On Bryce James’ potential impact, a UA men’s hoops subplot and more | Michael Lev

Current, former and future Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views.

News: UA men’s basketball lands a commitment from Bryce James, son of LeBron James.

Views: This is a multipronged upside play by Tommy Lloyd and his staff.

Bryce isn’t as highly regarded a recruit as older brother Bronny, who played one season at USC and is now part of the Los Angeles Lakers organization with his dad. But Bryce has better size (listed anywhere from 6-4 to 6-6 compared to Bronny’s 6-3) and undeniably great genes. As much as we want to rush teenagers onto the biggest stages, everyone develops at their own pace. Bryce James could be a late bloomer.

And if he never becomes more than a role player, that’s OK. From all accounts, he’ll be an asset in the locker room. And he’ll bring positive attention to the program that almost no one else could.

You might argue that Arizona men’s basketball doesn’t need notoriety, but it doesn’t hurt to get that ESPN news-ticker pop for reasons other than an FBI investigation or NCAA sanctions. As we were reminded during bowl season, sports is all about marketing nowadays. Bryce James has 494,000 followers on Instagram. His commitment post got 12,500 likes.

If LeBron James — one of the greatest basketball players of all time and one of the most famous people in the world — shows up for a handful of your games, that’s a good thing. I can picture the headline now: “Le Buzz more than just a café in Tucson.”

Bringing Bryce James aboard also could help Arizona land other recruits. KLUTCH Sports Group represents LeBron James. It also represents Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, a pair of uncommitted, five-star UA recruiting targets, per 247Sports national basketball director Eric Bossi.

Adding the son of King James to your program is a chess move — a low-risk, high-reward one at that.

News: The UA men survive a blown lead to upset No. 16 Cincinnati on the road.

Views: It was looking like UCLA all over again as the Wildcats squandered another double-digit lead in the second half. This time they found a way to win thanks to Jaden Bradley’s knifing layup, good foul shooting (6 of 7 in the final 24 seconds) and solid team defense.

But the ongoing quest to put all the pieces together in the best way remains the most compelling subplot of the 2024-25 season.

Third-year center Henri Veesaar and freshman Carter Bryant continued their ascent while coming off the bench. Veesaar led Arizona in rebounds (eight), assists (four) and blocks (two) while tying for team-high honors in steals (two) in 26 minutes. He also had a team-best plus-minus rating of plus-20.

Bryant hit all five of his field goals — including three 3-pointers — and had four rebounds and one block in 15 minutes. Foul trouble limited his time on the court.

As I suggested last week, Veesaar and Bryant have less experience — but much higher ceilings — than current frontcourt starters Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend. Veesaar and Bryant also are capable of stretching the floor. Awaka is a pure paint player, while Townsend has struggled to shoot from range (3 of 16 from 3).

Given their respective skill sets, it would make sense to alter the lineup and rotations. Start Veesaar alongside Townsend — or Awaka alongside Carter. Lloyd clearly likes the grit that Awaka and Townsend bring, but their offensive games don’t complement each other.

I don’t expect Lloyd to make a change as long as the Wildcats keep winning. But if Veesaar and Carter continue to improve, they might force Lloyd’s hand.

News: The UA women bounce back to blow out UCF.

Views: After a disappointing all-around performance on Dec. 31 vs. Utah — poor offense, foul trouble, body language, you name it — Adia Barnes didn’t wait. She made significant changes to the starting lineup.

Barnes inserted freshmen Mailien Rolf and Lauryn Swann and brought veterans Skylar Jones and Paulina Paris off the bench.

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Rolf made just 1 of 5 shots but had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Swann also had three steals, along with a pair of 3-pointers. Jones made every shot she took from the floor and the line in scoring a team-high 17 points in just 19 minutes.

Whether Barnes sticks with this configuration remains to be seen. But a case can be made that she should.

Rolf and Swann — especially Swann — have the ability to space the floor. That’s something the Wildcats desperately need; they rank 11th in the 16-team Big 12 in 3-point percentage (31.8%).

Rolf and Swann also are capable of handling the ball, enabling Jada Williams to play off the ball at times. That gives Williams — who’s been battling through injuries — a bit of a breather without having to come off the court.

Jones unquestionably is one of Arizona’s five best players. But, similar to KJ Lewis of the men’s team, her best role might be bringing energy off the pine. She was locked in against the Knights and didn’t let negative plays (four fouls, three turnovers) affect her effort. That was a glaring issue against Utah.

Paris apparently wasn’t 100% and played a season-low three minutes. She struggled in the first two Big 12 games, totaling as many points as turnovers (five apiece). But she has enough experience and ballhandling skills to continue to have a role, whether that’s as a starter or a reserve.

News: UA football’s transfer-portal class ranks in the top 25 nationally.

Views: As of Monday afternoon, Rivals had the Wildcats 12th while 247Sports had them 22nd. On3.com uses a different algorithm — comparing gains to losses — and had Arizona 62nd.

Although the transfer portal brings more certainty than high school recruiting — most of the players have at least some record of success or failure on the college level — the rankings don’t necessarily portend prosperity.

The top five teams in Rivals’ 2024 team transfer rankings — Colorado, Ole Miss, Louisville, Texas A&M and Arizona State — all had good seasons. No. 6 UCF went 4-8. No. 7 Michigan State went 5-7. No. 9 Washington went 6-7. No. 12 Florida State went 2-10.

You never know how the pieces will come together. What I like about Arizona’s class — or at least its plan — is that it has addressed needs and, to a large extent, targeted a specific type of player.

The UA had 19 incoming transfers as of Monday. Nine — nearly half — came from Group of Five or FCS schools. That number ticks up even more if you include receiver Kris Hutson — I’m not sure how to categorize Washington State these days — and players who began their college careers at G5 schools (Ayden Garnes, Jay’Vion Cole).

Most players coming up from the lower levels bring proven production and/or a hunger to show they belong. As The Athletic’s Chris Vannini pointed out, eight of the top nine 2024 Heisman Trophy vote-getters started their careers or played this past season at G5 or FCS schools. One of the NFL’s top rookies this season, Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jared Verse, began his college career at Albany.

Again, where you started doesn’t guarantee anything. But I’d rather have a bunch of players eager to prove themselves than underachieving former four-and five-stars looking to stroke their egos and collect a paycheck.

News: The UA men’s tennis team is omitted from the Star’s 24 memorable sports moments of 2024.

Views: This was a collective effort by our staff, and we blew it.

Clancy Shields’ team unquestionably deserved prominent mention in our list, whether it was the Wildcats winning the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time or advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons.

Top player Colton Smith also advanced to the semifinals in the NCAA’s singles tournament in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he had support from the UA softball team, which was facing Oklahoma State in a Super Regional series.

Our bad, guys. Won’t happen again.