Shortly after Caleb Love made it official that he was coming back to Arizona for another season, Joson Sanon quote-tweeted his excitement at that news about his potential future teammate.
And then less than 20 minutes later decided to play for that school up north.
Sanon, a 5-star guard in the 2025 recruiting class who is expected to reclassify to 2024, flipped his commitment from Arizona to ASU on Wednesday. In doing so, he added another layer to the in-state rivalry and some extra spice to both teams’ first season together in the Big 12 Conference.
he 6-foot-5 Sanon, ranked by 247Sports as the 24th-best prospect in the country, had committed to the UA in March on the morning of the Wildcats’ first-round NCAA Tournament win over Long Beach State. A lot has changed since then, and the makeup of the UA’s roster for 2024-25 no doubt played a role in Sanon’s choice to back off his pledge.
Arizona officially learned Wednesday that Love, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, was coming back for a second year in Tucson after withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Guard KJ Lewis had previously done so, and guard Jaden Bradley is also expected back after testing the draft waters.
The Wildcats have also added a pair of wings from the NCAA transfer portal in ex-Oakland scorer Trey Townsend and former Campbell star Anthony Dell’Orso, making for a crowded backcourt. That likely also contributed to 4-star signee Jamari Phillips’ reported decision to no longer come to Arizona.
Assuming Bradley comes back—he never made a formal announcement about entering the draft, his name just appeared on the early entrants’ list, so he may not feel the need to publicly declare his return—Arizona has 11 scholarship players on the roster for the 2024-25 season. One could be used for another backup guard, unless rising sophomore Conrad Martinez becomes more involved, while the last could provide further frontcourt depth.
All of this recent roster movement is occurring while UA coach Tommy Lloyd is preparing Team USA’s U18 squad for for the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup in Argentina next week.
Sanon is joining an ASU squad that has had a huge offseason, landing 5-star center Jayden Quaintance after he asked out of his national letter of intent following John Calipari’s departure to Kentucky. The Sun Devils have also added five transfers, most notably ex-USC power forward Brandon Gardner and former Ole Miss point guard Austin Nunez, who played for ASU and Bobby Hurley as a freshman in 2022-23.