rebounds during his junior season at Milby. Olson's job of recruiting McClellan was made easier when he orally committed to Arizona in August of 2002 during his sophomore season.
Arizona was an easy choice for Dillon as well. The 6-foot-4 guard from Hampton, Victoria, Australia has been wearing UA apparel since he was 6 years old, Olson joked after Wednesday's season-opening scrimmage against the Sydney Comets. Coming to the Wildcats from North Laurel High School in London, Ky., Dillon scored 13.4 points per game, averaged 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 steals in Australia's 18-and-under national championships last summer.
Dillon, who slipped under the radar of most schools during the recruiting season, should bring versatility to the Wildcats at the guard position.
"Daniel is a very skilled ball handler with the ability to play both guard positions," Pastner said. "He is tough mentally and fits very well into our up-tempo system."