Before this season began, this already looked like coach Tommy Lloyd’s worst Arizona Wildcats team in four seasons on the job. The roster talent wasn’t as astonishing compared to other peak years under Lute Olson, Sean Miller or Lloyd.
Today, the total losses have indeed increased in each of the past three years, and it’s easy to point a finger at the move to the Big 12 for this year’s downturn.
More than that, this season has just been odd.
To summarize it:
— Caleb Love looked like he was going to turn pro after a test-run in Tucson last season before about-facing, and his return had a domino effect in recruiting.
— Arizona started 4-5 to seemingly confirm those red flags about the relative lack of talent.
— The Wildcats then won 13 of their next 14.
— The defense has fallen off lately, and 5-6 record since Feb. 11 includes three of Arizona’s worst defensive performances this season (vs. BYU on Feb. 22, vs. ASU on March 4 and at Kansas March 8).
— Lloyd criticized Arizona’s McKale Center crowd after the Wildcats lost at Kansas to end the regular season, and that did not go over well in Tucson.
Add in the context of Lloyd’s No. 1 seed in 2022 and two No. 2 seeds the last two seasons never making it out of the Sweet 16, and you could guess Lloyd’s seat is at least a little tepid.
This isn’t to say he should be gone by any means. But fans are at least wary over his lack of tournament success.
What’s certainly true is this NCAA Tournament appearance for the No. 4 Wildcats that begins Friday against No. 13 seed Akron feels pretty important. Like, it could tell us: Does UofA basketball become just another Big 12 team? Or does it stay afloat as a top-10 college basketball brand?
To Lloyd’s credit, the Big 12 Tournament run that ended in a competitive loss to a No. 1 NCAA seed in Houston showed that Arizona has some potential to play above its head this year.
A lot of the promise is because of what we saw from Love, whose season shooting splits (39%, 32% from 3) are exactly online with his averages over a five-year college career spanning North Carolina and Arizona. As in, not great.
Yet the week in Kansas City marked Love’s best three-game run as a Wildcat. He took just nine shots against Kansas but dolled out six assists, then dropped an aggressive 27 against Texas Tech on just 15 attempts. Love scored 19 against Houston — it happens against one of the best-coached teams in the country. Throughout, he got downhill or at least squared up, looking to make decisions based off his offensive aggression.
Quietly after a hesitant start to this season, Love has become a well-rounded player, even if the haters say otherwise. He is a plus defender and his chucking isn’t out of the form of the offense. A lot of the time, it’s welcomed so we don’t have those “Please, would any one of you like to take the final shot?” moments that defined the roadblocks of Miller’s best teams last decade.
If Love finds offensive efficiency, the ceiling of this team gets blown off.
ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said it frankly in an X post:
I was inclined not to like @ArizonaMBB Caleb Love this season based on what I heard. But I kept an open mind. I asked everybody inside the Wildcats’ program about him & they raved about his character. I watched him play six or seven times in person. Because of his age, he may not be a first round pick. But there are not 60 better NBA prospects. Can his shot selection and accuracy get better? Yes. But he is an incredible athlete with size speed and strength and never gets tired (except on defense, occasionally) and he has a surprisingly high passing IQ for a scorer.
Will he be in the @nbagleague initially? Probably. But can he play in the NBA? His game is absolutely suited for it. Please don’t @ me. I’ve coached 18 NBA players and mentored many countless others.
Now, about the rest of this current roster.
RELATED STORIES
Arizona's Tommy Lloyd: 'Put us in as a 13-seed, we'll be fine' in NCAA Tournament
Arizona’s three more likely NBA prospects are coming off the bench.
KJ Lewis requested to be put there in the good-teammate-move of the year. As an energetic combo guard with hustle, some playmaking and some attacking abilities, he projects as basically what Bronny James might become in the NBA.
Center Henri Veesaar is a year away from going league, most likely. His bounciness, length, toughness and stretch abilities will be coveted.
Then there’s Carter Bryant, who is the prototypical NBA wing with spot-up ability length, defense and gerth. He also happens to be extremely settled for a freshman in his 19 minutes per game — have you seen his meditation sessions highlighted before each game? Speaking of which, why is he playing 19 minutes per game?
Lloyd has tried to build out the rotation by planting forward Trey Townsend and guard Anthony Dell’Orso in the starting lineup to mixed results. Thirty-four games in, it’s tiring to watch the mid-major transfers get surprised when someone is taller and stronger and quicker and faster than they are.
Lloyd is going to be faced with hard truths about his roster soon. It’s easy to imagine Arizona trying to force a two-big lineup on undersized Akron on Friday only for the Zips to respond by running harder or targeting center Tobe Awaka on switches and bombing threes.
I guess you never know if sticking with those bit role players pays off when Arizona advances to the Sweet 16 to face top overall seed Duke, and Cooper Flagg’s still-lingering ankle sprain makes him close out just a tad slower on Dell’Orso a few times and Arizona steals one.
That is the theoretical stuff that is going to shift things in Lloyd’s favor or against him.
Expectations are low if you poll Arizona fans because it’s been a decade since the Wildcats’ last Elite Eight run.
Arizona has a single top-150 prospect committed in the 2025 recruiting class, wing Dwayne Aristode. Three-star prospect Bryce James is also committed. James’ pops showing up to a game or two isn’t going to be enough of a recruiting pull to keep Arizona in the top-tier class.
A deep run this year after three fizzled-out seasons is needed. And it wouldn’t be surprising, because as flawed as this team is, there are five really good college players on it. Will one of Jaden Bradley, Love, Lewis, Veesaar or Carter have an elite performance or two?
Lloyd’s tenure so far has been as unpredictable as Love’s career. Now the coach’s success just might be hanging on Love’s final tournament.
Follow @kzimmermanaz
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( There’s a lot riding on flawed Arizona Wildcats this tournament )
Also on site :