2025-26 Arizona Basketball

[ChooChooCat]

Should go after this guy. Sure he's 22 and has already been draft eligible but he'd be the best player on the lol

https://x.com/gsole14/status/1919456371981828345

There's not a world that exists where Arizona can afford him. Hell we can't even afford Dame Sarr lol.

[IndianaZonaFan]

If we are losing Carter, is Sarr the best option floating around theoretically? I know we can’t afford him. But are the other unnamed options better? On par? Or not as good?

Because this is a roster where if we added Sarr, we are back in fringe tier 1 territory. Wouldn’t we be able to convince a few boosters to pony up this year?

[IndianaZonaFan]

Also- are we still assuming this plan B player is not yet in the portal? I believe that means they would have to be a grad transfer, and we would not be able to contact them until after the dead period right?

[ChooChooCat]

Also- are we still assuming this plan B player is not yet in the portal? I believe that means they would have to be a grad transfer, and we would not be able to contact them until after the dead period right?

The portal is closed, if we are to take a portal guy it has to be one in there now. I don’t believe the target is in the portal. There are also more highly regarded international players that could be options other than Dame Sarr.

[IndianaZonaFan]

Can’t grad transfers still enter the portal? In theory?

[Merkin]

Can’t grad transfers still enter the portal? In theory?

Looks like the deadline has passed.

Key Points about Grad Transfers:
Eligibility: Graduate students must have one year of eligibility remaining.
Deadlines: While not subject to the same sport-specific transfer windows, graduate transfers still have deadlines, such as May 1st for Fall and Winter sports and July 1st for Spring sports, says SportsRecruits.
Transfer Portal Entry: They must enter the portal and declare their intent to transfer.


also


When can grad transfers enter the portal?
AI Overview
Graduate transfer student-athletes can enter the NCAA Transfer Portal at any time during the year. However, they must do so before the close of their sport's final transfer window to be immediately eligible for the next season.

[IndianaZonaFan]

Thanks Merk!

[azcat34]

Any other intel out there of who Arizona could be targeting if Bryant stays in the draft.

I don't know if the economics work, but Darrion Williams on Texas Tech remains an ideal fit.

Would be interested if any bread crumbs are out there over who the staff could be targeting.

[Alieberman]

Any other intel out there of who Arizona could be targeting if Bryant stays in the draft.

I don't know if the economics work, but Darrion Williams on Texas Tech remains an ideal fit.

Would be interested if any bread crumbs are out there over who the staff could be targeting.

I feel like this question has been asked a 100 times. Either the folks in the know aren't willing to say (for legitimate reasons) or no one knows for sure who this target player is

[Winger]

Any other intel out there of who Arizona could be targeting if Bryant stays in the draft.

I don't know if the economics work, but Darrion Williams on Texas Tech remains an ideal fit.

Would be interested if any bread crumbs are out there over who the staff could be targeting.

I feel like this question has been asked a 100 times. Either the folks in the know aren't willing to say (for legitimate reasons) or no one knows for sure who this target player is

I dont think anyone outside of Lloyd (and maybe Murph and Matt King) know the list and plan.

And, I am not sure a bunch of assumptions on this subject are even accurate:

1. Bryant’s “reported” NIL of $1.25-1.5 mil can be spent on a replacement player(s). This is the biggest one, and for the record would not have been true for the vast majority Love’s NIL last season.
2. Bryant’s “reported” NIL number is the ceiling for a replacement player(s). Another pure hypothetical that can change in an instant, literally 1 second.
3. There is a legitimate chance of Bryant coming back. No way anyone can know this. No matter what they have been told and by whom. Classic Arizona offseason propaganda.
And of course the biggest:
4. ADO isn’t going to start.

[Alieberman]

I just the hope the AZ staff is planning on Carter not returning and not waiting until it becomes official.

The longer this drags out the less confident I feel about getting a decent replacement

[PHXCATS]

Am I the only one who thinks a more well rounded player would actually be better for next year's team?

[Beachcat97]

I just the hope the AZ staff is planning on Carter not returning and not waiting until it becomes official.

The longer this drags out the less confident I feel about getting a decent replacement

Friend texted that CB didn't even work out at the combine. Guessing that means he already has a 1st round guarantee? Why interview for a job that's already been offered?

[Merkin]

I just the hope the AZ staff is planning on Carter not returning and not waiting until it becomes official.

The longer this drags out the less confident I feel about getting a decent replacement

Friend texted that CB didn't even work out at the combine. Guessing that means he already has a 1st round guarantee? Why interview for a job that's already been offered?

What is he not doing?

He is doing some testing at least.

[dirtbags]

I just the hope the AZ staff is planning on Carter not returning and not waiting until it becomes official.

The longer this drags out the less confident I feel about getting a decent replacement

Friend texted that CB didn't even work out at the combine. Guessing that means he already has a 1st round guarantee? Why interview for a job that's already been offered?

he's doing the medical eval, tests, and drills but will be skipping the scrimmages like most of the other top draft prospects. he logged a 39.5" max vertical leap today, which is pretty impressive. by comparison, i think i saw that cooper flagg's was around 35"ish? a kid from unc hit 43", which is close to top 10 all-time range.

[Beachcat97]

Okay. So from the sound of things, Carter is gone. I don't see anything indicating otherwise.

[dirtbags]

we'll know either way in exactly 15 days

[PHXCATS]

December. 20th in Phoenix

San Diego State

Fucking love this schedule so much

[84Cat]

Glad to see we're going to be playing San Diego State again

[TheCat]

Everyone loves the schedule until we come out of it with a 500 record. LLoyd knows these freshman are going to need a baptism by fire if they are going to perform in conference. Quite frankly top freshman do not always equate to a good season. Ask Maryland who had 2 of the top 5 projected NBA draft choices. Right now our roster looks heavy on the young side and we saw how our top NBA draft choice did early in the season. It is going to be a huge challenge especially in the early going.

[Postmaster]

Hopefully the euro that replaces Bryant is game ready

[TheCat]

Another soft Euro will be the mantra if he is not.

[Winger]

Were all the Euros that have flamed out to date for Lloyd soft?

I had much bigger issues with their lack of shooting and defensive/rebounding chops than softness. Oh and to be honest on-court idiocy regarding Kriisa.

Pelle in particular was pretty darn tough.

[PHXCATS]

Give me a good well-rounded player

Carter was great shooting and some other things but his mistakes were major issues at times

[Alieberman]

Major issues?

Way to shit on an NBA lottery pick who was a huge part of last year's team.

[dovecanyoncat]

Fuck the hater(s).

[PHXCATS]

Major issues?

Way to shit on an NBA lottery pick who was a huge part of last year's team.

I am not but his help defense and losing his man many times was obvious

A more well rounded guy maybe better for the team overall

[ChooChooCat]

Were all the Euros that have flamed out to date for Lloyd soft?

I had much bigger issues with their lack of shooting and defensive/rebounding chops than softness. Oh and to be honest on-court idiocy regarding Kriisa.

Pelle in particular was pretty darn tough.

To be honest the issue literally every single Euro has had here was they couldn’t defend for shit. Murauskas was more than capable of playing offensively, but couldn’t see the court, because he couldn’t defend a 3 or 4. Henri and Pelle were the only ones who bucked that trend. I think we are likely landing a wing who can more than hold his own offensively, but defense will remain a question.

[Alieberman]

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

[PHXCATS]

Put it this way

Let's say every player is graded on 12 attributes.

Bryant was 4 Aa 4 Bs and 4 Cs. NBA cares about the As. He was great and wish he was still here.

But I do think for the team overall a guy who is maybe 2 As and 10 Bs 0 Cs could actually be better overall for the team

[ChooChooCat]

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

It’s not.

[Merkin]

Defense can be taught, athleticism not so much.

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

It’s not.

[azgreg]

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

It’s not.

Can you say if he's transfer, HS, or Euro?

[Fishclamps]

Gotta be Euro right?

[Alieberman]

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

It’s not.

That’s the answer I’m looking for!!!

[AzCatFan2]

As an almost 100% lock for the lottery, Bryant is making the right decision. I wish him good luck and Bear Down. He will be missed, and yes, he wasn't the best defender on the team, but he was improving over the course of the year. He certainly has the skill to be a 3 and D guy in the NBA, and that's why he'll be a lottery pick.

As for CB's replacement, I'm sure he will be capable. But I doubt he'll have as high a ceiling. And as Lute used to say, the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.

[EastCoastCat]

We will now see soon if the "player in waiting" was all smoke or not?

It’s not.

That’s the answer WE ARE ALL looking for!!!

Slight correction...

[Chicat]

Fuck the hater(s).

Podcaster agendas strike again. Bad day for the haters.

[TheCatInTheHat]

Okay, so just a quick sanity check on my scorecard at the moment. So, we've got Bradley returning in the backcourt, the 5-star freshmen (Burries, Aristode, and Peat), and Krivas returning at center, with Awaka and Dell'Orso also as returning veterans. Then you've got debatable contributions from Nelson from Harvard, LeBron's other son Bryce, and two 6-11 freshmen who may be redshirt/long-term projects. And we may get a Euro wing player who we hope is more comparable to Pelle Larsson than Dell'Orso. If that's way off, somebody please unscramble it.

[Merkin]

So university payments to athletes are hidden, although ever state employee has their salary published online?

[Fishclamps]

So university payments to athletes are hidden, although ever state employee has their salary published online?

Well your answer is right there, they aren't classified as employees

[dirtbags]

So university payments to athletes are hidden, although ever state employee has their salary published online?

right? i get why schools don't want to classify athletes as employees, but if public universities are paying players directly, i don't see how it's any different from compensating their employees or contractors. this cutesy thing they're doing, classifying athlete salaries as NIL / "licensing" deals to sidestep disclosure requirements may all be for naught since the deals are contracts and considered public record in many states anyway. like in CA, public schools' contracts are subject to CPRA (CA version of FOIA) and accessible by anyone. i believe AZ has it's own similar disclosure laws - yet another headache in the state-by-state NIL patchwork. but even if schools push to legislatively exempt NIL info, it's probably just a matter of time before athletes demand employee status so they can unionize and gain leverage. this thing will likely drag on until the courts, legislatures, or federal regulators decide - preferably uniformly.

[Merkin]

like in CA, public schools' contracts are subject to CPRA (CA version of FOIA) and accessible by anyone. i believe AZ has it's own similar disclosure laws -

I was a California Cal State employee. You can look up exactly how much I make in my pension and how much I made every year.

If you look at the state employees in AZ, and rank them by pay, UA and ASU MBB and FB coaches top the list.

NBA salaries are disclosed. I don't see the need to hide the payment to student athletes from state coffers. NIL I can see, that is all private money.

[PHXCATS]

This law only goes into effect if the House Settlement doesn't go through

Confirmed by DRF 10 feet away from me tonight

[TheCat]

Congratulations to Carter. I thought it interesting he talked about his defense as a strength. Thanks for coming to Arizona and representing well. We will miss Carter's potential immensely but that is what today's college is going to look like. For those keeping score I think we have four seniors, 1 junior, and the rest will be freshman on our team next year. I think that is right.

[Winger]

Okay, so just a quick sanity check on my scorecard at the moment. So, we've got Bradley returning in the backcourt, the 5-star freshmen (Burries, Aristode, and Peat), and Krivas returning at center, with Awaka and Dell'Orso also as returning veterans. Then you've got debatable contributions from Nelson from Harvard, LeBron's other son Bryce, and two 6-11 freshmen who may be redshirt/long-term projects. And we may get a Euro wing player who we hope is more comparable to Pelle Larsson than Dell'Orso. If that's way off, somebody please unscramble it.

You can debate the contribution from Nelson but I don’t believe that holds for the other 3. The rest is right save for we don’t know what Bryant’s “replacement” is going to be yet. Allegedly Mike Luke said it would be someone who withdrew from the draft. Others have speculated that it will be a player from overseas. I believe we need another guard in addition to Bryant’s replacement. Long way of saying we are still sort of in limbo when it comes to next season’s team.

[TheCatInTheHat]

Thanks. Yeah, I can see another experienced guard would be a wise move, if possible. I'd love it if at least one of the two freshman bigs could be a useful athletic alternative to Krivas. Seems tough for freshman big men to learn the ropes with all the physical play to be effective and still avoid foul trouble down low. But, long arms, hops, and work ethic can go a long way.

[Winger]

Were all the Euros that have flamed out to date for Lloyd soft?

I had much bigger issues with their lack of shooting and defensive/rebounding chops than softness. Oh and to be honest on-court idiocy regarding Kriisa.

Pelle in particular was pretty darn tough.

To be honest the issue literally every single Euro has had here was they couldn’t defend for shit. Murauskas was more than capable of playing offensively, but couldn’t see the court, because he couldn’t defend a 3 or 4. Henri and Pelle were the only ones who bucked that trend. I think we are likely landing a wing who can more than hold his own offensively, but defense will remain a question.

True. And not suited for the Big 12 either if we’re being honest. I had/have multiple concerns about Lloyd and the Big 12 and courting European players is towards the top of the list.

He obviously inherently understands those concerns and tried to adapt by bringing in guys like Bryant, Lewis, Awaka and even Love; and letting some of his Euros go. And it paid off. Not so much in terms of a shining conference record but being able to stay on the court with the likes of Houston and ISU and Tech.

There will always be exceptions to the rule, but Lloyd is no longer in the WCC nor the Pac and; especially if you consider his unreal OOC scheduling, isnt going to be able to win enough trying to play guys like Bal, Boro, Martinez, Maruskas, Veesaar, ADO, Townsend, etc.

[azcat49]

At Zaga, he could park those guys for a couple years, build their confidence against sub par teams and put them in position for short minute success vs P5 competition when they faced it.

These guys now have to come in ready to play and contribute. We need 8 playing ready P4 guys. Will we have that?

[TheCat]

Were all the Euros that have flamed out to date for Lloyd soft?

I had much bigger issues with their lack of shooting and defensive/rebounding chops than softness. Oh and to be honest on-court idiocy regarding Kriisa.

Pelle in particular was pretty darn tough.

To be honest the issue literally every single Euro has had here was they couldn’t defend for shit. Murauskas was more than capable of playing offensively, but couldn’t see the court, because he couldn’t defend a 3 or 4. Henri and Pelle were the only ones who bucked that trend. I think we are likely landing a wing who can more than hold his own offensively, but defense will remain a question.

True. And not suited for the Big 12 either if we’re being honest. I had/have multiple concerns about Lloyd and the Big 12 and courting European players is towards the top of the list.

He obviously inherently understands those concerns and tried to adapt by bringing in guys like Bryant, Lewis, Awaka and even Love; and letting some of his Euros go. And it paid off. Not so much in terms of a shining conference record but being able to stay on the court with the likes of Houston and ISU and Tech.

There will always be exceptions to the rule, but Lloyd is no longer in the WCC nor the Pac and; especially if you consider his unreal OOC scheduling, isnt going to be able to win enough trying to play guys like Bal, Boro, Martinez, Maruskas, Veesaar, ADO, Townsend, etc.

Maybe you guys can name the teams that have been more successful than the Zags in the same period of time. Kansas ....yes, others? Couple of final fours, 6 times in the elite eight that is not a team that can't compete with anyone and certainly their pros have proved that also. Euro need time to adjust to the American game and fans and programs are not willing to wait. Some will adjust and thrive other will struggle with the athleticism and physicality of the game and can't or don't want to adjust.