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Report: Former Kansas forward Zach Peters headed to Arizona

Men's Basketball Newcomer Mugs

University of Kansas Athletics

Jeff Jacobsen

In the aftermath of Solomon Hill’s graduation and Grant Jerrett’s decision to enter the 2013 NBA Draft the Arizona Wildcats found themselves in need of bodies to bolster their front court depth.

Sean Miller’s program certainly doesn’t lack for talent, with McDonald’s All American Aaron Gordon joining rising sophomores Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski to form a trio that has the potential to be one of the nation’s best next season.

However depth is a concern for this group, and Arizona received a boost in that regard as it was reported by Josh Gershon of Scout.com that former Kansas forward Zach Peters will join the program.

Peters, a 6-9 power forward who attended Prestonwood Christian Academy in Texas before enrolling at Kansas, didn’t last too long in Lawrence due to multiple injuries.

The accumulation of four concussions suffered over a two-year period and a rotator cuff injury prevented Peters from practicing, and ultimately the decision was made in late November to return to his home in Plano, Texas to heal.

“Zach and I met today after he went home to meet with his family for Thanksgiving, and he has informed us that he will be leaving the basketball program effective at the end of the semester,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said when announcing Peters’ decision.

“Zach has labored with health issues since he has been here. His shoulder has improved but he’s also been dealing with multiple concussions that have become a big source of frustration and concern for him.”

The question now is when will Peters be eligible to play. Since he was enrolled at Kansas for the fall semester, in all likelihood he wouldn’t be able to play in games at Arizona until the end of the 2013 fall semester.

Could the fact that he never practiced much less played a game at Kansas improve Peters’ chances of being available at the start of the 2013-14 season? If so, adding Peters to the mix gives Arizona interior depth (there’s also redshirt junior Matt Korcheck) they lacked in the aftermath of Jerrett’s decision to leave school.

Peters is the second addition in as many days for the Wildcats, with 6-7 forward Eric Conklin (Chaparral HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.) joining the program as a walk-on.

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.