Post by mhbruin on Apr 27, 2021 10:25:55 GMT -8
Next are the 5th place Arizona Wildcats. Stop me if you've heard this one before. There is a legendary head coach with a long-time assistant as head coach in waiting. The assistant gets tired of waiting to be a head coach. He leaves to become the head coach of a Pac-12 team that just fired their head coach.
Is it Mike Hopkins of Washington or new Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd? It's both!
Coach Lloyd takes over a program under the shadow of an NCAA investigation. Will that buy him some patience with Wildcat fans? I would not count on it.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
Akinjo has put his name in, but has not signed with an agent. He's also in the transfer portal. He led the team in scoring, assists, and steals. He had an excellent 2.4 to 1 A/TO ratio.
Mathruin may put his name in, but so far it sounds more like he will stay in school.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Daniel Batcho was the only member of the Wildcats’ international-heavy recruiting class who didn’t play this season. He underwent knee surgery in the preseason and, even though he had finished rehabilitation before the season ended, still sat the bench, with Miller saying he didn’t know the plays. Last February, Batcho averaged 14.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, and received MVP honors.
Gorener appeared in eight games for a total of 30 minutes.
RETURNING
These are some good players, but this isn't enough. The Coach Lloyd is going to have to find more bodies.
Tubelis might also put his name in the draft. Or he might play pro ball in Europe. Or he might choose to stay in Tucson and play with his twin brother.
Kerr Kriisa joined the team late in the season. After the season, he put his name in the transfer portal, but then he withdrew it. He will stay at Arizona fro another season.
Koloko wasn't a big scorer, but he has potential to be a very good big man. He led the team in blocks.
Dalen Terry was a starter early in the season in part because he could handle being a secondary ballhandler. However, Terry never lived up to his lofty recruiting ranking, and he was bumped out of the lineup by Mathurin’s emergence. Terry played some power forward in smaller sets, and the position could be an option for next season if Arizona doesn’t add another frontcourt player.
It's not a shock that a kid like Ballo is transferring out of Gonzaga and following Lloyd to Arizona. Ballo is from Africa and Lloyd was know for handling the recruiting for overseas players. And Lloyd is know for developing big guys. It seems like a good fit. But with Jordan Brown and Christian Koloko, they may have a logjam at center.
Ballo was highly-rated out of HS, but he didn't see much time playing behind Timme. And with Chet Holmgren on his way in, he wasn't likely to see a lot next season, either.
This is a pretty talented roster with seven 4-star players and a 5-star. They have to integrate some new players and learn a new system, so there could be growing pains.
However, Arizona should be in the top half of the league and maybe even competing for the conference title. This could be a good season for You-Of-AY, at least until the NCAA comes calling.
Is it Mike Hopkins of Washington or new Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd? It's both!
Coach Lloyd takes over a program under the shadow of an NCAA investigation. Will that buy him some patience with Wildcat fans? I would not count on it.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| James Akinjo | 35 | 16 | 2 | 5 |
Akinjo has put his name in, but has not signed with an agent. He's also in the transfer portal. He led the team in scoring, assists, and steals. He had an excellent 2.4 to 1 A/TO ratio.
Mathruin may put his name in, but so far it sounds more like he will stay in school.
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Jemarl Baker | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Fresno State |
| Terrell Brown Jr. | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Washington |
| Ira Lee | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | George Washington |
| Daniel Batcho | |||||
| James Akinjo | 35 | 16 | 2 | 5 | Baylor |
| Tibet Gorener | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Daniel Batcho was the only member of the Wildcats’ international-heavy recruiting class who didn’t play this season. He underwent knee surgery in the preseason and, even though he had finished rehabilitation before the season ended, still sat the bench, with Miller saying he didn’t know the plays. Last February, Batcho averaged 14.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, and received MVP honors.
Gorener appeared in eight games for a total of 30 minutes.
RETURNING
| Player | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Azuolas Tubelis | 26 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 1 | So | 4 | 57 |
| Benedict Mathurin | 26 | 25 | 11 | 5 | 1 | So | 4 | 129 |
| Jordan Brown | 26 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 1 | Jr | 5 | 19 |
| Kerr Kriisa | 8 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 2 | So | 4 | 85 |
| Christian Koloko | 26 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 0 | Jr | 3 | 178 |
| Dalen Terry | 26 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 2 | So | 4 | 52 |
These are some good players, but this isn't enough. The Coach Lloyd is going to have to find more bodies.
Tubelis might also put his name in the draft. Or he might play pro ball in Europe. Or he might choose to stay in Tucson and play with his twin brother.
Kerr Kriisa joined the team late in the season. After the season, he put his name in the transfer portal, but then he withdrew it. He will stay at Arizona fro another season.
Koloko wasn't a big scorer, but he has potential to be a very good big man. He led the team in blocks.
Dalen Terry was a starter early in the season in part because he could handle being a secondary ballhandler. However, Terry never lived up to his lofty recruiting ranking, and he was bumped out of the lineup by Mathurin’s emergence. Terry played some power forward in smaller sets, and the position could be an option for next season if Arizona doesn’t add another frontcourt player.
RECRUITS
(#24 class, #4 in Pac-12)
| Name | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Shane Nowell | 6-5 190 | SG | 4 | 80 | Oklahoma, Washington, Washington State |
| Shane Dezonie | 6-4 190 | SG | 4 | 102 | Rutgers, Clemson, Arizona St, Arkanas |
Arizona has already had one 4-star player decommit in KJ Simpson, so that recruiting class rating is too high. Will the other two stay with Arizona? Will Lloyd be able to convince Simpson to re-commit? Inquiring minds want to know.
In spite of a lot of noise on a pay service, Simpson was never going to get an offer from UCLA.
In spite of a lot of noise on a pay service, Simpson was never going to get an offer from UCLA.
TRANSFERRING IN
| Player | Size | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Oumar Ballo | 6-10 245 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Gonzaga | So | 4 | 78 |
Apparently Aiken committed around 2 hours before Sean Miller was fired. Then on April 21, he changed his mind and committed to Washington State.
Maybe someone told him this:
>>Russell lives in Tucson, the third-fastest-warming city in the U.S. Last year, she said, “We had one hundred and eight days above a hundred degrees—you can’t quite get your head around just how long that is.” (The average number of hundred-degree days that Tucson typically experiences is sixty-two.) As the temperature climbed, cabin fever set in. They couldn’t visit their friends, and it was too hot to go to the playground—or even to play in the back yard. Russell started waking them up at 5 a.m. to walk the dog.
Maybe someone told him this:
>>Russell lives in Tucson, the third-fastest-warming city in the U.S. Last year, she said, “We had one hundred and eight days above a hundred degrees—you can’t quite get your head around just how long that is.” (The average number of hundred-degree days that Tucson typically experiences is sixty-two.) As the temperature climbed, cabin fever set in. They couldn’t visit their friends, and it was too hot to go to the playground—or even to play in the back yard. Russell started waking them up at 5 a.m. to walk the dog.
It's not a shock that a kid like Ballo is transferring out of Gonzaga and following Lloyd to Arizona. Ballo is from Africa and Lloyd was know for handling the recruiting for overseas players. And Lloyd is know for developing big guys. It seems like a good fit. But with Jordan Brown and Christian Koloko, they may have a logjam at center.
Ballo was highly-rated out of HS, but he didn't see much time playing behind Timme. And with Chet Holmgren on his way in, he wasn't likely to see a lot next season, either.
CONCLUSION
This is a pretty talented roster with seven 4-star players and a 5-star. They have to integrate some new players and learn a new system, so there could be growing pains.
However, Arizona should be in the top half of the league and maybe even competing for the conference title. This could be a good season for You-Of-AY, at least until the NCAA comes calling.