Arizona is promoting Evan Manning from operations director to a full-time assistant coach, a role Rem Bakamus vacated upon becoming a Texas Tech assistant earlier this month.
UA officials confirmed the move Thursday, though it has not yet been formally announced. Wildcat Authority reported that Austin Torres, a graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 2022-23 and 2023-24, would return to the program to take over as director of basketball operations.
The son of Kansas legend Danny Manning, Evan Manning already has Division I coaching experience, having served as an assistant coach at Army in 2022-23 before Army fired head coach Jimmy Allen after that season.
Arizona men’s basketball director of basketball operations Evan Manning cheers on the Wildcats as they take a timeout during their Nov. 13 win over Southern at McKale Center.
Having also worked with UA coach Tommy Lloyd at Gonzaga, when Lloyd was an assistant coach and Manning was a graduate assistant, Manning joined the Wildcats in August 2023 and spent two seasons in a wide-ranging operations role.
“I just felt we needed a little bit more support internally and Evan’s a really talented guy who’s obviously been around basketball his whole life and been at really high levels,” Lloyd said during the 2023-24 season. “He’s a great asset to the program.”
The promotion to becoming one of UA’s five assistant coaches means Manning will be allowed to work on the floor with players, since operations staff cannot, while Torres will fill his operational duties.
The NCAA increased the allowable amount of full-time assistant coaches from three to five before the 2023-24 season. UA’s staff now also includes associate head coach Jack Murphy and assistant coaches TJ Benson, Brandon Chappell and Ken Nakagawa.
While Bakamus was contracted to receive $120,000 last season as an assistant coach, Manning was paid $80,000 as operations director.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla (left) and Arizona's Evan Manning (far right) enjoy a conversation before a UA-KU game in Lawrence, Kan., on March 8, 2025.
Schedule nears completion
Arizona and South Dakota State have reached an agreement to play Dec. 29 at McKale Center, potentially completing the Wildcats’ nonconference schedule once the game is formally contracted.
In all, UA’s nonconference schedule will include six games against high-level opponents and seven against mid- or low-major opponents, including two in UA’s own “multi-team event” (MTE) over Thanksgiving week: against Denver and Norfolk State.
Arizona will also play 18 Big 12 games starting no earlier than Jan. 2, though those dates and times have yet to be announced, for a total of 31 regular-season games. In addition, UA is expected to host two exhibition games that can now be against Division I opponents.
While teams are currently limited to 31 regular-season games, or 29 if they don’t play in a two- or three-game MTE, the NCAA will allow teams to schedule 32 games without any MTE requirement starting in 2026-27. In an era where schools are now paying players, the change allows them to make more money with an extra game and allows more flexibility for in-season tournaments.
South Dakota State and Arizona have met only once before, a 71-64 UA win on Nov. 21, 2019, when guard Nico Mannion had 14 points, three rebounds and four assists to lead the Wildcats.
Arizona guard Nico Mannion (1) goes up the lane through the entire South Dakota State defense for a dunk in the second half of their game at McKale Center, Nov. 21, 2019.
South Dakota State is coming off a 20-12 season in which the Jackrabbits finished in third place in the Summit League at 11-5. They finished the season with a NET rating of 130 and a Kenpom rank of 137.
Former Cochise College and Washington State big man Oscar Cluff led the Jackrabbits last season in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (12.3), earning first-team all-Summit League honors, but has transferred to Purdue for the 2025-26 season.
Alozie to return
Five-star class of 2026 guard Ikenna Alozie has scheduled a recruiting visit to Arizona the weekend of Oct. 10, according to 247Sports.
While that’s a week after UA hosts its Red-Blue Showcase, an event geared toward recruiting targets, Alozie visited for last season’s Red-Blue Showcase along with current UA freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, plus several other UA targets.
Once a teammate of former UA center Emmanuel Stephen at Glendale Dream City, Alozie is also scheduled to visit Alabama on Sept. 5, Kansas on Oct. 10 and Houston on Oct. 23, according to 247.
