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Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker has received a waiver to play immediately for Arizona this season, the school announced on Thursday. "We are excited to have Jemarl Baker eligible to play this season," the school tweeted. "We would like to thank the NCAA for their consideration of Jemarl's unique situation, and we appreciate the University of Kentucky's support throughout this process." Baker, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from California, committed to Arizona in May after entering the transfer portal in April. He had an injury-riddled two seasons at Kentucky, redshirting his freshman season after undergoing knee surgery, then missed the first nine games of the 2018-19 season while recovering. He ended up playing just over nine minutes per game during the final 28 games of the season, averaging 2.3 points and providing perimeter depth. Coming out of high school, Baker was considered one of the better perimeter shooters in the class and was ranked as an ESPN 100 prospect in the 2017 class. Baker is yet another newcomer for Sean Miller to lean on this season. Miller and the Wildcats bring in top-10 recruits Nico Mannion and Josh Green, while UC Irvine graduate transfer Max Hazzard is also expected to play a major role on the perimeter. Up front, top-50 recruit Zeke Nnaji is the key newcomer. Arizona, ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP poll, opens its season next Wednesday against Northern Arizona.
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