Xavier transfer Mark Lyons is officially headed to Arizona, he tweeted Sunday afternoon.
“Excited to be a wildcat!!!!!!!” the tweet reads.
Lyons left Xavier in April and it was rumored from the beginning that he could end up at Arizona.
Wildcat coach Sean Miller recruited Lyons while he was the head coach at Xavier, and Lyons will be able to play right away at Arizona, taking advantage of the NCAA’s one-year graduate transfer rule that allows players to play immediately at another institution as they pursue a graduate degree in a field not offered at their current school.
Lyons averaged 15.5 points and 3.4 rebounds this past season for the Musketeers as part of a strong backcourt that also included senior Tu Holloway.
The 6-1, 188-pound native of Schenectady, N.Y., fills a one-year need for Arizona, as they wait for Duquesne transfer TJ McConnell to become eligible.
Of the guards on the Arizona roster in 2011-12, point guard Josiah Turner transferred to Southern Methodist this off-season and Nick Johnson is more of a shooting guard than point guard.
Arizona is bringing in a Top 3 recruiting class in the country, in addition to Lyons, with the emphasis on size. Forwards Grant Jarrett, Matt Korcheck, and Brandon Ashley join center Kaleb Tarczewski in the frontcourt, and high-flying Gabe York comes in at the shooting guard position.
The Wildcats finished 23-12 this past season and lost in the first round of the NIT to Bucknell.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
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