In a world of NIL and the transfer portal, it’s silly to think rosters will be the same, or near-same, year over year, right? That appears to the be the case for Tommy Lloyd and Co., with two more players exploring their options following the 2024-25 season. On Monday, Arizona forward Henri Veesaar and center Emmanuel Stephen entered the transfer portal.
The 7-foot Veesaar, a native of Tallin, Estonia, broke onto the scene for the Wildcats this season. After medically redshirting his sophomore year with a season-ending elbow injury, Veesaar averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, while shooting 59.2 percent from the field this season. He scored in double-figures in 16 games this season, including a career-high 22 against ASU, and 13 in Arizona’s Sweet Sixteen loss to Duke.
The All-Big 12 Honorable Mention’s minutes saw a drastic uptick following the loss of center Motiejus Krivas for the season, and he was expected to be a key part of Arizona’s front court heading into next season. For now, that front court will consist of Krivas, Tobe Awaka, and five-star freshman Koa Peat.
Tommy Lloyd has a history of developing bigs into dominant post players, including Christian Koloko and Oumar Ballo, but Emmanuel Stephen will not follow in their footsteps. The 7-foot Stephen appeared in just eight games for the Wildcats this season, playing a total of 24 minutes. He was likely to redshirt this season, before the loss of Krivas forced him into a number of games. The former four-star prospect is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, and prepped at Dream City Christian Academy in Glendale, AZ.
The Arizona Wildcats now have three players in the transfer portal, with Henri Veesaar and Emmanuel Stephen joining KJ Lewis.
[…] Martinez is the fourth scholarship Arizona player to enter the transfer portal, joining KJ Lewis, Emmanuel Stephen, and Henri […]