Sean Miller is building a title contender in Arizona

It hasn't taken long for Sean Miller to rebuild the Arizona program.

And rest assured, the program needed rebuilding.

After stepping in as the Wildcat's fourth coach in the span of four seasons in 2009, Miller was at the helm when Arizona missed the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the first time that had happened since 1984. It wasn't exactly the way that Miller envisioned starting off his tenure in Tucson, but the struggles didn't last long. As Derrick Williams quickly morphed from a freshmen all-american into a first-team all-american, Arizona turned into a legitimate Final Four contender, blowing out top seeded Duke as the Wildcats came two missed threes from the Final Four.


Postseason success -- and Pac-10 title -- aside, I'm still of the mindset that Arizona's 2010-2011 season was more the result of Miller's lucky break landing Williams, a three-star recruit that slipped through the cracks to Arizona, than of Miller's prowess in repairing the program. He has, however, laid a terrific foundation for the future. The Wildcats will have an intriguing blend of talented youngsters and experienced veterans next years, mixing veteran leaders like Kyle Fogg, Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom with a loaded recruiting class -- PG Josiah Turner (12th in our consensus recruiting rankings), SG Nick Johnson (23rd), F Angelo Chol (58th) and F Sidiki Johnson (85th).

If you think Miller's effort on the recruiting trail was impressive for the Class of 2011, the Class of 2012 is even better. With F Grant Jerrett (29th in our consensus recruiting rankings) and G Gabe York (32nd) already committed, Miller landed his best recruit to date on Monday afternoon, earning a commitment from Brandon Ashley, a talented power forward that currently is sitting at sixth in the consensus recruiting rankings.

And Miller is still heavily involved with Kaleb Tarczewski, another top ten player in the Class of 2012.

Arizona has a chance to win the inaugural Pac-12 title this season, but the real damage they will do is in 2012-2013. This may not mean much to those of you that don't follow recruiting heavily, but take a look at Arizona's (projected) depth chart for the start of the 2012 season

- G: Josiah Turner
- G: Nick Johnson
- F: Kevin Parrom
- F: Brandon Ashley
- C: Angelo Chol
- Bench: Jordin Mayes, Gabe York, Solomon Hill, Sidiki Johnson, Grant Jerrett

And, again, that doesn't include a top ten recruit Miller still has a shot of landing.

That's a program with size, athleticism, a high-powered back court attack and impressive depth. Barring any sudden changes -- players decommitting or transferring, someone getting injured, etc. -- Arizona will be one of the favorites to win the 2013 National Title.

That's an impressive jump for a team that missed the 2010 NCAA Tournament.


Since Brandon Ashley is the guy that committed today, here is a video of him: