2024-25 Arizona Basketball

[AZCatGirl]

This board is always amazing on big time game days.

[84Cat]

[Alieberman]

Fucking Pumped!!!

[AZCatGirl]

Ready to run through a brick wall right now.

[Winger]

Nate Oats just now:

“Obviously we are going to have to be better against Duke.”

Bro.

[Alieberman]

Yep heard that… hope someone tells Tommy

[Djcat]

What a roller coaster of a season but a good end. Played the B12 tourney final and S16 tough as nails. Those two teams are probably top 2 in the nation right now. Considering how we started, this is a good end.

Thanks to the team and coaching staff for this season!

Now it’s on to the postseason for us. Transfers, portals and recruits!

[TheCat]

There are a couple of guys in the portal that are pretty good shooters, have size and decent defenders. Who knows. I expect at least one big will leave, and if a player is not going to be a pro why not get as much money as possible. CB needs to test the water but he is not a lottery pick and would be drafted on potential only. Hope he stays.

[AzCatFan2]

CB should test the water to see if he can work his easy into the lottery. It's a relatively weak class, so not impossible. But most draft boards have CB no higher than 20. And if that's the case, he should come back. Could have a Benn Marhurin type sophomore season and be a guaranteed lottery pick.

[Djcat]

If Mo is still the #1 center I can’t see both Henri and Awaka staying. Probably will lose one of them. Sucks but that’s the reality of NIL.

Can’t see Carter staying. KJ and Bradley decisions will be interesting….

[Chicat]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

If Bradley decides he wants to explore greener pastures, we will go from having 1/2 a Point Guard to no Point Guards. Conrad isn’t going to make nearly the jump we need him to, and no one else fits the bill. So please let there be a guard in the portal that can handle the ball and shoot well enough that teams can’t pack the lane.

[Abrahamarvel]

This is the only loss in the tournament that I felt ok/hopeful in a long while. 10 years maybe?

Caleb Love played hard and great. Hats off to him.

[Merkin]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

[Winger]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

Agree on Tobe. Think Lloyd’s pitch might be to turn Henri into a stretch 4 and play Carter at the 3. One reason you might move on from Krivas is not trusting his ankle to hold up but Lloyd isn’t a doctor. Its tough to play Awaka at this level. He has a difficult time staying out of foul trouble and frequently he isnt big/tall enough to be a force inside offensively nor to guard 7-footers with game. Youre going to lose some offensive boards by not playing him but you should pick up advantages almost everywhere else. Plus Lloyd has demonstrated that he likes height and he just lost twice to the tallest team in the nation.

Tough one last night. Game was emblematic of the season in some ways.

1. You had the “let it rip” 3 from love with 10 sec left in the first half which we have seen too often from Arizona this season (Veesaar did this twice off the top of my head) leading to the Flagg transition 3 to put Duke up 6 entering the half and seemingly swiping all the momentum at the same time.

You had made 3s from ADO and TT to start the game but when ADO went out Arizona was -4 and the Cats immediately erased that deficit and took a 5 point lead a bit later. And to start the second half, when Arizona absolutely needed to come out and make a statement, the starting 5 went -6 in just over 2 minutes of action. That’s -10 from your starters to start the halves and a gift to Duke/Scheyer. But its the 2nd half start for these 2 that kills me. Doubt I will ever get over Lloyd doing this.

Also had the “we cant guard anyone defense” that poked its head out a bit too often this season. For a team who couldnt shoot and needed that D to win games. Defense was a huge key last night for Arizona and Duke was simply too good offensively.

Last take was that you can’t take anything from a single tournament but the combination of the chalky nature of the Sweet 16 plus yesterdays blowouts left me feeling like NIL might be ruining college basketball for everyone but the true blue bloods and the SEC (and maybe the B1G).

[U.P. Zona Fan]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

If Bradley decides he wants to explore greener pastures, we will go from having 1/2 a Point Guard to no Point Guards. Conrad isn’t going to make nearly the jump we need him to, and no one else fits the bill. So please let there be a guard in the portal that can handle the ball and shoot well enough that teams can’t pack the lane.

Where is Donovan Dent going?

[SabinoDrifter]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

Agree on Tobe. Think Lloyd’s pitch might be to turn Henri into a stretch 4 and play Carter at the 3. One reason you might move on from Krivas is not trusting his ankle to hold up but Lloyd isn’t a doctor. Its tough to play Awaka at this level. He has a difficult time staying out of foul trouble and frequently he isnt big/tall enough to be a force inside offensively nor to guard 7-footers with game. Youre going to lose some offensive boards by not playing him but you should pick up advantages almost everywhere else. Plus Lloyd has demonstrated that he likes height and he just lost twice to the tallest team in the nation.

Tough one last night. Game was emblematic of the season in some ways.

1. You had the “let it rip” 3 from love with 10 sec left in the first half which we have seen too often from Arizona this season (Veesaar did this twice off the top of my head) leading to the Flagg transition 3 to put Duke up 6 entering the half and seemingly swiping all the momentum at the same time.

You had made 3s from ADO and TT to start the game but when ADO went out Arizona was -4 and the Cats immediately erased that deficit and took a 5 point lead a bit later. And to start the second half, when Arizona absolutely needed to come out and make a statement, the starting 5 went -6 in just over 2 minutes of action. That’s -10 from your starters to start the halves and a gift to Duke/Scheyer. But its the 2nd half start for these 2 that kills me. Doubt I will ever get over Lloyd doing this.

Also had the “we cant guard anyone defense” that poked its head out a bit too often this season. For a team who couldnt shoot and needed that D to win games. Defense was a huge key last night for Arizona and Duke was simply too good offensively.

Last take was that you can’t take anything from a single tournament but the combination of the chalky nature of the Sweet 16 plus yesterdays blowouts left me feeling like NIL might be ruining college basketball for everyone but the true blue bloods and the SEC (and maybe the B1G).

The last five minutes of the first half and second five minutes of the second half was the difference, IMO. Duke won that stretch 32-20 and asserted their dominance that I think really gassed Arizona to complete the comeback. I thought the defensive effort out of the locker-room in the second half was horrific.

I think your comment about NIL is very interesting. You could see that already in college football with this year's expanded playoffs and I'd imagine the gap will only widen through revenue sharing. It's going to make it hard for Arizona to keep up unless someone really ponies up.

[EastCoastCat]

It was really the last possession of the first half.

We had the ball down 3 with under 15 seconds left with a chance to close to 1 or maybe tie the game before halftime.

[MrKyle]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

Agree on Tobe. Think Lloyd’s pitch might be to turn Henri into a stretch 4 and play Carter at the 3. One reason you might move on from Krivas is not trusting his ankle to hold up but Lloyd isn’t a doctor. Its tough to play Awaka at this level. He has a difficult time staying out of foul trouble and frequently he isnt big/tall enough to be a force inside offensively nor to guard 7-footers with game. Youre going to lose some offensive boards by not playing him but you should pick up advantages almost everywhere else. Plus Lloyd has demonstrated that he likes height and he just lost twice to the tallest team in the nation.

Tough one last night. Game was emblematic of the season in some ways.

1. You had the “let it rip” 3 from love with 10 sec left in the first half which we have seen too often from Arizona this season (Veesaar did this twice off the top of my head) leading to the Flagg transition 3 to put Duke up 6 entering the half and seemingly swiping all the momentum at the same time.

You had made 3s from ADO and TT to start the game but when ADO went out Arizona was -4 and the Cats immediately erased that deficit and took a 5 point lead a bit later. And to start the second half, when Arizona absolutely needed to come out and make a statement, the starting 5 went -6 in just over 2 minutes of action. That’s -10 from your starters to start the halves and a gift to Duke/Scheyer. But its the 2nd half start for these 2 that kills me. Doubt I will ever get over Lloyd doing this.

Also had the “we cant guard anyone defense” that poked its head out a bit too often this season. For a team who couldnt shoot and needed that D to win games. Defense was a huge key last night for Arizona and Duke was simply too good offensively.

Last take was that you can’t take anything from a single tournament but the combination of the chalky nature of the Sweet 16 plus yesterdays blowouts left me feeling like NIL might be ruining college basketball for everyone but the true blue bloods and the SEC (and maybe the B1G).

Seems to me like the most likely to leave would be Stephen (not enough PT to be had if a combo of HV/MK/TA stay). Then one of the others would likely go, or be encouraged to explore other opportunities.

I agree Awaka struggles to get it done against high level competition, if he was only about ~4 inches taller he would be a beast!

Those "let it rip" 3s were rough throughout the season (from everyone as you mentioned, wasn't just Love). Last night at end of 1H was very pronounced as it gave Duke all the momentum and increased their lead going into half.

Overall we gave Duke too many easy points/unforced turnovers as well.

The second half starting of ADO/TT puzzles me as well, just digging a hole for us to have to climb out of. I know the counter argument is that they are going to get some minutes in the 2H and the hole will be dug then, but as we know momentum is a big thing in CBB - coming out strong from halftime is key.

The wildcard I see for next year is KJ, when hes dialed in defensively he is great to watch (putting him on Flagg last night was a good move and at least slowed him somewhat). He commits some dumb fouls, and also can't seem to get consistent output on offense. It seems to me that his potential for offense is there, based on the WVU game where he went off.

Maybe the injury to his shooting wrist impacted him much more than let on, and with a full offseason he'll be more like the offensive player we saw at WVU.

[dirtbags]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

Agree on Tobe. Think Lloyd’s pitch might be to turn Henri into a stretch 4 and play Carter at the 3. One reason you might move on from Krivas is not trusting his ankle to hold up but Lloyd isn’t a doctor. Its tough to play Awaka at this level. He has a difficult time staying out of foul trouble and frequently he isnt big/tall enough to be a force inside offensively nor to guard 7-footers with game. Youre going to lose some offensive boards by not playing him but you should pick up advantages almost everywhere else. Plus Lloyd has demonstrated that he likes height and he just lost twice to the tallest team in the nation.

Seems to me like the most likely to leave would be Stephen (not enough PT to be had if a combo of HV/MK/TA stay). Then one of the others would likely go, or be encouraged to explore other opportunities.

I agree Awaka struggles to get it done against high level competition, if he was only about ~4 inches taller he would be a beast!

man, i hope CTL can make the lineup work with awaka. his height can be a liability but he boxes out well and is tough and isn't afraid to bang around, whereas henri is still prone to getting bullied down low and hesitates against tougher bigs. if tobe only has a season of eligibility left, he'll probably want a bigger role elsewhere, though.

the other side of this is unanticipated transfer-outs. there's been chatter about cb, for example, going to the nba but is there also a chance that he gets poached by another school? it sucks that coaches have to re-recruit their teams at the end of every season.

i also wonder if some of the lineup questions will resolve themselves once the house settlement is finalized and we know what the roster caps will look like.

[Alieberman]

I understand trying to pinpoint a stretch or 2 of plays that was the difference... and I can't argue it... but sometimes the simple answer is just that we lost to a better team. Duke is really really good up and down their roster... much more complete that Arizona. I thought we competed as hard as we could but no matter what we did... we just couldn't put stops together. Duke had an answer for everything.

This team went exactly as far as last years team... and while last year I was so pissed off at our loss to Clemson... knowing we lost to an inferior opponent and we played just a complete disaster of a game... the exact opposite is true today. We lost to a better team and we played a hell of a game... would have beat a majority of the teams in this years sweet 16 with that performance.... but it just wasn't meant to be.

This is honestly the best I've felt the day after a season ending loss that I can remember.

[SunnyAZ]

CB should test the water to see if he can work his easy into the lottery. It's a relatively weak class, so not impossible. But most draft boards have CB no higher than 20. And if that's the case, he should come back. Could have a Benn Marhurin type sophomore season and be a guaranteed lottery pick.

He should go if he is a 1st round pick. I give him a 5% chance of being on the roster next year.

[MrKyle]

I’m curious to see how bad Tommy wants to play Henri and Krivas together. It might mean that Awaka is the odd man out (which with how much he sat at the end of critical games, the writing may already be on the wall). And with Peat coming in and Bryant maybe coming back and able to slide to the 4, I don’t know what Tobe’s role is.

Where did that leave Stephen? Transfer portal? Seems pretty obvious he isn't in the plan.

Tobe too might find a spot elsewhere.

Agree on Tobe. Think Lloyd’s pitch might be to turn Henri into a stretch 4 and play Carter at the 3. One reason you might move on from Krivas is not trusting his ankle to hold up but Lloyd isn’t a doctor. Its tough to play Awaka at this level. He has a difficult time staying out of foul trouble and frequently he isnt big/tall enough to be a force inside offensively nor to guard 7-footers with game. Youre going to lose some offensive boards by not playing him but you should pick up advantages almost everywhere else. Plus Lloyd has demonstrated that he likes height and he just lost twice to the tallest team in the nation.

Seems to me like the most likely to leave would be Stephen (not enough PT to be had if a combo of HV/MK/TA stay). Then one of the others would likely go, or be encouraged to explore other opportunities.

I agree Awaka struggles to get it done against high level competition, if he was only about ~4 inches taller he would be a beast!

man, i hope CTL can make the lineup work with awaka. his height can be a liability but he boxes out well and is tough and isn't afraid to bang around, whereas henri is still prone to getting bullied down low and hesitates against tougher bigs. if tobe only has a season of eligibility left, he'll probably want a bigger role elsewhere, though.

the other side of this is unanticipated transfer-outs. there's been chatter about cb, for example, going to the nba but is there also a chance that he gets poached by another school? it sucks that coaches have to re-recruit their teams at the end of every season.

i also wonder if some of the lineup questions will resolve themselves once the house settlement is finalized and we know what the roster caps will look like.

I agree it would be great if there was some way to make him fit in - I love his toughness and ability to come up with boards, and he even dialed in his offensive game a bit this year. I just don't see where the minutes come from, he is ideally a 4 based on size - but most of the minutes at the 4 are going to be Koa I'd think.

[MrKyle]

I understand trying to pinpoint a stretch or 2 of plays that was the difference... and I can't argue it... but sometimes the simple answer is just that we lost to a better team. Duke is really really good up and down their roster... much more complete that Arizona. I thought we competed as hard as we could but no matter what we did... we just couldn't put stops together. Duke had an answer for everything.

This team went exactly as far as last years team... and while last year I was so pissed off at our loss to Clemson... knowing we lost to an inferior opponent and we played just a complete disaster of a game... the exact opposite is true today. We lost to a better team and we played a hell of a game... would have beat a majority of the teams in this years sweet 16 with that performance.... but it just wasn't meant to be.

This is honestly the best I've felt the day after a season ending loss that I can remember.

I'm with you on that it doesn't feel like loss that makes us feel like season was a lost cause - Duke is a great team with talent up and down the roster.

While we did lose to the better team, those key few stretches are the "what if". We knew our team had to play out of their minds to be in the running against Duke, and we came close to doing that on the offensive end. Defensively I'm with you that we couldn't get consistent stops, they had an answer for everything we tried defensively and made us pay for almost every defensive lapse.

[VegasCatFan]

We ended up going exactly as far as our pre-season ranking predicted. We were ranked 10th. In a round about way, the rankings ended up having us right. The Elite 8 would have been a bonus.

[Postmaster]

KJ reminds me of Solomon Hill.
I felt his first 2 years Hill knew what to do and had the physical skills to do things but his brain was not in sync with his body. Example: he seemed to always try a spin move in the lane. Most of the time he would travel or lose the ball as he started his dribble. By his jr year he could do the move and score. He also learned to pass when needed instead of forcing shots.
I hope KJ makes the next step. so far I see him as a guy who isn't quite in sync with his mind and body. He also tries to make big plays instead of making the big pass.
I have faith he will get there.

[Abrahamarvel]

Only player that defended Flagg admirally was kj. Wish we went there earlier

[TheCat]

Probably would have if KJ didn't have early foul trouble. Even then we were overmatched at that position. CB and KJ had tough games against Duke. Both played hard throughout.

[LuteIsGod]

KJ reminds me of Solomon Hill.
I felt his first 2 years Hill knew what to do and had the physical skills to do things but his brain was not in sync with his body. Example: he seemed to always try a spin move in the lane. Most of the time he would travel or lose the ball as he started his dribble. By his jr year he could do the move and score. He also learned to pass when needed instead of forcing shots.
I hope KJ makes the next step. so far I see him as a guy who isn't quite in sync with his mind and body. He also tries to make big plays instead of making the big pass.
I have faith he will get there.

Nice comparison

[TheCat]

CB reminds me Jamaal Wilkes in potential and also build.

[EastCoastCat]

CB reminds me Jamaal Wilkes in potential and also build.

Wilkes was skinnier and had a very unorthodox shooting motion. But agree both games could be described as smooth as “silk.”

[TheCatInTheHat]

I think Bryant's got a little better hops. Wilkes did have that weird cross-over shot, like Dean Meminger. Unlike Meminger, he straightened it out just before releasing the ball. During the peak of his career, he averaged around 20 ppg and over 50%, mostly from range. Chick Hearn would call it: "Twenty foot layup...Good!"

[Djcat]

KJ reminds me of Solomon Hill.
I felt his first 2 years Hill knew what to do and had the physical skills to do things but his brain was not in sync with his body. Example: he seemed to always try a spin move in the lane. Most of the time he would travel or lose the ball as he started his dribble. By his jr year he could do the move and score. He also learned to pass when needed instead of forcing shots.
I hope KJ makes the next step. so far I see him as a guy who isn't quite in sync with his mind and body. He also tries to make big plays instead of making the big pass.
I have faith he will get there.

I’m thinking a slimmer Hassan Adams

Doesn’t matter he’s in the portal as I predicted

[TheCat]

KJ=Kevin Parrom......

[luteformayor2]

Kj gone

[Dave]

Unfortunately our guard roster construction needs another overhaul.

[TheCat]

Loved KJ and the energy, defense and chaos he brought everytime he stepped on the floor. I think his NBA potential is limited and I hope if he does end up leaving he makes it worthwhile and gets all he can. We love you KJ. Thank you for choosing the Wildcats and loving us as a child.

[TheCat]

There are two guards in the portal I mentioned elsewhere that would really help fill the shooting void we had at times during the year. The portal has a lot of good players but there seems to be a steep price for them if rumors are to be believed. Supposedly Dent got $3M from UCLA.

[Postmaster]

It's going to get harder and harder to care about college sports.

[pc in NM]

Is KJ still open to a return to Arizona?

[Dave]

It is being reported he closed the door on any chance of a return.

[Fishclamps]

The scuttlebutt on the Georgetown choice is he wants to play with Micah Peavy. He's close with that family since he played some of his high school ball under David Peavy.

[U.P. Zona Fan]

Lots of talk about Burries are we getting him?

[Alieberman]

I hate the portal

I will really miss KJ

[dmjcat]

Lots of talk about Burries are we getting him?

Eric Bossi thinks that we lead, but nothing is certain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp_rBsq9dAg

Fast Forward to the 10:15 mark

[dmjcat]

I hate the portal

I will really miss KJ

Personally I'm more worried about the next shoe (or shoes) to drop. Would not be surprised to see Veesaar and Bradley go find a big
pile of $NIL$ that we can't afford to match. Who's going to be "Ballo-ed" next from the UA???

[TheCat]

I agree and quite honestly understand it. If you are borderline or less NBA potential and you can get a decent payday for your final year or two you should take it. KJ was on his way to being an iconic defender at Ariz (like Geary) but it the grand scope of things that does mean much to anyone other than a few people at U of A.

I hate it but it is reality and if I'm looking out for my son's future I would be inclined to tell him to take it.

[dirtbags]

It is being reported he closed the door on any chance of a return.

yikes - this sounds like there's zero chance of KJ coming back no matter what the uofa says or offers him. was he like or what?

[EastCoastCat]

Wouldn’t be surprised if to see Henri leave after the season he had and Krivas coming back. The bigs rotation will be interesting to watch.

[SunnyAZ]

unfortunately, henri's gf is a senior and she was the only reason he didn't transfer last year. so hopefully we get the nil to keep him

[azcat49]

People saying KJ gone and Veesaar in the portal. DID I miss news? Did KJ commit to a school? Did HV announce he is in the portal?