The Arizona Wildcats did something that no other Pac-12 team can claim—land two of their own in Sports Illustrated’s list of Top 50 players in college basketball.
Freshman point guard Nico Mannion squeaked in at No. 48 while fellow freshman Zeke Nnaji is ranked No. 30.
Mannion averaged 14.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, but shot 39 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3. Here is what SI’s Jeremy Woo wrote about him:
Although Mannion’s year wasn’t all that strong statistically, he finished second in the Pac-12 in assists and piloted Arizona to a solid season, passing the eye test as a leader and decision-maker.