One of the top prospects in the Class of 2016 is no longer an Arizona Wildcat. TJ Leaf announced on Thursday that he was reopening his recruitment after committing to Arizona last year.
Thank you to Arizona for the opportunity to play for an outstanding program but I've decided to reopen my recruitment pic.twitter.com/YMynXuhD6o
— TJ Leaf (@Tyleaf_22) August 7, 2015
According to 24/7 Sports, which ranks Leaf 11th in its composite ranking, the 6-9 California native held offers from 19 schools, including UCLA, Duke and Florida.
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Leaf went public with his decision to decommit and praised Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff for their recruitment of him.
“This is definitely one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I have decided to decommit from Arizona and reopen my recruitment,” the tweet read. “The school and staff of Arizona have been great to me, and I have nothing but respect for Coach Miller and the entire staff and wish them nothing but the best. But at this point in my life I know it is best to explore my options and pursue other basketball opportunities.”
Leaf spent the past couple of weeks playing for the Israeli national team during the U18 European Championships, winning MVP honors after averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in nine games.
