Nico Mannion, the 11th-ranked overall prospect in the ESPN 100, announced his verbal commitment to Arizona on Friday afternoon.
Why he committed: Mannion initially was in the Class of 2020 but finalized over the summer his long-anticipated plans to reclassify to 2019. In a national class that is lacking depth at point guard, that decision made him an even bigger priority for the numerous high-major schools pursuing him. He trimmed his list to 10 just prior to the July recruiting period and named a final four of Duke, Villanova, Marquette and Arizona in early August. Ultimately, it came down to Marquette and Arizona, with Sean Miller and assistant coach Mark Phelps getting across the finish line first by selling the immediate opportunity, chance to stay close to home and plans for a more up-tempo system.