Joson Sanon, the No. 9-ranked recruit in the Class of 2025, told ESPN he has committed to Arizona.
"I'm going to Arizona," Sanon said Wednesday. "I love the fit, the way they score, how they get you open. They play at a fast pace, and being in the center of a high-powered offense was attractive. I wanted to get locked in before things really get going with the transfer portal."
Sanon says he picked the Wildcats from a list of schools that included Kentucky, Kansas, UConn, Louisville, Indiana and others.
Sanon plans to graduate high school this summer and reclassify to 2024, which will make him eligible to enroll in college immediately and give him the option to enter the 2025 NBA draft. He was projected as the 2025 draft's No. 28 prospect in a mock draft released on ESPN last month.
Sanon, a 6-foot-5 wing who plays at Vermont Academy, is considered one of the best shooters and overall scorers in the high school game. He helped his team win the NEPSAC AAA championship two weeks ago, which he said contributed to his decision.
"I had a couple of benchmarks for this season that would help me decide if I'm ready to graduate high school early," Sanon said. "I wanted to win a championship, lead a team, be a primary scorer, and really lock in defensively. I'm physically strong enough for college. The next step is learning how to think the game better and adding to what I already do."
Sanon, who is from Fall River, Massachusetts, is the son of Haitian parents who emigrated to the US in the late 1990s. He says he is hoping to join Arizona alumnus Bennedict Mathurin as the second Haitian player in the NBA.
The Wildcats went 25-8 this season and are the No. 2 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament, playing their first game versus No. 15 Long Beach State in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Sanon joins top-20 recruit Carter Bryant as the headliners of its 2024 class, as well as No. 34 prospect Jamari Phillips and No. 89 prospect Emmanuel Stephen.
Arizona is expected to retain much of its young core, but are likely to lose its top four scorers in All-Conference standouts Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, and Oumar Ballo to graduation, as well as Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love.