Douglas Says He’s Headed to Arizona

Ruben Douglas of Bell-Jeff High, the region’s top boys’ basketball recruit, announced Tuesday he has committed to Arizona.

Douglas, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, selected the defending national champion Wildcats over Kentucky, New Mexico, Syracuse and Oregon.

He made his decision after visiting the Tucson campus over the weekend and speaking by telephone with Arizona Coach Lute Olson Monday night.

“I liked every aspect of it,” Douglas said. “My parents and I had a list of things we were looking for: the need for a player at my position, playing time, closeness to home. Arizona fit the description.”

A two-time All-Southern Section Division IV selection, Douglas earned All-State Division IV and Times’ All-Valley honors last season when he was third in scoring among high school players in the region with an average of 26.6 points per game. He averaged 3.9 steals, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Douglas has been Santa Fe League player of the year in each of the past two seasons and led the Guards to consecutive league titles.

“I’ve always thought he was of the caliber that could play in the Pac-10,” Bell-Jeff Coach Eli Essa said. “He’s a much better prospect for the next level and beyond than anyone I’ve ever coached.”

Essa coached Arthur Lee, Damon Ollie and Dana Jones when he was an assistant at North Hollywood.

Lee, a Stanford junior, is expected to start at point guard for the Cardinal this season. Jones is Pepperdine’s all-time leading rebounder and was 1993 West Coast Conference player of the year. Ollie will be a senior at Montana State.

Most recruiting publications list Douglas among the top-30 high school seniors in the nation. One had him ninth. He is considered the No. 2 recruit in Southern California, behind Tayshaun Prince of Compton Dominguez.

Douglas, who has a 3.2 grade point average, also visited New Mexico and Oregon. He canceled visits to Syracuse and Kentucky after deciding on Arizona.

He made unofficial visits to UCLA, USC and Pepperdine.

“Now the pressure is going to get worse,” Douglas said. “The other coaches are going to try and pressure me to get out of that decision. But unless something big happens like the coach gets fired or they get put on probation, I’m going to stick with the decision.”

The early signing period officially begins November 12.