Arizona's bid to get the top class of 2016 took a hit when no.9 TJ Leaf chose to turn back on his commitment.
Just as DeAndre Jordan reneged on his verbal agreement last month, college commitments are also not set in stone.
TJ Leaf, a 6-10 forward ranked no.9 in the ESPN 100 for 2016 previously committed for Arizona and coach Sean Miller. He is the first Wildcat recruit for that year. Now, he has decommitted and opened up recruiting.
Leaf chose Arizona because of their persistence. "They recruited me harder than anyone else in the country," Leaf told ESPN in November. "They showed me they wanted me really bad." However, that was not enough to make him stick.
The decision was made public through Twitter. The caption read: "This is definitely one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I have decided to decommit from Arizona and reopen my recruitment. The school and staff of Arizona have been great to me, and I have nothing but respect for Coach Miller and the entire staff and wish them nothing but the best. But at this point in my life I know it is best to explore my options and pursue other basketball opportunities."
The emphasis is on "basketball opportunities." SB Nation speculated on the reasons why Leaf changed his mind. One angle is because Arizona coach Sean Miller cut Leaf from the Team USA U19 squad which he also coaches.
Another more intriguing angle is that Leaf might choose to play overseas instead of play college ball. After being spurned by Miller, Leaf chose to play for Israel in the U18 European Championships. His father played pro ball in Israel and TJ was actually born there. The exposure to "a different basketball world" may have affected the younger Leaf's decision.
Of course, there's always the possibility that he will go to a different college