Arizona Basketball's Coveted Recruit Discusses His Official Visit to Campus
Arizona Wildcats fans everywhere are firmly plugged into what is happening on the football field after it looks like that program can build upon what they did last season and compete for a Big 12 title based on the strength of their offense.
It helps they have an exciting product, led by last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at quarterback and all-world wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan who already made program history and put himself in the record books as a member of Arizona's new conference during their first game of the campaign.
But as the football season rolls on, basketball is right around the corner.
Like on the gridiron, the Wildcats are firmly expecting to compete for hardware on the court, something that has become commonplace in the three years since Tommy Lloyd took over as head coach.
To take this program to the next level nationally, though, he and his staff have to start recruiting at a higher level than they have been since he arrived in Tucson.
This is a huge cycle for Arizona, as they are targeting multiple high-profile prospects in this class and seem to be in the running to land multiple.
One player who was on campus during Labor Day weekend was four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia.
Listed as the No. 29 player in the 2025 class per On3's Industry Ranking, the 6-foot-8 California native has already had a decorated amateur career by being a starter on the gold medal-winning USA U18 team in the FIBA Americas Championships, and earning MVP honors of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup this summer.
He spoke with Jamie Shaw of On3 about his official visit to Arizona.
"I got to see their culture and the day-to-day at their school. They are a big family and they focus on development. They have plans off and on the court for all of their players and how to help them improve day in and day out," he said as a takeaway.
Khamenia has a preexisting relationship with Lloyd from his time with USA Basketball, as he's the head coach of the U18 team that won gold.
"Being able to play for coach already – and a part of his staff – I got a feel for what he is about. He was the same exact way with his players and he builds a relationship with all his players. Everyone on the staff is easygoing and they are all a big reason for the program’s success," he said when looking at things in terms of college basketball.
Arizona was recently part of his top five schools list, joining Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina and UCLA.
He's already taken a trip to Gonzaga, and coming off his official visit to Tucson, he turned around and went to North Carolina this weekend. He'll then head to Duke on Sept. 13, and then UCLA on Oct. 4.
BRAD WAKAI