UA Men's Basketball Signs Three More Recruits
Matt Korcheck, Mark Lyons and T.J. McConnell are the fifth, sixth and seventh student-athletes to sign with Miller and the Wildcats in 2011-12.

Arizona Athletics
May 16, 2012

University of Arizona men's basketball coach Sean Miller announced this week that Matt Korcheck, Mark Lyons and T.J. McConnell have signed paperwork to attend the school and play basketball.

Korcheck, a 6-foot-9, 218-pound sophomore forward from Tucson, Ariz., averaged 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game for Cochise College in 2011-12, leading the Apaches to a 25-6 record and the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) championship. He connected on 57.8 percent (182-of-315) of his field goal attempts and added 45 assists and 24 steals in earning second-team all-conference and all-region honors for coach Jerry Carrillo.

As a freshman at Cochise, Korcheck (pronounced Core-check) averaged 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game in 32 appearances, connecting on 63.9 percent (117-of-183) of his field goal attempts. He made an early splash by breaking a backboard in the annual ACCAC Jamboree in the fall of 2010 at Phoenix College.

A 2010 graduate of Tucson's Sabino High School, Korcheck averaged 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game as a senior in earning first team all-4A-I Sonoran Region honors, second-team all-Southern Arizona kudos and was a member of the tucsoncitizen.com 2010 boys' basketball high school all-star team.

Korcheck will be just the 13th Tucson product to open the season on an Arizona roster since the school joined the Pac-12 Conference in 1978-79 and the first recruited junior college player on scholarship from the city since Troy Cooke, who joined the program in 1982.

He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Lyons, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound guard from Schenectady, N.Y., averaged 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Xavier University, helping the Musketeers to a 23-13 record and a berth in the NCAA South Regional semifinal. He connected on 42.5 percent (176-of-414) of his field goal attempts, including 39.2 percent (58-of-148) from three-point range, and knocked down 76.1 percent of his free throws (102-of-134) in earning third-team all-Atlantic 10 Conference honors. His 58 treys led Xavier in 2011-12, while Lyons ranked second on the team in scoring, assists and steals.

As a sophomore in 2010-11, Lyons was a third-team all-Atlantic 10 pick after averaging 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 32 appearances (31 starts), connecting on 40.8 percent (144-of-353) of his field goal attempts and 33.6 percent (47-of-140) of attempts from behind the arc. Xavier posted a 24-8 record, won the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship and advanced to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

A sociology major who will earn his degree from Xavier, Lyons tallied 1,194 points during his three-year career, a figure that ranks 28th in XU's record books. He saw action in 98 career games (66 starts), helping the Musketeers to a 73-29 (.716) record in that span, including two A-10 regular-season championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He averaged 6.0 points and 2.6 assists in seven career NCAA Tournament appearances.

Lyons is the first player to graduate from a four-year school and transfer into the program. He will be eligible to play in 2012-13 and will have one season of eligibility remaining.

McConnell, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard from Pittsburgh, Pa., averaged 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game for Duquesne University, helping the Dukes to a 16-15 record. He connected on 50.9 percent (135-of-265) of his field goal attempts, including 43.2 percent (38-of-88) from three-point range, and knocked down 83.6 percent of his free throws (46-of-55) in earning third-team all-Atlantic 10 Conference honors and a spot on the A-10 all-defensive team. He ranked third nationally in steals per game and tied for 31st nationally in assists per game in 2011-12.

As a freshman in 2010-11, McConnell averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 32 appearances (30 starts), connecting on 49.8 percent (132-of-265) of his field goal attempts and 40.2 percent (39-of-97) of attempts from behind the arc in earning 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He ranked fourth nationally in steals in 2010-11 and his 2.50 assist:turnover ratio was the sixth-highest ratio for a freshman in NCAA history entering this season.

A 2010 graduate of Chartiers Valley High School in Bridgeville, Pa., McConnell averaged 34.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game as a senior in earning first team all-state honors and was the Pennsylvania Class 3A Player of the Year according to the Associated Press, and was the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette male high school athlete of the year (all sports). McConnell, who played for his father Tim in high school, led the Colts to a 29-2 record, the WPIAL championship, and a berth in the Class 3A state championship game.

McConnell is the first player from a four-year school to transfer into the program since Luke Recker in 1999-2000. He will have to sit out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Korcheck, Lyons and McConnell are the fifth, sixth and seventh student-athletes to sign with Miller and the Wildcats in 2011-12. Brandon Ashley, Grant Jerrett, Kaleb Tarczewski and Gabe York each signed National Letters-of-Intent with Arizona in November.

Both ESPN.com and rivals.com have the UA's recruiting class ranked No. 3 nationally. Arizona is one of six schools nationally (Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State, Texas, UCLA) to have four players listed in the ESPNU Top-100 rankings.

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