Sidelines

Basketball lands talent from Arizona

According to azcentral.com, the Buffalo basketball team has landed their first recruit for the 2008-2009 season.

Mitchell Watt, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound post player from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Ariz. is the first player to commit to Buffalo for next year. The Bulls have one more scholarship.

Watt originally committed to Cornell, but de-committed when he received interest (and eventually offers) Rutgers, Pepperdine and Davidson.

"I really liked the school and the players a lot," Watt told azcentral.com. "It was a nice area, Buffalo's a nice town."

The academics were a big part of getting Watt to choose Buffalo.

"(Buffalo) can line him up where he can get a degree higher than a Bachelor's," Desert Edge coach Joe Babsinski said to azcentral.com. "He can get a Masters and a doctorate's. They really hit him in the academic part."

During his senior season, Watt averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, four assists and two steals per game.