Red-Blue Game continues to be Wildcats' biggest 'community event,' hoops celebration

Eventually, Tommy Lloyd might inspire a few tweaks to the Wildcats’ annual Red-Blue Game.

But the formula will remain largely the same Friday, because it has worked for the Wildcats: More than just an intrasquad scrimmage, the Red-Blue Game has morphed into a full-blown preseason celebration intended to impress fans and top recruiting targets alike, while also giving coaches a valuable evaluation tool.

“We discussed making some things different, but we decided we had so many moving parts that we’re going to kind of keep it the same,” said Lloyd, the Wildcats’ second-year coach. “And the No. 1 goal is it’s a community event. It’s a great way for our program to interact with our fan base and some people get access to McKale that normally wouldn’t go or haven’t been in there.

“For us, it’s also a great learning experience. It’s important to put jerseys on and play in front of people because ultimately that’s how we’re going to be judged. So anytime we can get out in front of a crowd, it’s a good thing to help our players get that experience and help get the jitters out a little bit.”

So for Friday, in chain of events that will follow a Lute Olson documentary screening across campus at Centennial Hall, the Wildcats will hold their usual dunk and shooting contests, with judges that are expected to include former UA women’s basketball great Aari McDonald, comedian Frank Caliendo and Midland frontman Mark Wystrach, a Tucson resident who has developed a friendship with Lloyd.

The Wildcats’ expected competitors in the dunk contest are junior forward Azuolas Tubelis, junior guard Pelle Larsson, senior forward Cedric Henderson and freshman big man Henri Veesaar. Their other eight scholarship players are expected to combine with student fans for a shooting contest, though the availability of freshman guard Kylan Boswell is uncertain because of his rehabilitation from a broken foot.

The Wildcats are expected to debut the new uniforms they flashed on social media Wednesday. While they showcased only the blue and white versions, red ones could be on hand Friday.

If Lloyd’s first Red-Blue Game last year was any indication, the Wildcats’ Red and Blue teams will at least start with equal amounts of talents on both sides. Last season, Lloyd divided up his top players equally for the first half, and then went with what became his season-long starting lineup all on one team in the second half: Kerr Kriisa, Dalen Terry, Bennedict Mathurin, Tubelis and Christian Koloko.

Koloko, Terry and Mathurin are all off to the NBA, and Larsson, center Oumar Ballo and senior guard Courtney Ramey are expected to replace them in the starting lineup. Henderson, sophomore wing Adama Bal, Boswell and Veesaar are also expected to play key roles.

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But when asked earlier this week which way he might go with his lineups in the Red-Blue Game, Lloyd said he wasn’t sure.

“I would imagine we’ll move some pieces around a little bit,” Lloyd said. “It’s a great opportunity to try different things because you’re in front of a crowd and maybe you put different lineups out there and see how they react.”

Most of the Wildcats have already been through offseason workouts together since July. Exceptions were made for Kriisa and Larsson, who played for their national teams in the late summer. The ntire team began full-length workouts on Monday.

They already know each other pretty well. But there will be a difference Friday.

Not only will fans be able to feed off players’ energy at the Red-Blue Game but the players, for the first time since March, can feed off the fans’ energy, too.

And all that, in turn, gives Lloyd another valuable teaching tool.

“You look for competitive maturity, guys that understand we’re playing in front of a crowd but also need to be solid, play with great effort, play with great fundamentals, make good decisions,” Lloyd said. “Those are the things I look for because the first time out, guys get pretty excited and maybe try a few things outside of their wheelhouse a little bit, which is natural.

“We don’t want it to be like an NBA All-Star Game where people are getting out of each other’s way so they can dunk. We’re gonna play a scrimmage the way we would normally play it.”