'Superathletic' forward compared to Jefferson
Lute Olson has done it again in the recruiting business, nabbing yet another five-star recruit last night when 6-foot-7, 205-pound small forward Jamelle Horne committed to the Arizona basketball team.
Horne, a class of 2007 recruit from San Diego Senior High School in San Diego is ranked No. 22 by high school recruiting service www.rivals.com and joins 7-foot center Alex Jacobson and 6-foot-3 guard Jerryd Bayless in the 2007 class.
"His primary reason for committing was Lute Olson showed an uncanny commitment to my son," said Johnny Horne, Jamelle's father.
Jamelle also considered Louisville, Georgia Tech and North Carolina before he made his decision. One of the deciding factors was Olson showing up at the gym at 7:30 in the morning for one of Horne's games in Las Vegas, the younger Horne said.
Horne and Bayless became friends after being introduced by Amateur Athletic Union coach Etop Udo-Ema, who coached both players with the Compton Magic. Horne said he and Bayless hung out and got to know each other very well from seeing each other often on the AAU circuit.
"That played a huge part in my decision," said Horne of playing at Arizona with Bayless.
"He knows the two guys he's going to war with," Udo-Ema said, referring also to class of 2006 signee Chase Budinger.
Udo-Ema compared Horne to former Arizona star and current New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson, saying that Horne was "superathletic."
"He's not as physically strong but maybe a better shooter than when Richard first came in," Udo-Ema said.
Although it is still more than a year away, Horne said he has some goals in mind for when he sets foot on campus.
Horne lists "starting and making a huge contribution as soon as I get there," as his primary goals when he arrives at Arizona.
Horne said assistant coach Josh Pastner was his leading recruiter along with Olson. Pastner could not comment on the commitment due to NCAA rules.
Weekend notes
Freshman guard J.P. Prince did not play against Oregon because of a right leg injury, which happened when he stepped on someone's foot in the Oregon State game, according to Rosborough.
"We possibly have had a little better news on him today, but I don't know that for certain, Rosborough said. "His prognosis may be a little bit better than what we thought, so it may be sooner than later."
Hassan's got the blues
Arizona wore their blue jerseys against Oregon State for the first time this season at the request of senior guard Hassan Adams and senior forward Isaiah Fox, Rosborough said.
"We wore the reds Saturday with the same result," Rosborough said.
"We will see game-to-game," he added. "We have all three uniforms, so we'll see what they want to wear."