After finishing third in the regular season standings and advancing to the conference tournament championship game against eventual national runner-up Houston, the Wildcats are back for their second year in the best basketball league in the country. See what head coach Tommy Lloyd and Arizona players Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka, and Koa Peat said at Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Days in Kansas City.
Tommy Lloyd:
Lloyd on navigating the balance between returners and star-studded freshmen class:
“I think the number one thing with your staff is you’re always telling them the most important thing we’re doing is building a team, and building a team to be as competitive and well-rounded and solid as possible. And then you got a little mix, who do the guys you think you’re going to have back, and you always start with them. And we feel great. We have four returning guys back that have already made significant contributions to our program.
And then, how do you start filling in the gaps? And for us, you know, a lot of schools focus on transfer. For us, the first thing we’re going to do is look at high school kids. I’m just a big believer that these really good high school players still got to have a place to go. And so sometimes they’re maybe not as valued, or they’re a little bit more forgotten about then they have been in the past. So, we kind of fell into a group of freshmen, kind of one-by-one that we felt great about. And as we looked at them, we were like, well, for the most part, these guys are better than any transfers we could take, so let’s roll with these guys. And we feel great about those decisions.”
Lloyd on Arizona-native Evan Nelson:
“Evan’s obviously a great person. And it’s really cool having someone in your program that grows up idolizing the players that played at that program as a child, as do a lot of the young kids in Tucson. Arizona Basketball is a big deal. And you know, Evan, we’ve been honest with him, and he’s been great with us, trying to figure out what his role is. I’ve been really pleased with the progress he’s made and I have no doubt this year that he’s going to make real contributions to us in big time games.”
Lloyd on his relationship with Jaden Bradley:
“JB’s somebody I really appreciate and I really value. And you’re right, he is underrated, you know, how do you handle that as a head coach? Do I get out and make all these crazy proclamations and say he’s the best point guard in the country and all these things? I mean, for sure I could, and it would be sound to say that, but JB’s also someone who’s not fighting for the spotlight. He wants to do his job, he wants to serve the team, he wants to represent his family, and he does and amazing job at all of those.
So for me, going into the offseason while we were figuring things out with our roster, I had great piece of mind knowing we had a starting point guard coming back that is as good as he is, that is as good a person as he is, and just being a winner. So, I really value JB and he played great in our exhibition game on Saturday. You can see his experience shine through. So I think he’s primed to have a great year.”
Lloyd on the non-conference schedule preparing Arizona for Big 12 play:
“I think that’s how Arizona should schedule. We view ourselves as one of the premier programs in the country and I think it’s great for the game when programs of our caliber are matching up with other programs, maybe a little higher than us, but at the same caliber. I think it’s important to do. Why would you ever be scared of failure? And you know, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. It’s part of the process. That’s what makes college basketball so great.
And I know this, at Arizona, we’re not protecting anything. We’re trying to go out and get everything we can, and so that’s the mindset we’re going to go in with. And I’m sure there’s going to be some ups and downs with it. And you might see me in mid-November and I might have a different opinion, but as of today, I’m really excited about our schedule and I look forward to the opportunity.”
Lloyd on freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries:
“I think they’re both mature beyond their years, and not only basketball wise, but just physically. And they’re winners. And they’ve really come in and been as advertised, whatever that means. So I really feel good. When everyone else was aggressively shopping the transfer portal, I’m like, I don’t think I could get two transfers better than these guys, so why even get distracted? So I really feel good about those two and what they mean for our program. They’ve been great in practice. I’m sure there’s going to be some ups and downs and there’s going to be a learning curve, but the one thing I do know, they’re competitors and they’re quick learners. And so over the course of the year, they’re really going to step up and show themselves as premier college basketball players.”
Lloyd on Arizona’s front court:
“They’re really good. I mean, that’s the biggest thing for me is you got Tobe Awaka who’s an experienced player. Obviously, we were fortunate to get him from Tennessee and he had a really good season for us last year and has just continued to grow as a player. And another guy that’s a crazy-high-character guy, great student. Any superlative that you could put on him.
And then Mo Krivas. Mo is somebody who I was really excited to recruit back in the day and I thought this kid had a ton of potential. And I know in this day and age, you don’t say this lightly with how the game has changed, but it’s really hard for a 7-foot-plus guy to be a legitimate NBA player. I think he has a chance. You know, I think there’s work to be done and he’s got to go out and prove it on the court on a night-to-night basis, but he just has tremendous potential. He’s really come on. I mean, he had to play 32 minutes against Saint Mary’s, which probably wasn’t the best coaching. He hadn’t played a game in forever, but it’s what the situation called for. And I think he had 17 rebounds and that’s something we’ve really been pushing him on.
So I think the combination of those three guys (including Koa Peat) is a luxury and it’s something we hope to take advantage of.”
Lloyd on the plan for Bryce James:
“Bryce and I have had a lot of conversations figuring out this year. You know, I mean, redshirting is a possibility. And the reason I say that is because I believe in Bryce. If you didn’t believe in somebody, why would spend extra resources on them or extra time? Bryce has been great at our place. He’s really, his body is starting to change. I think the one thing people don’t realize about Bryce is he’s a year younger than his class, so like he should be a senior in high school right now. So just kind of helping him with that transition right now has been fun.
But I’ll say this, he’s a first-class kid growing into a young man, and it’s been fun having him on a day-to-day basis. Fun kind of watching him kind of come out of his shell and turn into his own man, and my job is to respect him as a person and help him with his own journey, and that’s our plan at Arizona. We got no extras. Let’s just help this kind develop into a great young man. And I think that’s what his family wants and what he wants and we’re going to help him with that.”
Jaden Bradley:
Bradley on his unselfish style of play:
“I just feel like coach instills that into us. Just knowing where my shooters are…So, just knowing where my shooters are at all times.”
Bradley on standout players through the offseason:
“We got [Motiejus] Krivas, we got Dwayne [Aristode], we got Brayden [Burries]. I could pretty much go down the whole list, our whole team. But those three that I just picked out, you’re definitely going to see a lot of them. And you know, I’m excited for the rest of the world to see them as well.”
Tobe Awaka:
Awaka on his development this offseason:
“It wasn’t anything too crazy. Just focusing on techniques and honing in on certain skills. Not really trying to reinvent the wheel, but sort of polish up somethings. And you know, I’ve been trying to work on my perimeter game and work on connecting the offense, being poised in some more decision-making situations. Obviously, my job is way easier when you have guys like Jaden Bradley, [Anthony] Delly [Dell’Orso] who can know down threes, you know, players like that.”
Awaka on what Jaden Bradley brings to the floor:
“He’s just a steady force. Day in, day out, he’s the same. He brings a kind of grit and toughness and peace to the team. He’s sort of the common force.”
Koa Peat:
Peat on what attracted him to Arizona’s system:
“I think the development plan they put together for me during my recruitment process was – it really helped me pick my decision to come here and play for U of A. And just the way Coach [Lloyd] uses his fours, and just the way the structure of the offense. I mean, he’s going to let you play, but there’s obviously a structure, but in that structure, he’s going to let you have freedom and play your game, and you got to play both sides of the ball. You can’t just rely on offense, you got to play defense, too.
So, coach is really about the details and the little stuff and I got to experience that this summer with him with the U19 team. And I mean, that was a great experience for me. I kind of got a head start before I came to campus and got into playing with the team and I’m just excited for this season.”
Peat on building chemistry and the team’s early expectations:
“It’s been great, playing with a great point guard like ‘JB’ and a great big like ‘Tob.’ ‘Tob’ goes out there and plays as hard as he can, and I think that definitely brushes off on all of us, all the team. He kind of sets the tone in that manner. And then ‘JB,’ he’s going to find you, he’s going to put you in good spots. He’s going to help you get into good spots to score. And then, we got a lot of other good players that just, I mean, I feel like we’ve built a really good chemistry, not just on the court, but off the court as well. And I think that’s going to help our team in the long run.”