A record infusion of dollars spun the spring transfer portal at an explosive pace this spring, sweeping Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis away from Arizona, yet the Wildcats were mostly curious observers.
UA coach Tommy Lloyd pulled in Tucson native Evan Nelson of Harvard to provide backcourt depth but otherwise put faith in his incoming domestic and international freshmen while watching everything play out in surprising fashion.
“You look down every avenue, whether it’s transfer, international, high school, and you figure out where you feel you can get the best player for your team,” Lloyd said. “But did I anticipate basically the market going as crazy as it did? Obviously, I didn’t. I think everybody thought that there might be a little bump, but I don’t think anybody could have predicted that.
Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd talks to a referee during a timeout in the second half vs. ASU at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Feb. 1.
“Fortunately, with the help of our athletic department, I think we were able to participate at a level that’s going to allow us to be competitive. That’s what this program deserves.”
While college player contracts are not public record under a new Arizona law, UA used the leverage of the impending revenue-sharing payments to help lock up returnees Tobe Awaka, Motiejus Krivas, Anthony Dell’Orso and Jaden Bradley relatively early during the portal season. All four signed revenue-sharing deals in April, though Bradley also tested the NBA Draft.
“Those are guys who expressed a real strong desire to come back, so we just sat down with them and figured it out,” Lloyd said. “I think anytime you can get three or four good returning players back, that’s a great foundation to build on.
“I think we’ve kind of been able to do that each of the past four seasons. ... it’s a formula that’s been successful for us, and we’re comfortable with it.”
During a news conference Thursday to wrap up his spring roster building and discuss being head coach of the USA Basketball U19 team as it opens training camp Saturday in Colorado, Lloyd touched on his incoming and departing players, along with other topics.
Among them:
Lloyd indicated he accepted the decisions of Veesaar, Lewis and Martinez (High Point) to transfer out. (UA also lost backup center Emmanuel Stephen to UNLV, while forward Carter Bryant opted to stay in the NBA Draft):
“They all had the opportunity to explore what was best for them and their future. If they decided to come back, obviously we’d welcome them. If they decided to move on, we were OK with it. I’m happy for (Veesaar). I’m happy for KJ, I’m happy for Carter. Those are good guys. Maybe they’re not coming back here but I’m not going to hold it against them. I’m thankful for the time I had with them.
Arizona forward Henri Veesaar, left, speaks with head coach Tommy Lloyd during the second half against BYU, Feb. 4, in Provo, Utah.
“Things have changed a little bit (financially) and none of us know what it’s gonna look like two or three years from now. But I’m happy for each of those guys individually and I’m happy where our program’s at right now.
Lloyd also applauded Martinez’ decision to leave for High Point, after playing sparingly in a backup point guard role the past two seasons, and spoke of Nelson’s potential impact alongside Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries in the backcourt:
“Conrad Martinez is really good basketball player and I love that guy. But Conrad deserves to be a starting player somewhere. He works so hard and he’s so motivated and tough. I didn’t think that was gonna be able to happen here, especially next year. So we had a great meeting and he decided to move on.
“We knew we needed more help in the backcourt. We had a good idea Brayden was coming and there’s no doubt in my mind Brayden can do a lot of point guard things. But we also wanted a little bit more experience. Evan was available, and our staff brought him to me.
“You talk to Evan one time, and you see his character. You see his seriousness, and the thing I really saw was that his Tucson roots are real, and his love for Arizona basketball are real. When you have a good player that has that, you’ve got to pay attention to it.”
Lloyd said both Krivas and freshman Dwayne Aristode have been medically cleared and are now working out in Tucson after both suffered injuries to their foot/ankle areas:
“Mo’s good. He’s been pretty much involved in everything. I think he’s been fully cleared, but it’s still early June, so we’re probably taking our time and ramping him up slowly. Obviously we don’t play a game for a few months and we want him for the long haul because he’s an important player.”
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) runs through some light stretches and jogging on the court with the team as the Wildcats prepare to take on Duke in a Sweet Sixteen game in the men’s NCAA tournament, Newark, NJ, March 26.
“Dwayne had maybe an injury similar to what Mo had that basically cost him his senior year in high school. Dwayne is talented enough and was playing on a big enough stage that if he went and played well, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for him to be a McDonald’s all American.
“So people kind of maybe forgot about him a little bit but I’m excited to see his contributions. Dwayne’s got great size, great strength, he’s got a good skill level. There’s nothing that tells me that he’s going to be a long term development project. I think he’s going to be pretty ready from Day 1.”
Lloyd said he’s aware of how the current political atmosphere could affect his international players, which include German wing Ivan Kharchenkov, Senegalese forward Sidi Gueye and Sudanese forward Mabil Mawut, who has expressed optimism his student visa will not be revoked because of improving negotiations between U.S. and South Sudan officials:
“It’s a crazy time. You turn on the news and obviously we’ve got some work to do with that area. So we’re paying close attention. We’re gonna make sure we’re in contact with the right people to give a couple of these guys we have coming over a chance.
“(Mawut) is already over here on a student visa, so usually you can just transfer that to another institutions, unless it’s changed. But he’s not even a name that we’ve really brought up in this process.”
Lloyd indicated he was mostly set with his 2025-26 roster, which stands at 12 scholarship players and three former walk-ons (that designation no longer exists as of 2025-26). UA has the ability to add more beyond the new 15-player limit, since former walk-ons won’t count against the cap under the House settlement:
“I mean, we’re always looking to add a piece here and there down the line. I think we’ll be in good shape … I’m excited that those guys (walk ons) got grandfathered in.”
While Bryant is expected to land in the first round of the June 25 NBA Draft, former UA guard Caleb Love is not projected to be drafted, but Lloyd expressed optimism about his chances:
“Caleb’s gonna be in the NBA next year. One hundred percent. Caleb’s gonna be in the NBA, no doubt about it … I don’t know how many guys can go out and score 35 points, easy, on Duke (as Love did in the 2025 Sweet 16). He showed you something there. You know what? He might be a little inconsistent. But I know there’s not too many guys that can do that.
Arizona guard Caleb Love goes to the basket against Oregon center Nate Bittle, right, during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, March 23, in Seattle.
“... I’m very confident that he’s going to earn an opportunity to be on an NBA roster. Then from there, he’s got to make the best of it.”
Meanwhile, Lloyd has also been cheering on the efforts of Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell for the Indiana Pacers in the NBA finals. During Indiana’s 166-107 Game 3 win over Oklahoma City on Thursday, Mathurin had 27 points while hitting 9 of 12 shots, and McConnell had five assists and five steals.
Mathurin played for Lloyd’s first Wildcat team in 2021-22 while McConnell has visited Lloyd and McKale for his Ring of Honor induction:
“Benn and TJ are doing Arizona proud. We obviously know how good those guys are and how important they were to this place. I flipped it on one time, and they (said) the dominant performances and the game changers were TJ McConnell and Benn Mathurin. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ I think it’s awesome. I’m so proud of those guys for the way they represent our program.”
