2024-25 Arizona Basketball

[Postmaster]

Our billionaires are a-holes who don't give to their alma mater.

Like who?
I know I've heard someone alienated Arte Moreno. Not sure who else has mad cash besides Click.

Woody Johnson

Robert Sarver is close to being a billionaire.


Jerry Bruckheimer is worth about a billion too.

You forgot the Geraldo, the Kardashian girl and Baghdad Bob.

[Merkin]

College basketball early takes: Marquette, Oklahoma surprise and Arizona, UConn disappoint

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/596735 ... ointments/

Disappointments
Arizona: This is unthinkable but true: Arizona has lost as many games before December (four) as it did Tommy Lloyd’s entire first season in Tucson. The Wildcats didn’t lose their fourth game last season until mid-January, and February the season beforehand. So, yeah, a 3-4 start is cause for concern. But it isn’t just the losses that should have Arizona fans worried; it’s the team’s offensive ineptitude and how un-Lloyd-like this team looks. The Wildcats can’t shoot — they’re basically 250th nationally from 3, making a measly 31 percent from deep — are prone to getting the ball stolen and are easily posting the worst assist rate of Lloyd’s tenure. Before this season, Arizona finished second, fifth and 25th in assist rate under Lloyd. This year, they’re 242nd. Yikes.

It’s not like Lloyd doesn’t have talent, but the pieces just have not fit together. Star guard Caleb Love has regressed from 3 — he’s shooting 28.6 percent from deep, which somehow isn’t a career-worst — despite taking a career-high percentage of his team’s shots. KJ Lewis and Jaden Bradley have also taken steps back as shooters, and Oakland transfer Trey Townsend started the year 0-for-5 from deep before going 3-for-7 in the Bahamas. Lloyd is still figuring out the rotation of his bigs, too, now that Motiejus Krivas is back from a preseason ankle injury. The season isn’t over, but Arizona has only UCLA left in the nonconference, before it gets into its first season of Big 12 play. Based on what we’ve seen, it could be a rough debut.

[Winger]

College basketball early takes: Marquette, Oklahoma surprise and Arizona, UConn disappoint

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/596735 ... ointments/

Disappointments
Arizona: But it isn’t just the losses that should have Arizona fans worried ... it’s the team’s offensive ineptitude and how un-Lloyd-like this team looks ... The Wildcats can’t shoot ... and are easily posting the worst assist rate of Lloyd’s tenure ... Before this season, Arizona finished second, fifth and 25th in assist rate under Lloyd. This year, they’re 242nd ... It’s not like Lloyd doesn’t have talent, but the pieces just have not fit together.

One might think I did, but I did not write that for the NYTimes. Either someone there thinks very similar to me or folks are stealing my stuff from this site too lol.

[Beachcat97]

Again, we lost some truly dynamic offensive players in Keshad, Pelle and Oumar. These three carried the team at times last season, particularly when Love's shot wasn't falling. Now that we're even more reliant on Love, along with decent (not great) shooters Bradley and Lewis, we are just vulnerable af. Compounding this problem is our abysmal defense.

I'm not ready to surrender hope so early in the season, but this team has a LONG way to go.

[BBQ wildcat]

Lloyd has seen this team every day in practice. How could he NOT see all the deficiencies and state that this team is better than a #10 ranking?

[Beachcat97]

Lloyd has seen this team every day in practice. How could he NOT see all the deficiencies and state that this team is better than a #10 ranking?

This is Lloyd's 4th season. In the previous three, he won the league title twice and got to two S16s. It's not exactly HOF-level stuff, but it was definitely an auspicious start to his HC career.

By year four, a coach has built his own roster. The last vestiges of the Miller era are gone. He's had an opportunity to put his own stamp on the program, to instill his own culture. Whatever is happening right now is Tommy Lloyd basketball, for better or worse.

I'm going to give Tommy the benefit of the doubt for now, but the reality is that Arizona basketball expects to contend every season. Contend = be in the mix for a league title and get to the NCAA tourney. Anything short of that, happening just one time, can be considered anomalous. If it carries on longer, it's red flag city.