Seen and heard: Kylan Boswell logs first minutes at Arizona, Benn Mathurin shines for Pacers, and fans talk unis

'Bam-Bam' makes Arizona debut

With just under eight minutes left in the first half of No. 17 Arizona’s 91-61 exhibition win over Western Oregon Monday night at McKale Center, Kylan Boswell — the Wildcats’ highly-touted freshman point guard from Champaign, Illinois — checked into a college game for the first time.

Boswell, a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pounder, was recently cleared to play after rehabbing a foot injury he suffered at Nike EYBL in April. The five-star Boswell reclassified from Arizona’s 2023 recruiting class to join the Wildcats this season, but wasn’t expected to be ready until closer to Pac-12 play.

Boswell — nicknamed "Bam-Bam" — finished Tuesday with one assist and a foul in 10 minutes.

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd eschewed the idea of Boswell gaining more minutes off the bench as he continues to work his way back to playing at 100% — even though the UA will be without Courtney Ramey for its first three games.

“He’s practiced Division I basketball for a week,” Lloyd said of Boswell. “I know how good he is. Love the kid, but I’m also the first one to temper the expectations. … The kid is 17 years old and is going to be a hell of a basketball player, could be an all-time great here. But let’s give him a little bit of time and let it happen organically.”

University of Arizona vs Western Oregon, men's exhibition — Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis throws down a dunk over Western Oregon's John Morrill-Keeler following a fast break in Tuesday's exhibition game in McKale Center.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

The big number

14:56

Time remaining on the clock in the first half when Arizona missed its first field-goal attempt. The Wildcats started 8 for 8 from the field, including three field goals from Azuolas Tubelis, before sophomore guard Adama Bal missed a 3-point attempt.

Wizards Pacers Basketball — Indiana Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin dribbles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, in Indianapolis.
Michael Conroy

'Big Benn' off to hot start

For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Wildcats played without Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko, whom are now in their NBA seasons.

No surprise, the highest-selected Wildcat, Mathurin, is making the biggest impact for his respective team.

The sixth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers is averaging 20.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27 minutes off the bench. On Saturday, Mathurin tabbed a career-high 32 points on 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range in a 125-116 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

“He’s off to a great start,” Lloyd said of Mathurin. “He has a real fire that burns in him, he’s got a real internal confidence and what I love about his confidence is that it’s earned. That guy puts time in, and I think he’s become passionate about the game of basketball, and passionate about learning and playing it better, and you can see he’s trending in the right direction.

“Again, six or seven games into a long NBA season. Let’s hope he keeps it up, but let’s also understand it’s a long season and he’s a rookie. There’s probably going to be ups and downs. I’m super proud of him and we love him.”

After Tuesday’s exhibition game, Bal said he’s “not really surprised” about Mathurin’s start in the NBA.

“We’ve been working together a lot last year and he talked to me about his mindset — I feel like he was already ready last year. I’m not surprised and I’m proud of him,” Bal said.

Bal added Mathurin’s influence in practice last year helped his development as a guard.

“He was being hard on me and he was hard on him defense, him and (Dalen Terry),” Bal said. “I give him credit for that and I’m really thankful for that, because they didn’t give me anything. They were hard on me, playing hard defense and I think it really helped me. We would play one-on-one all the time

after practice, and I think it really helped me.”

Fans weigh in on new Arizona uniforms

Arizona donned its new white uniforms for Tuesday's exhibition.

Unveiled in September, the Wildcats’ new uniforms pay homage to the 1988 Final Four team.

We asked three different spectators at McKale Center on Tuesday what they thought about Arizona’s new threads.

Here’s what they said:

Jack Mencke, junior at the UA: “I think they’re decent. I definitely like the blue ones the best. The red ones kind of look like the women’s team red ones, in my opinion, which isn’t a bad thing, I just think it could’ve been more original. The white ones are decent, but I feel like they could’ve implemented the cactus a little better. … I would’ve changed the white ones a little bit and change the font a little bit — a little bit more retro.”

Robert Salinas, Western Oregon fan and father of WOU guard Antoino Salinas: “I think they’re great. They’re clean. … I think it shows who they are — Cats. It represents Arizona well. … This is my first look at them and I think they’re nice uniforms.”

John Glavin, 10-year UA season-ticket holder and Tucson resident since 1985: “Old-school is good. I like it.”

‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’

Arizona’s pep band added a new song to its rotation this season: “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” by late rapper DMX, who died last April.

Wildcats introduce new intro video, add seats behind basket

Arizona’s pregame video featured a narration by ex-Wildcat Bob Elliott, along with clips of the current players wearing the new uniforms in the desert.

Among the noticeable quotes from Elliott: “It’s time we ignite the flame and show what the ‘McKale Magic’ is all about. … We’re used to the heat, so bring all of the smoke.”

The UA has also removed the tables behind both baskets, which were useful for fans sitting courtside who ordered food and beverages during games. Arizona replaced the tables with two rows of 10 seats on each side of the basket.

Oumar Ballo added to preseason watch list

Arizona center Oumar Ballo became the latest Wildcat added to a preseason watch list. Ballo was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year watch list. He’s one of three Pac-12 players on the preseason watch list, along with Oregon’s Kel’el Ware and UCLA’s Adem Bona. Ballo had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Arizona's starting center on Tuesday.