2024-25 Arizona Basketball

[Alieberman]

I think this all has to do with moving to the Big 12… I’m guessing this is a 1 time adjustment?

[CalStateTempe]

Did we get bumped for the Illini?

They’re playing Alabama at Birmingham this upcoming season. News hit yesterday

[ChooChooCat]

Did we get bumped for the Illini?

They’re playing Alabama at Birmingham this upcoming season. News hit yesterday

We pushed it off until next year. The Southern road game really complicated things for us, that and really wanting to play UCLA in Phoenix, and also 20 game Big12 schedule.

[IndianaZonaFan]

So now we have 3 games in Atlantis, Duke (home), @Southern, @Wisconsin, UCLA (in Phoenix), and some buy games?

[CalStateTempe]

Ugh Fuck Ucla

[ChooChooCat]

So now we have 3 games in Atlantis, Duke (home), @Southern, @Wisconsin, UCLA (in Phoenix), and some buy games?

Correct

[Chicat]

If they for some reason cancel that Wisconsin game I’m going to create the most devastating 1-man riot this country has ever seen.

[dmjcat]

[RichardCranium]

"... this team could be special"

Is this the the most overused meaningless statement in sports? Especially in Arizona Basketball commentary?

[Winger]

"... this team could be special"

Is this the the most overused meaningless statement in sports? Especially in Arizona Basketball commentary?

The take is also sort of lazy imo.

Potential issues, as I see them, standing on the road to speciality:

1. Arizona has a relative unknown at the most important position on the floor.
2. Regarding “fit”, maybe this isn’t what they were addressing, but Lloyd has landed a 5 in a 4s body and a 4 in a 3s body, and there have been hints that each player will play a position that they never have and are mostly suited for on account of a lack of positional height.
3. Regarding the recruiting class, it is obviously legit and a success, but there is reasonably good, long-held, data that shows that incoming freshmen ranked outside of the top 20-25 rarely provide meaningful help on good teams.
4. And, it will likely include a reclass if Love doesn’t return, the natural history of which is not one of high level success. At least not at Arizona.
5. And, in the vent it doesn’t, the take adds a player to the team in Love who, though better last season, still isn’t a highly efficient scorer, who lacks restraint, in a system where such is important (because Lloyd’s Free Love offense is not set-based), and who was terrible down the stretch last season.
6. Then you have the new conference and it’s style of play, which Lloyd clearly has responded to, in part by enforcing my request to shut the hostel down, but runs counter to most of what he does/coaches. As I believe PHXCAT posted a while back, maybe Lloyd can change the conference and make it bend the knee, but I will believe that when I see it.

Lloyd has an excellent track record of putting together very good regular season, and elite OOC/early season, teams but “special” goes a step beyond that; and there are myriad of unanswered questions heading in to 2024-2025.

No one else in the media will tell you that. No one. And many, if not all, will in fact try to obfuscate that reality; but that is of course why you have me .

[Postmaster]

Who is this dell guy?

[Merkin]

1. Arizona has a relative unknown at the most important position on the floor.

I would really like to see Love try the PG position lacking any new transfers if he returns. His passing is pretty good for a 2 with a 3.4/2.1 A/TO ratio (Boswell 3.6/1.7), and keeping him on the ball will hopefully restrain his compulsion to constantly chuck 3 point shots. Bradley 2.0/1.0 and Lewis 1.9/0.8 for comparison. Would have liked to see more of Martinez last season, reminds me a lot of TJ with his peskiness, but obviously I'm not the coach.

[Postmaster]

It seemed like Love brought the hall up a lot, especially second half of season.

[ChooChooCat]

1. Arizona has a relative unknown at the most important position on the floor.

I would really like to see Love try the PG position lacking any new transfers if he returns. His passing is pretty good for a 2 with a 3.4/2.1 A/TO ratio (Boswell 3.6/1.7), and keeping him on the ball will hopefully restrain his compulsion to constantly chuck 3 point shots. Bradley 2.0/1.0 and Lewis 1.9/0.8 for comparison. Would have liked to see more of Martinez last season, reminds me a lot of TJ with his peskiness, but obviously I'm not the coach.

That's pretty much the plan. If Love returns, as expected, he'll be your backup 1. If we need somebody else in a pinch it'll be turned over to Lewis and/or Dell'Orso.

[Winger]

1. Arizona has a relative unknown at the most important position on the floor.

I would really like to see Love try the PG position lacking any new transfers if he returns. His passing is pretty good for a 2 with a 3.4/2.1 A/TO ratio (Boswell 3.6/1.7), and keeping him on the ball will hopefully restrain his compulsion to constantly chuck 3 point shots. Bradley 2.0/1.0 and Lewis 1.9/0.8 for comparison. Would have liked to see more of Martinez last season, reminds me a lot of TJ with his peskiness, but obviously I'm not the coach.

That is an interesting take. One question I have is: can Love handle the ball vs on ball pressure and get it across halfcourt and then in to Lloyd’s offense?

Some numbers that get directly at your take, look at Love’s assist rate in comparison with the % of shots he took out of his offenses:

Year ——— % shots ——— ASTr
2021 ——— 25.9 ——— 23.0
2022 ——— 26.2 ——— 19.6
2023 ——— 28.4 ——— 16.4
2024 ——— 28.7 ——— 18.1

You can see what you were getting at: the more he assists the less he shoots. And his assist rate at its peak(s) was very good. Note also that his TO rate has consistently decreased every season. At Arizona, his 2FG% was significantly up (a known tenet of what Lloyd wanted to do with him) while his 3FG% has remained relatively flat (and mediocre). He also took slightly more 3s at Arizona c/w his sophomore and junior seasons.

As you know, after 2024, I was done with Ballo, Boswell, and Love and ready to move on. I believe the experiment with all 3 reached statistical significance and ended in relative failure. So far, Lloyd has agreed with me on 2 of them. Specific to Love, I don’t know how Lloyd could bring him back and run the risk of him shooting Arizona out of another postseason.

One of the more common mistakes humans make when predicting the future is assuming current conditions will continue and we miss some of the things that could change our forecasts. You hint at 1: move Love to PG. Another is: the B12 isn’t the ACC nor the Pac.

I doubt the latter will matter. The former, your take, could however.

Still think we’re playing a highly risky game running it back with Love, and I don’t know how Bradley would react to not getting the point, but maybe things could be different.

That said, and I posted this on the other board preseason, once a cat has its nature its very difficult to change that. And its a bit foolish as a fan to homerly believe it will change and that Love/Lloyd can make it so.

[TheCat]

Ballo was a huge disappointment and only considered the number 1 player in the portal. You have some unconventional takes on relative failure. Conference player of the year, a double double machine, conference champions but I guess none of that matters to you. Love can shoot you out of a game or he could be the driving force behind a final four run just ask UNC. I don't know if he is coming back but I don't dread it like you seem to.

You seem to think Lloyd was happy that Ballo left. Really? You don't think he would be a help in the new league? WOW.

[Winger]

Ballo was a huge disappointment and only considered the number 1 player in the portal. You have some unconventional takes on relative failure. Conference player of the year, a double double machine, conference champions but I guess none of that matters to you. Love can shoot you out of a game or he could be the driving force behind a final four run just ask UNC. I don't know if he is coming back but I don't dread it like you seem to.

You seem to think Lloyd was happy that Ballo left. Really? You don't think he would be a help in the new league? WOW.

I never called Ballo a “huge disappointment”.

I understand what it takes to win college basketball games. Efficiency matters and postseason accolades do not. One should strive to see through the nonsense of “conference POY” to what Love’s play meant to Arizona failing down the stretch of the season. And, it’s not like the conference put 4 dudes on All American teams either (because: it sucked).

Love has been the “driving force” to 1 Final Four. That is one 6-game run out of a 4-season career. A 4-season career which was otherwise marked by regular season (UNC) or post-season (UNC and Arizona) failure. UNC became a better team once Love left. And, even in that 6-game NCAA tournament run the “driving force” had 3 terrible games. The kind of terrible games that led to Arizona losses. One of Love’s most quoted by Arizona fans (at least on the other site) accolades is marred by playing terrible 50% of the time.

Banking on Arizona’s future by focusing on 3 games, whilst ignoring the other 123, isn’t rational.

And of course Love also, unsurprisingly, didn’t come close to replicating that for Arizona who, for the 3rd time under Lloyd, flamed out of the tournament well ahead of seed-expectation.

I have no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left. I know that he let him go. And that he is happy he is getting paid by Indy. You can’t however run an offense through a center who is a TO every time he gets fouled (unless his name is Shaq). That didn’t work for Arizona in the Pac nor the NCAA tournaments. My guess is, with all the good Ballo brings, it also won’t work in the B12. Where as an aside he would struggle to put the kind of numbers up he posted vs the relatively weak interiors of the Pac.

It’s like you watched Arizona play last season but didn’t learn anything.

Lloyd did. That is why he has done 3 of the 4 things I hoped for: evacuate the hostel (code for getting rid of Euros), move on from Boswell, and move on from Ballo.

Will leave it to you to try and figure out what it means when Lloyd keeps doing what I say.

[ChooChooCat]

Ballo was a huge disappointment and only considered the number 1 player in the portal. You have some unconventional takes on relative failure. Conference player of the year, a double double machine, conference champions but I guess none of that matters to you. Love can shoot you out of a game or he could be the driving force behind a final four run just ask UNC. I don't know if he is coming back but I don't dread it like you seem to.

You seem to think Lloyd was happy that Ballo left. Really? You don't think he would be a help in the new league? WOW.

I never called Ballo a “huge disappointment”.

I understand what it takes to win college basketball games. Efficiency matters and postseason accolades do not. You should strive to see through the nonsense of “conference POY” to what Love’s play meant to Arizona failing down the stretch of the season. And, it’s not like the conference put 4 dudes on All American teams either (because: it sucked).

Love has been the “driving force” to 1 Final Four. That is one 6-game run out of a 4-season career. A 4-season career which was otherwise marked by regular season (UNC) or post-season (UNC and Arizona) failure. UNC became a (much) better team once Love left. And, even in that 6-game NCAA tournament run your “driving force” had 3 terrible games. The kind of terrible games that led to Arizona losses. One of Love’s most quoted by Arizona fans (at least on the other site) accolades is marred by playing terrible 50% of the time.

Banking on Arizona’s future by focusing on 3 games, whilst ignoring the other 123, isn’t rational.

And of course Love also, unsurprisingly, didn’t come close to replicating that for Arizona who, for the 3rd time under Lloyd, flamed out of the tournament well ahead of seed-expectation.

I have no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left. I know that he let him go. And that he is happy he is getting paid by Indy. You can’t however run an offense through a center who is a TO every time he gets fouled (unless his name is Shaq). That didn’t work for Arizona in the Pac nor the NCAA tournaments. My guess is, with all the good Ballo brings, it also won’t work in the B12. Where as an aside he would struggle to put the kind of numbers up he posted vs the relatively weak interiors of the Pac.

It’s like you watched Arizona play last season but didn’t learn anything.

Lloyd did. That is why he has done 3 of the 4 things I hoped for: evacuate the hostel (code for getting rid of Euros), move on from Boswell, and move on from Ballo.

Will leave it to you to try and figure out what it means when Lloyd keeps doing what I say and you ridicule.

Agree with a lot of this on Love. The good was real good, but the bad was ridiculously bad, and his bad truly came at the worst possible time for Arizona. During his national title game run at UNC he had RJ Davis, Brady Manek, and/or Armando Bacot to pick him up when he was down and this year he didn't have anybody able to pick him up really outside of Jaden Bradley and he wasn't enough alone. I would feel much better if the alternative to Love was an experienced efficient transfer guard, but instead it'd be a true freshman. One that I think will be pretty good, but freshmen don't win you shit anymore when it matters. Lloyd has kinda backed himself into a corner with this decision (Love or Sanon) and it doesn't help that the money wants to keep Love at Arizona, so the option of looking into a quality transfer 2 guard was never really on the table for us. I guess all we can hope for is that bad Love shows himself during the regular season and not the postseason again.

As far as Ballo goes, Lloyd chose likely multiple years of Krivas over one more year of Ballo. Remains to be seen if that was the correct decision, but for all the deficiencies there are in Ballo's game that Winger mentioned, it sure seems like that will be the correct decision in the long run. Also guaranteed Ballo a big pay day. Will be fun if we get matched up against Indiana down in Atlantis.

[TheCat]

Winger you never called Ballo a huge disappointment you said you "were done with Ballo" like that means anything to anyone. You also said that Lloyd agreed with that take on 2 of 3 and then said you had no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left in the next post. Which is it?. I am sure he is happy for the money Ballo is getting because he loves the kid. I guess your take on "can't run an offense through a center who is a TO everytime he gets fouled" runs contrary to the fact that he was the number 1 player in the portal, had multiple offers and received what we hear was substantial compensation. But what do those coaches and expert know?
Not sure what the swipe on Euros means but if you watch the NBA draft you will see many taken in the first round, make the all star team and might even be the current unanonymous rookie of the year.. They take time to develop but that is why they play in college.
Your humility saying "I understand what it takes to win college basketball games" would be great on your resume when you apply for the next Arizona opening. The fact that you say things like Lloyd keeps doing what you say gives me pause. So you must be a former high level coach not some overly invested fan that gets his self worth from the performance of 20 y/o.
I do watch Arizona basketball and your conclusion that I didn't learn anything might be right but it would also must apply to every coach at Arizona in the last 23 years. I watch Arizona basketball to honor the kids that have put in countless hours of sacrifice to play their best and give all they have to achieve success for my University. There is frustration at times but there is never a doubt that they are doing their best.
On your take on freshman contribution is less than stellar most times I agree with but every once in awhile there are exceptions to the rule. That is why Arizona won its only National Championship.

[TucsonClip]

I also was ready to move on from Ballo. He was productive, but it just was never going to work to have him roaming down the lane on dives after ball screens, because nobody was going to give him a runway anymore to catch lobs, the FT shooting was a massive issue, and he just isn't good enough to drop the ball off to and go get a bucket. First world problems, but Lloyd has proven our offense can generate easy looks for bigs especially ones who can play above the rim, have good hands, and can hold position with at least a move and a counter, not to mention simple duck ins. The problem being, the athletic big I've been asking for is unlikely to see minutes.

While I'm not against Love returning, I do think he is a necessity based on the shape of our roster after portal season. I like Awaka as a counter to Krivas, a powerful C who can defend, rebound and probably can hit a FT line jumper. But he also isn't a vertical spacer and seems more of a "he gets us ready for Big 12 physicality).

Same with Townsend. Not my favorite player, but both guys are going through you to the rim, neither are skilled, but Townsend shows to be a pretty nice passer with vision, and who knows if his jumper can improve enough to be a threat.

I think we lack legitimate scoring options from the perimeter, and that is why the development of Bradley, Lewis and Bryant are vital next season.

[Winger]

Nm

[Winger]

Winger you never called Ballo a huge disappointment you said you "were done with Ballo" like that means anything to anyone. You also said that Lloyd agreed with that take on 2 of 3 and then said you had no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left in the next post. Which is it?. I am sure he is happy for the money Ballo is getting because he loves the kid. I guess your take on "can't run an offense through a center who is a TO everytime he gets fouled" runs contrary to the fact that he was the number 1 player in the portal, had multiple offers and received what we hear was substantial compensation. But what do those coaches and expert know?
Not sure what the swipe on Euros means but if you watch the NBA draft you will see many taken in the first round, make the all star team and might even be the current unanonymous rookie of the year.. They take time to develop but that is why they play in college.
Your humility saying "I understand what it takes to win college basketball games" would be great on your resume when you apply for the next Arizona opening. The fact that you say things like Lloyd keeps doing what you say gives me pause. So you must be a former high level coach not some overly invested fan that gets his self worth from the performance of 20 y/o.
I do watch Arizona basketball and your conclusion that I didn't learn anything might be right but it would also must apply to every coach at Arizona in the last 23 years. I watch Arizona basketball to honor the kids that have put in countless hours of sacrifice to play their best and give all they have to achieve success for my University. There is frustration at times but there is never a doubt that they are doing their best.
On your take on freshman contribution is less than stellar most times I agree with but every once in awhile there are exceptions to the rule. That is why Arizona won its only National Championship.

Lloyd can understand that it is time to move on from Ballo and not “be happy” with everything that entails. If Ballo was so valuable Lloyd wouldn’t have moved on from him.

I have long called for Lloyd to stick to his promise that one “can’t have a roster with 8 Euros on it every season”. Final Four teams have never been chalk full of Euros and still aren’t. The best Euros, the ones whose NBA accolades you note above, never played 1 second of college ball. Their style of play is ill suited to the Big 12. Which might be why there aren’t very many of them in that league and why Lloyd recently shuffled couple more out. The story of Lloyd-recruited European development under Lloyd at Arizona, to date, is one of abject failure. Outside of Larsson, who wasn’t a Lloyd recruit, and whose Arizona teams did bubkus in the NCAA tournament. There has been no development.

My take on freshman is both not what you post and not a take but rather a statement of fact. Freshman not ranked in the top 20-25 of all recruits nationally almost never meaningfully contribute their freshmen seasons and in particular not on legit contenders like we want Arizona to be. Bibby was a top 20 recruit.

[ChooChooCat]

Winger you never called Ballo a huge disappointment you said you "were done with Ballo" like that means anything to anyone. You also said that Lloyd agreed with that take on 2 of 3 and then said you had no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left in the next post. Which is it?. I am sure he is happy for the money Ballo is getting because he loves the kid. I guess your take on "can't run an offense through a center who is a TO everytime he gets fouled" runs contrary to the fact that he was the number 1 player in the portal, had multiple offers and received what we hear was substantial compensation. But what do those coaches and expert know?
Not sure what the swipe on Euros means but if you watch the NBA draft you will see many taken in the first round, make the all star team and might even be the current unanonymous rookie of the year.. They take time to develop but that is why they play in college.
Your humility saying "I understand what it takes to win college basketball games" would be great on your resume when you apply for the next Arizona opening. The fact that you say things like Lloyd keeps doing what you say gives me pause. So you must be a former high level coach not some overly invested fan that gets his self worth from the performance of 20 y/o.
I do watch Arizona basketball and your conclusion that I didn't learn anything might be right but it would also must apply to every coach at Arizona in the last 23 years. I watch Arizona basketball to honor the kids that have put in countless hours of sacrifice to play their best and give all they have to achieve success for my University. There is frustration at times but there is never a doubt that they are doing their best.
On your take on freshman contribution is less than stellar most times I agree with but every once in awhile there are exceptions to the rule. That is why Arizona won its only National Championship.

Lloyd can understand that it is time to move on from Ballo and not “be happy” with everything that entails. If Ballo was so valuable Lloyd wouldn’t have moved on from him.

I have long called for Lloyd to stick to his promise that one “can’t have a roster with 8 Euros on it every season”. Final Four teams have never been chalk full of Euros and still aren’t. The best Euros, the ones whose NBA accolades you note above, never played 1 second of college ball. Their style of play is ill suited to the Big 12. Which might be why there aren’t very many of them in that league and why Lloyd recently shuffled couple more out. The story of Lloyd-recruited European development under Lloyd at Arizona, to date, is one of abject failure. Outside of Larsson, who wasn’t a Lloyd recruit, and whose Arizona teams did bubkus in the NCAA tournament. There has been no development.

My take on freshman is both not what you post and not a take but rather a statement of fact. Freshman not ranked in the top 20-25 of all recruits nationally almost never meaningfully contribute their freshmen seasons and in particular not on legit contenders like we want Arizona to be. Bibby was a top 20 recruit.

Larsson was a Lloyd recruit. Well a transfer recruit, but nonetheless that was his guy and not Miller. It doesn't take away your point that the Euros he has recruited straight out of Europe have been abject failures though (Krivas notwithstanding at the moment).

[UAEebs86]

Winger you never called Ballo a huge disappointment you said you "were done with Ballo" like that means anything to anyone. You also said that Lloyd agreed with that take on 2 of 3 and then said you had no clue if Lloyd is happy that Ballo left in the next post. Which is it?. I am sure he is happy for the money Ballo is getting because he loves the kid. I guess your take on "can't run an offense through a center who is a TO everytime he gets fouled" runs contrary to the fact that he was the number 1 player in the portal, had multiple offers and received what we hear was substantial compensation. But what do those coaches and expert know?

I do watch Arizona basketball and your conclusion that I didn't learn anything might be right but it would also must apply to every coach at Arizona in the last 23 years. I watch Arizona basketball to honor the kids that have put in countless hours of sacrifice to play their best and give all they have to achieve success for my University. There is frustration at times but there is never a doubt that they are doing their best.

TheCat,
You have to realize this is like the pros now. NIL means we have a salary cap. Is one year of Ballo worth 3X/4X NIL money and several more years of Krivas, who probably would have left if Ballo stayed? (I'm just guessing on the multiplier). CTL may love Ballo but at some point at a school like Arizona you have to just let them go.

I used to feel the way you do about the players, but my attitude is changing. When I was a student, I had a philosophy class with Craig McMillan. I served Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott, and Chuck Cecil at the "training table" in the Student Union. The days of seeing these guys on campus 4 years are over. Most of them are mercenaries now, playing a year here, a year there. Probably taking all their classes online, only showing up at the training facilities on the other side of campus from where most of the students are. I find my interest going down every year.

[RawleArenas]

I also was ready to move on from Ballo. He was productive, but it just was never going to work to have him roaming down the lane on dives after ball screens, because nobody was going to give him a runway anymore to catch lobs, the FT shooting was a massive issue, and he just isn't good enough to drop the ball off to and go get a bucket. First world problems, but Lloyd has proven our offense can generate easy looks for bigs especially ones who can play above the rim, have good hands, and can hold position with at least a move and a counter, not to mention simple duck ins. The problem being, the athletic big I've been asking for is unlikely to see minutes.

While I'm not against Love returning, I do think he is a necessity based on the shape of our roster after portal season. I like Awaka as a counter to Krivas, a powerful C who can defend, rebound and probably can hit a FT line jumper. But he also isn't a vertical spacer and seems more of a "he gets us ready for Big 12 physicality).

Same with Townsend. Not my favorite player, but both guys are going through you to the rim, neither are skilled, but Townsend shows to be a pretty nice passer with vision, and who knows if his jumper can improve enough to be a threat.

I think we lack legitimate scoring options from the perimeter, and that is why the development of Bradley, Lewis and Bryant are vital next season.

I hear you TC on Stephen. People keep saying he's raw, but on 70 percent of high major teams he's getting starting minutes. He's an ESPN 100 guy for a reason. He doesn't have the skill set of Nnaji, but he's the most athletic we've had since Ayton, and that says a lot because we've had some decent centers. From what I've seen, he's more than athletic enough to give us quality minutes for rim protection and garbage points. I'd be hesitant to redshirt him, he's a bona fide pro given his raw tools.

On the subject of Ballo, I've said my piece on him. Went far beyond his perceived limits as a transfer here and became a fan favorite. Not the guy you want in a rock fight though. Rated way higher than Edey coming out of high school, but was a bit timid playing against him and other players of equal or better caliber. But to Cats point, Ballo was the number one player in the portal because he gives teams a shot in the arm and can potentially bring the right team back to relevance, like Indiana. We're not looking for relevance, we're looking to make waves and go deep in the tourney. Also, Bibby was not your typical freshman. Anymore than Durant, or Kyrie or Zion was your typical freshman. You could make the argument that after his freshman year, that he was the best pg in the country. Textbook generational point guard. So any argument about using freshman with Bibby as an example has to be taken with a grain of salt.

We do lack perimeter options, mainly because we don't know how Phillips and Bryant will adjust and our transfers are not needle movers like Love. The problem I have with Sanon is that if he wants to really become great and develop, he can't be afraid of competition. That was CSM's selling point to all the five star players coming into the program. Pro against pro in practice. And as great as he is, he doesn't have the physical package that Mathurin had, at least from what I've seen. It would do him good to come in and push an already good team to great/elite status. Players like him need to forget about being one and done and focus on being ready. That's way more important. Too many players have come in and only the gifted bigs have been able to make the jump successfully (Ayton, AG, Nnaji, Markkanen). You need more seasoning to develop as a wing.

My biggest pet peeve is not with perimeter scoring its with the pg position. We don't have a legit guard to tag team with Bradley. In my opinion Bradley is a starter but not a high usage point guard. I don't think he's built for it. I really wanted CTL to go after a Joe Girard (Syracuse) type player who could give us a lift. We all know that NBA guards get you to the FF but at bare minimum we need all conference talent at the point guard position. I think Bradley can get there, but we need another that can counter him. The only all conference guards we had in the last ten years have been TJ and Akinjo (who many posters hated and who never got a chance to play in the tourney). Technically Terrell Brown was too, but he became one the following year for Washington. It's seems that we've struggled way too long getting stable at that position.

[Merkin]

Only 6 spots Caleb, better pick up your game. Barely top 6 on your own team.

Love also measured at 6’3, 203, PG size.

Bal with a great game, at least in the stats.

[SCCats]

Best +\- in the game

[Merkin]

So is it all over now for Love and we should hear a decision soon?

But he did start get the best +/- on the team again!

[SunnyAZ]

[IndianaZonaFan]

I’m guessing that’s a bear down because Caleb is coming back…but I guess it could be bear down because Caleb is going pro, and he is coming to Tucson.

[azgreg]

I hate recruiting so much.

[Beachcat97]

So there’s no scenario where Love and Sanon are both on the 2024-25 roster? Because I feel like that would be a legit top 10 team.

[Merkin]

I believe Lloyd is holding a scholarship for them both which probably doesn't mean a lot except for a little hope.

[Fishclamps]

Probably know by this weekend how it's all gonna shake out

[SunnyAZ]

I really can't see sanon coming. we already have too many players with love coming back. like Jamari has little chance of being in rotation w/o Sanon being on the roster much less with him on the team

[SCCats]

I hate recruiting so much.

Mine is a little different, but I hate having 4 (or more) new starters every year.

[KaibabKat]

Not nearly as much fun as when players stayed around long enough that you thought you knew them.

[Bangkok Wildcat]

Not nearly as much fun as when players stayed around long enough that you thought you knew them.

This BTFD.

[SCCats]

Yeah

[TheCat]

I really can't see sanon coming. we already have too many players with love coming back. like Jamari has little chance of being in rotation w/o Sanon being on the roster much less with him on the team

Think you are wrong here. Phillips can shoot the ball and looks like a pretty good defender. He will be off the bench early and often.

[Merkin]

Caleb Love took 22.7% of all UA shot attempts last season, making 19.3% off all UA FGs.

Boswell was next at 13.6%/11.1%.

Taking almost a quarter of all UA shots with an 8 man rotation seems like a lot, but what do I know. Not a stats guy.

Love did take 29.2% off all UA 3PT shots, making 32.4% of the team's total.

[dmjcat]

[Merkin]

Where in that article does he said he would come back? Stills seems noncommital to me.


After this week, I'll have an understanding of where I want to go with it.

and

and if I chose to go back

[azgreg]

Where in that article does he said he would come back? Stills seems noncommital to me.

The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year noted that he "never" considered dipping into the portal for the second year in a row. If he withdraws his name from the 2024 NBA Draft before the May 29 deadline, he'll head back to Tucson.

"I never really was the type to go back for money," Love said. "I didn't transfer to go get more money. I wanted the best situation for me and I wanted to be on a good team that had aspirations to win on the highest level and winning a national championship. That went into my decision to go to Arizona and if I chose to go back, it wouldn't be for the money. It would be to expand my game and elevate my game and compete for a national championship."

[Merkin]

Still don't see any direct quote from him on it. Last sentence still says "if".

Overseas is still an option.

[Beachcat97]

Probably know by this weekend how it's all gonna shake out

By this weekend, eh? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

[Merkin]

Probably know by this weekend how it's all gonna shake out

By this weekend, eh? I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

Love is apparently waiting for a call-up if any of the 78 players invited to the NBA draft camp take themselves out of the draft. Camp ends the 19th.

[SunnyAZ]

[ChooChooCat]

Overseas is still an option.

As of today, no, it's not.

[Fishclamps]

Overseas is still an option.

As of today, no, it's not.

How does that work? Some sort of cut off with going Euro that happened?

Also I'm not going to get my hopes up with Sanon but he at least seems to keep saying the right things.