5-star recruit picks Arizona basketball over Alabama, Tennessee

Brayden Burries has committed to Arizona, source tells @On3sports,” Joe Tipton said in a post. “The 6-5 shooting guard is a top-10 recruit in 2025 class. Also considered Oregon, USC, Alabama, and Tennessee.”

Brayden Burries is a five-star recruit according to 247Sports. He is the #11 player in the 2025 class, the #2 CG and the #3 player in the state of California.

“Burries is a big-bodied scoring guard and three-level threat,” Adam Finkelstein wrote in Burries’ scouting report. “A bit older for his grade, he turned 19 in September, and is physically mature with an already powerful frame to complement his versatile attack. He was a downhill playmaker at an early age, but has developed some real feel and craft as a creator. He lacks the dynamic first-step to rely on blowing right by his defender, and can almost have a slow-mo style with physicality and balance through contact. He can elongate his strides at the end of his drives, has a terrific left hand as both a driver and a finisher, good body control, and can rise-up to hammer big dunks on unsuspecting defenders, even if he worked his way to the rim more gradually.”

One thing that makes Burries such an elite prospect is the fact that he can score in a variety of ways. That will come in handy when he is at Arizona.

“Burries also has a very formidable mid-range game,” the scouting report continues. “He can dance with his handle to create space for his pull-up, and can also go to a step-back with range out beyond the arc. His shooting numbers from beyond the arc have been streaky this year – 30% in EYBL play (1.4-4.8/game) and 5-28 in three games at HoopHall West – but his release is projectable, even if not totally pure. He has more of a set-shot, with limited elevation, but soft touch. He’s proven he can come off screens and make them on the move, and is always around the rim (i.e. he very rarely has bad misses). He’s also a high percentage free-throw shooter (83% in the EYBL), who utilizes his versatility and physicality to get there in high-volume.”

All in all, there isn’t much that Burries can’t do. Arizona is getting a good one.

“While he is focused primarily on scoring, Burries possesses soft hands, solid floor vision, and a reliable enough handle to have some on/off ball versatility,” Burries’ scouting report concludes. “He is also an excellent rebounding guard. Defensively, he is fully engaged, physical, and competitive, if not ultra-quick. Overall, Burries is a strong and physical scoring guard, who can get his buckets in a variety of ways, but also not one dimensional because of his ability to take reps at the point guard spot, his contributions on the defensive end, the glass, and with the competitiveness of his overall approach.”

This 2025 Arizona basketball recruiting class is loaded with talent. There is only one prospect that isn’t a five-star, and it’s Bryce James, the son of LeBron James. The future is looking bright for the Wildcats.