Joson Sanon, the No. 9 recruit in the class of 2025, told ESPN that he has committed to Arizona.
“I'm going to Arizona,” Sanon said Wednesday. “I love the fit, the way they score, how they open you up. They play at a fast pace and being in the center of a powerful offense was attractive. I wanted to focus before things really got going.” the transfer portal.”
Sanon says he chose the Wildcats from a list of schools that included Kentucky, Kansas, UConn, Louisville, Indiana and others.
Sanon plans to graduate from high school this summer and reclassify by 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 No. 28 prospect in the draft. 2025 in a mock draft published by ESPN last month.
Sanon, a 6-foot-5 wing who plays at Vermont Academy, is considered one of the best overall shooters and 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 the leading scorer and really secure myself defensively. I'm physically strong enough for college. The next step is to learn to think the game better and expand on what I already do.”
Sanon, originally from Fall River, Massachusetts, is the son of Haitian parents who immigrated to the United States in the late 1990s. He says he hopes to join Arizona alum 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 against No. 15 Long Beach State in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Sanon joins top-20 recruit Carter Bryant as headliners of his 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 is likely to lose its top four scorers, all-conference standouts Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson and Oumar Ballo, to graduation, as well as Pac Player of the Year -12, Caleb Love.
