By Kenneth Cross
Arizona basketball became a key entity once again last season and after coach Tommy Lloyd left Gonzaga as Mark Few’s chief assistant and pulled into Tucson, the Wildcats took off once again and fashioned a 33-4 record. The Wildcats won the league by three games as they had an 18-2 ledger while UCLA finished second at 15-5 and USC was third at 14.6.
The tough 72-60 loss to Houston in the Sweet 16 took Arizona out of its offense in shooting 33.3 percent as the Wildcats had to navigate Houston’s defense and physicality.
Lloyd lost three of his top four scorers as leading scorer Bennedict Mathurin was the sixth pick in the NBA Draft for the Indiana Pacers. Then, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry were two other starters that left after the Wildcats portrayed their solid season. These two players are currently on the rosters of the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls, respectively.
Arizona’s two returning starters are 6-11 forward Azuolas Tubelis (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and guard Kerr Kriisa (9.7 ppg, 4.8 apg) as the duo will form a nucleus to how Arizona turns the page into the 2022-23 season.
Tubelis can also play as a three-guard with his skill set including consistent shooting on the perimeter as well as his ballhandling and making a path to the basket. The Lithuanian native was the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder last season.
Kriisa was the leading assist-man with 155 and he also made 80 three-point shots, three less that Mathurin.
Rebuilding the rotation will be a key if Arizona is to stay on top. Shooting guard Pelle Larson and center Oumar Ballo look like two key players who can join the starting lineup and improve their skills where they can move their minutes averages uprward.
Larson (7.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is a wing guard who can score, but also can get the ball into the paint as a play maker. He made 61 out of 75 free throws (81.3%) while shooting 36.3. percent from the three-point line.
Ballo (6.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg), a Gonzaga transfer, shot 62.2 percent from the field and was second on the team with 44 blocked shots.
Lloyd has brought in six new Wildcats as Kylan Boswell is a four-star point guard who played at Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., and is a native of Champaign, Ill. He is joined by another four-star player in 7-0 center Dylan Anderson of Gilbert, Ariz. who was the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, will join Tubelis and Ballo with his size, he can score the ball consistently at all three levels. This ability will change defensive matchups that opponents will formulate against the Wildcats.
Arizona is also bringing in a pair of key transfers in former Texas Longhorn Courtney Ramey and Memphis, Tenn. native Cedric Henderson, Jr., who played at Campbell University.
Ramey’s offensive numbers were higher in his junior season at Texas as he averaged 12.2 points while dishing 3.9 assists for a more uptempo program under coach Shaka Smart. He started 106 of 128 games for both coach Chris Beard and Smart, who is now at Marquette, and this gave him experience in two totally different styles as both of these are effective.
Ramey was able to accentuate his style and his experience in the backcourt will be a huge asset to Arizona with the loss of point guard. His dependability is at a high level as he has averaged over 30 minutes per game over his last three seasons.
Henderson led the Camels with 14.6 points and 5.5 rebounds last season as he was the focal point of Campbell’s 16-13 record and fifth place finish in the Big South last season. Campbell shot 46 percent from the floor, 69th in college basketball, and Henderson was paramount in the shooting numbers as he shot 49.8 percent from the floor.
With Mathurin, Koloko, and Terry out of Tucson, the team will look to reproduce an inside attack on both ends of the floor as Arizona shot 49.2 percent from the field (4th/CBB) while defending at a 38.7 percent clip (10th/CBB).