Abdul Gaddy Considering UCLA or Washington

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Top 10 point guard Abdul Gaddy turned out the lights on the Arizona Wildcats' fall 2009 recruiting class over the weekend, decommitting for a second and probably final time.

It will be up to a new basketball coach to find any interested talent remaining in the spring 2009 signing period and catch up on a 2010 class that is already making decisions.

The Wildcats will have a maximum of nine returning scholarship players next season, less any transfers, if wing Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill turn professional as expected. Only two of those nine, guard Nic Wise and forward Jamelle Horne, have significant experience entering this season.

Arizona now has zero players lined up to sign binding letters of intent during the November signing period, when the vast majority of high school seniors sign, after forwards Mike Moser and Solomon Hill quickly decommitted last week in the wake of coach Lute Olson's abrupt resignation.

Abdul Gaddy Sr. said his family opted to wait for a few days to assess where Arizona was going, then his son told UA interim head coach Russ Pennell on Saturday that he was re-opening his recruitment. He said his son, who was unavailable for comment, now would likely decide between UCLA and Washington.

"We just kind of sat back and watched it," Gaddy Sr. said. "It seemed like they didn't know what direction they were going to be going in. There was nothing concrete there."

Gaddy, of Tacoma, Wash., decommitted in May after Olson put in an all-new staff, then recommitted in September after building new relationships, especially with assistant coach Reggie Geary. Gaddy Sr. said Pennell asked them to consider the fact that Arizona would be hiring a new coach in the spring but that did not sway him.

"That's something coach Pennell brought up but I think it's unfortunate with everything that happened during the first go-round and second," Gaddy said. "Now we're looking at (the possibility of committing) a third time, and there's just too much instability. At this time, it's better for both parties to move on."

Although UA coaches cannot discuss specific recruits until their letters of intent have been signed, Pennell said he would continue to recruit this season.

"I think it's important that we keep after the recruits that we have been on," Pennell said. "Obviously, when you recruit, assistant coaches have strong relationships with kids. Although they want to know who the next coach is going to be, the thing that separates this program from others is the tradition of Arizona. Whoever is in this job next year is going to be a good coach."

Associate head coach Mike Dunlap, who won two Division II national titles at Denver's Metro State, said the UA has a lot to keep selling recruits.

"One is the heritage and tradition of the program," Dunlap said. "Two is the institution in and of itself. Three, this institution has a history of making good decisions with their picks … (without that hiring) history then there may be a concern. In other words, trust that the institution will do what's best for the institution. And that's pretty powerful."

At a news conference Friday to announce Pennell's appointment to the interim job, UA athletic director Jim Livengood said it would be "dangerous" to assume or assess what effect Olson's decision would have on 2009 and 2010 recruits. HoopScoop recruiting analyst Clark Francis said the UA is now in the "worst possible scenario" and Scout.com's Dave Telep offered similar analysis.

"This is a situation where the next couple of years are going to be treacherous," Telep said.

Whatever the case, Livengood said, it was important to focus on what the UA can control.

"In this particular situation, I don't think I'm ready to give up," Livengood said. "I don't think Russ is, and Mike is, and Reggie is. … Would we all like it if it were different in terms of those kinds of things? Absolutely. But that's not the way it is."