Craig Victor, a 6-foot-8 power, 220-pound forward from New Orleans Elite and Findlay Prep, announced on Saturday he will attend Arizona.
Victor also considered LSU, Oklahoma State and Louisville.
“The opportunity, the school in general, the supporting cast, the fans, the brand of the school and the role I’d be in,” Victor told the Arizona Daily Star. “It’s just to be able to develop my skills so I can play in the NBA. That’s the main thing. Come in and compete with everybody.”
LSU was also an option thanks largely to assistant coach Korey McCray, but Arizona associate head coach Joe Pasternack has ties to New Orleans, having been the head coach there.
“He was a big factor,” Gregg Holmes of New Orleans Elite told SNY.tv of Pasternack. “If he was there, we don’t know if Arizona would have recruited him.”
Asked why Victor picked Arizona, Holmes added: “The possibility of playing early, the brand of Arizona and the coaching staff. And the will to compete at a major program.”
As for his upside, Holmes said: “He’s probably more of a mismatch at the four spot. He can take big guys outside and smaller guys he can take in the post. He’s goign to work real hard and he can pass the ball real well, too. He wasn’t selfish enough sometimes during the summer, but at the end of the day he made his teammates look better on our team.”
Victor is Arizona’s second pledge in 2014, following point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright.
