The Arizona Wildcats were hoping to have one of the best recruiting classes going into the 2016-17 season, but it just took a huge blow. The team announced on Thursday that five-star shooting guard Terrance Ferguson will skip college and play professionally.
Reports of him possibly skipping school this to play one year of professional basketball overseas before heading to the NBA Draft next year surfaced earlier this month. Jeff Eisenberg reported that the school had confirmed those reports on Thursday.
Arizona confirms five-star shooting guard Terrance Ferguson will pursue professional opportunities instead of playing for the Wildcats.
— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) June 30, 2016
“Terrance Ferguson informed me earlier this week that he has decided to pursue professional opportunities instead of attending the University of Arizona this fall,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said in a statement. “I hope this next chapter of his basketball career goes well, and his goal of one day becoming an NBA player is realized.”
Australian reporter Olgon Uluc later reported that Ferguson will join the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s NBL.
It's official. Terrance Ferguson has chosen not to attend the University of Arizona. He'll join the Adelaide 36ers in Australia's NBL
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) June 30, 2016
Ferguson follows the footsteps of Emmanuel Mudiay, who had eligibility concerns with the SMU Mustangs before playing China and being drafted in the top ten of the 2015 NBA Draft, and Brandon Jennings, who spurned Arizona in 2008 to play a year in Italy before being drafted tenth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
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