Abdul Gaddy: It came down to the people at UA.

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For Abdul Gaddy, it all came down to people.

Not just Arizona Wildcats coach Lute Olson, but also Olson's new assistant coaches and players, all of whom prompted the highly touted point guard from Tacoma, Wash., to recommit on Monday after re-opening his recruitment in May.

Gaddy said it was not the fact that UCLA, his other finalist, was loaded with guards that could compromise his playing time. "The way they play, they can use three guards, so that wasn't a problem," Gaddy said Tuesday.

Nor, said Gaddy, was it the fact that UCLA coach Ben Howland runs a more deliberate, defensive style than Olson does. "I can play either way," Gaddy said. "Arizona's still going to run with Coach Olson, but they're going to play more defense with (assistant coach) Mike Dunlap, so I like that."

Still, Gaddy said he went down to the wire with his decision. He visited UCLA the weekend of Sept. 5-7 and said the Bruins were leading … until he then visited Tucson last weekend along with his mother.

"It was really close," Gaddy said. "Really close. But I knew if the two tied, I'd go to Arizona because that's always been my dream school."

His decision immediately gave Arizona a considerably stronger class than it appeared the Wildcats would be able to assemble over the summer.

By midsummer, in the wake of Olson's leave of absence and wholesale staff changes, 2008 recruits Emmanuel Negedu (Tennessee) and Brandon Jennings (Italy) had bailed on their UA letters of intent, and Gaddy and Greg Smith had decommitted from the class of 2009.

"It's pretty incredible when you consider where Arizona was three or four months ago," said Clark Francis, publisher of the Hoop Scoop recruiting service. "There was major cause for concern at that point. Greg Smith isn't that good, so that was no big deal. But losing Brandon Jennings to Europe … I thought that was a major disaster.

"The (UA) assistants ought to get raises for what they've done in a short amount of time. I don't know if they'll win this year — probably not — but if you keep Gaddy around and get some more players they'll be pretty darn good."

Gaddy's first duty as a recruiting magnet: getting a big man to round out the class of 2009, preferably Southern California's Anthony Stover. The Wildcats have 14 players so far in the 2009 class, one over the scholarship limit, but are expected to lose Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill to professional basketball next spring and thus seek one more player for 2009.

Hill's departure could also leave a major gap in the post. The Wildcats currently have five post players on their roster, counting new addition Darnell Shumpert, but are expected to lose senior Fendi Onobun (senior) and Hill next spring.

Gaddy "has a chance to be a pied piper for them," said Dave Telep, Scout.com's national recruiting analyst. "You hope not only that he wins but that he also brings a couple of other guys."

As of now, Telep and Rivals.com analyst Jerry Meyer said, the Wildcats have one of the top classes nationally in 2009. But both of them cautioned that there are many top prospects still undecided, meaning Arizona could move down the rankings — unless the Wildcats can snag a marquee player for a fifth spot.

"It's a good class, in the top five nationally, but that doesn't mean it's going to stay there," Meyer said. "To make this class a great class, when you look at Arizona, they really need a physical big man. But they do have two skilled and multidimensional forwards in (Solomon) Hill and (Mike) Moser, plus Gaddy's a premier point guard."

Hill and Moser are both forwards, though Moser, 6 feet 8 inches tall, is the more likely candidate to play inside if needed; analysts say Hill is best at taking advantage of mismatches on the wing.

Moser is "two inches taller than Hill, and he's got the length and athleticism to guard fours (power forwards)," said Greg Hicks, Scout.com's West Coast analyst. "He's one of those guys who can play both three and four."