Bear Down Wildcats

Even though Arizona would be a very good team with most of these guys coming back, I kind of just want to move on from this core besides some guys like Boz, Veesaar, Bal and maybe Pelle and maybe Ballo

What's the point, we know how it would end up even though they'd be a top 5 team in the reg season

Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

The regular season means nothing next year.

Best thing is to just end the season after the conference tournament from a fan perspective. Watching this team In March is so disappointing. I am just beside myself trying to figure out how this happened. I was so sure the match ups were in our favor up until Alabama. Once again I feel like Charlie Brown about to kick that football

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:05 pm Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

So that means you want most the core gone since they would have to play to show their athleticism right?

RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:13 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:05 pm Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

So that means you want most the core gone since they would have to play to show their athleticism right?

If they leave, fine, if they stay fine. Would like to see Boswell and Larsson return, and the 2 freshmen bigs. Bam-bam and Pelle at least play defense. If Zu leaves, that frees up 2 scholies. Ballo needs another year of strength and conditioning, and lose some of his baby fat, along with some balance drills. Never seen a player fall down so much.

Some good players in the transfer portal. Lots of minutes for them. Maybe find a mid-major gem like Henderson, although he has had terrible games at the worst times.

There are no pro’s in the portal and Henderson and Ramey showed that. We need to recruit some athletic wings and to date LLoyd has not shown the ability to do that. Lewis should be good but he is more of a tweener. He looks like Hassan Adams to me. Lloyd needs to get some Dawg in him and go get some guys. F the slow play, relationship BS

Next year, I'd go with

Boswell
Lewis
Bal
Larsson
And Tubelis or Ballo

We need to to be faster and bigger on the wings and more dynamic on bother the wings and guards

Shouldn’t this thread just be a countdown to our eventual March Embarrassment?

-364

RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 5:01 pm Next year, I'd go with

Boswell
Lewis
Bal
Larsson
And Tubelis or Ballo

We need to to be faster and bigger on the wings and more dynamic on bother the wings and guards

But it will be:
Boswell
Krissa
Larsson
Tubelis
Ballo

Anyone have a feel for players leaving early (overseas or transfer)?
Kerr?
Tubelis (and brother)?
Bal?

Tubelis and Kriisa are future Euro league players.

I once thought Larsson had nba potential. He’s tall and athletic, and he used to be a pretty good shooter. Feel like his game regressed this year, and he could probably benefit from another year of college.

I hope Ballo is back. Love that dude.

Boswell is the future.

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:05 pm Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

Some athletes aka bruisers. Pretty much every Big 10/12 school has these types on hand for the dirty work and for providing a hostile presence inside. If TCU and Houston and Baylor can load up their 3 and 4 spots with these guys I don't see why CTL and staff can't find a few (in Texas?). Bob Huggins always had guys like these, and whenever I watched a run of Huggins' better Mountaineer squads (2013 - 2017) the inside was anchored by a guy named Devin Williams. Wasn't dynamic enough or tall enough for the NBA but anybody who went inside had to pay. Anybody challenging him for a rebound had to pay. Anybody trying to box him out on free throw attempts had to pay. I'd see him bully the inside and think - we need guys like that!

I really loved our season. I love the quick tempo and hope Lloyd doesn’t adjust that philosophy. Lloyd can show coaching improvement next year if he can get players like Zu and Kriisa to play D next year and limit mistakes. I did not enjoy the miller years, as others did and felt he only allowed for offensive freedom the year we crushed Duke. The east coast grind strategy is boring to me and I’m glad it’s gone and has been replaced with a fun, watchable pace.

I am not sure I want to get as involved in sports anymore. Losing yesterday hurt. I am more inclined to watch from distance. It would save a lot of money having to buy streaming services, ones that I don't watch much anything else except the local morning news. It isn't worth the cost.

CatsbyAZ wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:18 am

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:05 pm Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

Some athletes aka bruisers. Pretty much every Big 10/12 school has these types on hand for the dirty work and for providing a hostile presence inside. If TCU and Houston and Baylor can load up their 3 and 4 spots with these guys I don't see why CTL and staff can't find a few (in Texas?). Bob Huggins always had guys like these, and whenever I watched a run of Huggins' better Mountaineer squads (2013 - 2017) the inside was anchored by a guy named Devin Williams. Wasn't dynamic enough or tall enough for the NBA but anybody who went inside had to pay. Anybody challenging him for a rebound had to pay. Anybody trying to box him out on free throw attempts had to pay. I'd see him bully the inside and think - we need guys like that!

Need another Gene Edgerson! Without breaking any jaws anyway.

It's frustrating watching Kerr at times. He is the type of player that you're glad he's on your team since he can be obnoxious, but can be a huge letdown in big moments as well. Like others have said here, we are soft. Guys constantly looking for foul calls instead of just being aggressive and playing through contact. I think Boswell brings an edge and will drive to the basket unlike Kerr, but if Kerr sticks around, he needs to be more than just a shooter. He needs to be able to take the ball to the basket because everyone knows he won't right now. Also, I don't understand why we don't show some different looks on defense. Why not show zone or press and mix it up to keep teams off balance. Kind of a shame Bal didn't develop more and contribute more this year. I though he did well against Indiana and may have turned a corner there.

Catintheheat wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:07 am I am not sure I want to get as involved in sports anymore. Losing yesterday hurt. I am more inclined to watch from distance. It would save a lot of money having to buy streaming services, ones that I don't watch much anything else except the local morning news. It isn't worth the cost.

^^^This ^^^

I remember Iggy's freshman year when he came in and was playing in the rec on the second court with the rest of the team. Everybody kind of stopped and was watching the team play pick up. There was one play where Jason Gardner threw an alley oop pass to Iggy from halfcourt and Iggy caught the oop from the baseline, turned sideways a la MJ in the dunk contest and threw it down with such ferocity the whole gym felt it. Iggy did this, as a FRESHMAN. This is what Arizona basketball means to me, and is the reason I came to the Old Pueblo. To be inspired by great culture, great players, while winning in games that matter: the tournament.

I have UofA gear but don't want to wear it now. The loss is much bigger than our program, we're the laughing stock of college basketball. We will be memed from here on out about how the Cats (like the Zags) play in a weak conference and choke in the tournament. Now, thousands of alumni have to hear the jokes about this loss even if they're not into basketball. This loss was plastered on all the major websites and all of our rivals are just eating it up. Now we have to wait another 12 months to prove that we've learned from our mistakes,even though the writing was on the wall earlier this season. All of our players (including Zu) are 'B' players. Highly skilled and talented players with limited athleticism that overachieved in the regular season in a good system. Zu and Ballo and even Kriisa are much better being the Robin to someone else's Batman. When they are forced to play a major leadership role in a serious game, they wilt and falter. I blame the coaching staff for not recognizing this and for not bringing in guys who complemented them, while bringing some toughness as well.

The players we have would be awesome complementary players to high level athletes that are typical of the kind we always get. If Kriisa was a backup to a strong NBA level point guard on this team, fans would love him. He could come in as a microwave guy and heat it up and give some relief to the starters. It's telling that after three years he hasn't made any award lists for a conference that's the weakest among the Power 5. I think he's pretty much reached his ceiling here. I know that CTL is loyal to his players, however he needs to do some soul searching and figure out how he's going to the right this ship. He may need to have some conversations with the players like Miller did and gut the roster. Our recruiting is weak, and he can only joyride with CSM's leftovers for so long. People forget that when CSM brought in Romar what a huge coup that was. Two master recruiters on the same sideline bringing in high level players. CSM understood that as good as he was as a recruiter (leagues better than CTL at this point) Romar could help him get that one player that he wouldn't normally get (think Mathisse Thybull), that would push the team over the edge and get him a FF or a title. CTL needs to find people to help him get over the hump because getting a five star here and there is not enough. We're used to reloading every year. We had three draft picks in the 2019 class and three more in the class after that (assuming Zu goes in the second round where he's projected). The guys he's bringing in are good, but its nowhere near the level that we need.

I'm not say this to be negative towards CTL, but I hope this is a wake up call. Because I want him to be focused and restless and spend every waking hour on the phone selling Arizona to recruits that can actually play. I don't want any interviews or cute stories, because fans are tuning out because the coaching staff is not doing their jobs. Unfortunately, I can sympathize with Catintheheat because these losses are much bigger than program. Our fans are heavily invested in tournament success and when that's not a reality, even the most loyal CTL supporters will eventually check out.

At some point, winning games in the ncaa tourney became more surprising than losing. It's crazy to say that, but it's true. After 2+ decades, we are USED to being upset in the ncaa tourney. Sean Miller made some nice runs, and I had a blast watching those teams. But more often, we've lost to teams everyone expected us to defeat. And I say this only going back to the late 90s, when I was a student at UofA. I can't speak for the earlier part of the Lute era, which also had its share of upsets in the tourney.

I like Tommy Lloyd and think he's the right guy for this job (in spite of his poor performance yesterday). But we need tougher players, ffs. Toughness, smart play, and overall team philosophy...this is what the best tourney teams have, and it's what AZ has hardly ever had.

We stopped by a roadside woodfired pizza guy today. He pulls the oven on a trailer behind his pickup truck and sets up a gazebo to peddle his pies. He glanced at my AZ gear while shuffling pies in and around the oven:

"You feel the way I do?" he said.
"Shoot me in the head, please?" I answered.
"Yup."

Love CTL. Love our team. Hate this shit.

Without knowing any possible transfers right now I would prefer this lineup:

Starters:
Boswell
Lewis
Larsson
Tubelis
Ballo

Bench:
Kerr
Veesaar
Bal
Borovicanin

I think Kylan should get the nod at PG and Kerr may be better coming off the bench. He’s definitely a good spark of energy.

But I want to see Pelle be more aggressive on offense.

We still need to find a guy who can get his own shot when a possession breaks down.

We have two open scholarships even if we bring everyone back. With those open scholarships we have to improve our athleticism at the guard/wing position with guys that can create their own shot. The other priority has to be to get out of this mid major conference.

Isn't it only one available, with Ramey and Henderson out of eligibility, and KJ Lewis coming in?

I think we had an empty spot this year.

We were holding two scholarships open until Boswell took one of them.

IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:35 am Without knowing any possible transfers right now I would prefer this lineup:

Starters:
Boswell
Lewis
Larsson
Tubelis
Ballo

Bench:
Kerr
Veesaar
Bal
Borovicanin

I think Kylan should get the nod at PG and Kerr may be better coming off the bench. He’s definitely a good spark of energy.

But I want to see Pelle be more aggressive on offense.

We still need to find a guy who can get his own shot when a possession breaks down.

I don't think there's a world that exists that Kriisa comes back to be the backup.

Although Kriisa was fun to watch and he has improved, I don't see him as a high level college basketball player. There are too many big holes in his game.

azgreg wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:25 pm

IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:35 am Without knowing any possible transfers right now I would prefer this lineup:

Starters:
Boswell
Lewis
Larsson
Tubelis
Ballo

Bench:
Kerr
Veesaar
Bal
Borovicanin

I think Kylan should get the nod at PG and Kerr may be better coming off the bench. He’s definitely a good spark of energy.

But I want to see Pelle be more aggressive on offense.

We still need to find a guy who can get his own shot when a possession breaks down.

I don't think there's a world that exists that Kriisa comes back to be the backup.

We already lost to a 15 seed. Let me have this little moment of a dream would ya?

Catintheheat wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:27 pm Although Kriisa was fun to watch and he has improved, I don't see him as a high level college basketball player. There are too many big holes in his game.

Agree. Every good game he has is followed by several unsteady, unproductive ones. He's not good enough to be a starting PG for a team with aspirations like AZ's. He's given us some good years in Tucson. Are we really gonna roll him with as PG *again*??

Hopefully that transfer portal has some diamonds.

Lloyd does seem to have Dick Tomey style loyalty to upperclassmen. If Veesaar could have had real minutes, he would have to been better in the last 5 minutes than a one handed Ballo. How do you get a rebound with one hand? Same with Boswell over a one armed Kriisa.


Reminds me of a player that Lute had. Big bruiser white guy, but hurt his shoulder where he couldn't lift his arm up. Played with one arm. Even then I was thinking, put Kirk Walters out there, at least he can rebound.

There are still a couple of likely additions, but…

I see Kerr as starting PG, and saavy floor leader next year

I see Boswell as the leader to replace Ramey in the starting line-up

i see Lewis and Bol as most likely competitors for Boswell’s first-guard-off-the-bench role

I hope Carter Bryant is here to take Henderson Jr.’s wing role; Borovicanin should be competing there, too.

I hope Pelle returns - and shows as much improvement again as he did this year.

I hope Zu returns. Period.

I want to see another year-over-year improvement from Oumar - scary!!

And one can only dream about the improvement of Henri and Dylan after a year of practice and exposre at the collegiate level.

Of course, there are so many unpredictable changes that can happen in today’s college game, that this fantasy is subject to revision!!

The future’s so bright we have to wear shades! BTFD!!!!

IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:41 pm

azgreg wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:25 pm

IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 6:35 am Without knowing any possible transfers right now I would prefer this lineup:

Starters:
Boswell
Lewis
Larsson
Tubelis
Ballo

Bench:
Kerr
Veesaar
Bal
Borovicanin

I think Kylan should get the nod at PG and Kerr may be better coming off the bench. He’s definitely a good spark of energy.

But I want to see Pelle be more aggressive on offense.

We still need to find a guy who can get his own shot when a possession breaks down.

I don't think there's a world that exists that Kriisa comes back to be the backup.

We already lost to a 15 seed. Let me have this little moment of a dream would ya?

If your dreams are in Greg's hands you're in deep shit brother.

Carter Bryant is a 2024 recruit unless he reclassifies.

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:36 pm

RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:13 pm

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 4:05 pm Just need some athletes. Even Lloyd said last season the Cats weren't athletic enough, and that was with Mathurin, Koloko and Terry.

Also some blue collar Mark Madsen types who don't play soft.

So that means you want most the core gone since they would have to play to show their athleticism right?

If they leave, fine, if they stay fine. Would like to see Boswell and Larsson return, and the 2 freshmen bigs. Bam-bam and Pelle at least play defense. If Zu leaves, that frees up 2 scholies. Ballo needs another year of strength and conditioning, and lose some of his baby fat, along with some balance drills. Never seen a player fall down so much.

Some good players in the transfer portal. Lots of minutes for them. Maybe find a mid-major gem like Henderson, although he has had terrible games at the worst times.

Idiocy to want the best player in the conference to leave (ZU). You want Larrson after his worst game in the tourney... surprised would be an understatement.

Now that Kerr is gone, Lloyd needs to go after an attacking guard that can score off the dribble

We can't be weak there anymore, this is how games in March are always won

Larsson can't really do that either, so it's best he stays at the 3. Hopefully he's actually good starting this time, if he's better off the bench, go after a super athletic slashing wing in the portal and give them the starting job

Who is gonna run point when Boswell isn't on the floor. Banking on a transfer is incredibly risky

Congrats to the haters though and the podcaster who fucks over UA everyday

He was too volatile of a player and his defense could never make up for when he was off offensively.

Good riddance.

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:52 am Who is gonna run point when Boswell isn't on the floor. Banking on a transfer is incredibly risky

Congrats to the haters though and the podcaster who fucks over UA everyday

Boswell's growth this season, and his performance, overall, were just amazing!!

But, let's be honest, he will have to make a huge leap to surpass Kerr's floor generalship, and assist performance.

I sincerely hope he does so, but it may require some patience from the coaches and fans...

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:52 am Who is gonna run point when Boswell isn't on the floor. Banking on a transfer is incredibly risky

Dedan Thomas Jr.?

pc in NM wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:29 am

PHXCATS wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:52 am Who is gonna run point when Boswell isn't on the floor. Banking on a transfer is incredibly risky

Congrats to the haters though and the podcaster who fucks over UA everyday

Boswell's growth this season, and his performance, overall, were just amazing!!

But, let's be honest, he will have to make a huge leap to surpass Kerr's floor generalship, and assist performance.

I sincerely hope he does so, but it may require some patience from the coaches and fans...

Very well said

pc in NM wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:29 am But, let's be honest, he will have to make a huge leap to surpass Kerr's floor generalship, and assist performance.

One thing Kriisa did excel at was his court vision. Boswell doesn't even come close to it, at least yet.

Arizona became very predictable by the second half of Pac 12 play because of Kerr imo. Because he's incapable of driving to the basket, his playmaking was hindered and the sets were thus easy to figure out because of this.

In the full court, there's no match for Kerr. But in the half court, you knew he was either chucking a 3 or giving it to the bigs (or handing it off)

But teams figured out quickly not to let Arizona go fast or the defense allowed buckets and the defense could get set

No doubt in my mind Boswell will put in the work this offseason. He has to level up to be ready for starting PG duties, but he was better than Kerr in every other way as a 17 YEAR OLD coming off injury.

Boswell should be good for 38 mpg next year - he's got Jason Gardner to show him how it's done.

I don't think Boswell is ready just yet, but it's key that we get an athletic, versatile PG on the court who can help ease him into the role. For the record, I'm not keen on just letting Kriisa go. I just felt he was being used incorrectly due to poor recruiting and roster management. He would be a much better player if he was given 20-25 minutes a game, with far less wear and tear on the body. Like PJC, I don't think he's built for the heavy duty stuff, which is why he's always injured going into the tournament. There's ZERO shame in understanding your limits and embracing your natural talents. When Kerr is behind great players who take pressure off of him (like his freshman year with Akinjo and Terrell Brown), he shines so much brighter.

From my perspective, if Zu comes back (and I hope he will), the staff should find a way to restructure Tautvilas scholarship and get him an NIL deal
(and give him preferred walk on status) so they can free up another roster spot. He would pretty much gets the same benefits and we could get some more roster flexibility. We also need a combo forward. An athletic 6'7'' guy who is a blue collar player who can guard the perimeter. We get eaten up by guys who are too big for our wings. CTL should understand this well because he knows how effective Anton Watson is for the Zags.
I'm much bigger on getting true point guards than wings. I'd prefer to have three on the team. We've gotten away from that quite a while and need to get back to what made this program strong to begin with.

6 man rotation?

Bal just announced he's leaving.

Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 3:12 pm Bal just announced he's leaving.