Because Brayden Burries was a top-10 recruit and California’s Player of the Year last season, it was of little surprise when he appeared as a freshman on a 20-player preseason watch list for the Jerry West Award that honors the nation's top shooting guard.
The surprise was that he almost fell off that list and the national radar in general.
During the Wildcats’ three big early wins that catapulted them into the No. 1 conversation — over Florida, UCLA and UConn in November — Burries averaged just 4.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 21.0% from the field.
Then he broke out with 28 points against Alabama in mid-December and, during the Wildcats’ 9-0 start to Big 12 play over the month of January, averaged 17.2 points while shooting with drastically improved efficiency — 59.4% from two-point range and 39.5% from 3-point range.
In short, he’s a different guy now.
So, when the Jerry West Award finally released an updated 10-player midseason watch list Tuesday, Burries' name was still on it. Also not surprising: That just a day earlier, Burries was named the Big 12’s Player and Newcomer of the Week for leading the Wildcats to road wins at BYU and ASU.
Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) takes his hits getting off a shot under the bucket from Arizona State center Massamba Diop (35), left, and guard Noah Meeusen (15) in the second half of their Big 12 game, January 31, 2026, Tempe, Ariz.
“He's just getting a lot of confidence,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Burries on Jan. 24. “I think he's layering that with some experience where maybe he's understanding what's coming before it's happening a little bit more.
“He's able to kind of manipulate certain situations. He's responding to situations in the game as opposed to reacting. That’s a natural growth for a young player. He's kind of in his sweet spot. I mean, I've always felt that, you know, January would be a big month for him to make a big jump. And it looks to me like he has.”
Notably, those words came from Lloyd before Burries became Arizona’s first outright Big 12 Player of the Week this season on Monday.
Averaging 23.0 rebounds, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in UA's two road wins last week, Burries scored 29 points while hitting 13 of 14 free throws in UA's 86-83 win at BYU on Jan. 26. He then had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Wildcats' 87-74 win over ASU on Saturday.
At BYU, Burries wound up outscoring the Cougars' projected high NBA lottery pick, AJ Dybantsa, who had 24 points while going 6 of 24 from the field.
Asked if facing Dybantsa was a matchup he was looking forward to, Burries said, “Of course, because he's one of the better players out there,” then added, “but I kind of go into every game just trying to dominate in every aspect, rebounding, defending, playmaking.”
His defense also preserved the Wildcats’ win over BYU when he swatted away an inside shot from Cougar guard Robert Wright with three seconds left. UA point guard Jaden Bradley had slowed Wright on his drive to the basket and Burries dove in to swat the ball away when Wright went up with it — then hit two free throws after he was fouled immediately upon grabbing the ball.
Asked about that play after the BYU game, Lloyd said rating a guard defensively “shouldn’t be about the wow-factor plays,” but praised Burries' instincts.
“It's about just being solid. Little things like, how do you get over a ball screen?” Lloyd said then. “That might not be sexy for you guys (media), but it might be way more important than a random blocked shot in the grand scheme of things.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd organizes the Wildcat offense during the second half against West Virginia, January 24, 2026, Tucson, Ariz.
“The kid (Wright) had a runway and he's a good player. JB kind of got him off his line and they didn't want to foul. And then luckily, Brayden had good enough instincts and enough courage to come off the blind side and make a play. It was a tremendous play.
“Brayden has grown defensively. It’s just that every possession steadiness. He still has room to grow in that area and we're going to continue to push him that way.”
One of a kind
Arizona has not had a Big 12 Player of the Week in any form since Koa Peat was named Big 12 co-Player of the Week along with Texas Tech's Christian Anderson on Nov. 10, after Peat had 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the Wildcats' season-opening win over then-No. 3 Florida on Nov. 3.
Peat also won Newcomer of the Week awards that week and Nov. 24, after he had 16 points and 12 rebounds in UA's 71-67 win at UConn, but Burries hasn't won either weekly award.
Burries did, however, get named to the Big 12's "Starting Five" (the Player and Newcomer of the Week plus next vote-getters) on Dec. 15, after his 28-point game against Alabama.
Arizona State guard Bryce Ford (4) fouls Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) during the first half, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz.
The Big 12 Starting Five this week included Burries, BYU's Richie Saunders, UCF's Themus Fulks, Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey, Iowa Statte and Kansas' Bryson Tiller.
Saunders averaged 25.5 points in BYU's losses to Arizona and Kansas. Fulks had 21 points and seven assists in the Knights' win over Texas Tech, Lipsey averaged 15 points and a total of 14 assists in the Cyclones' wins over Colorado and Kansas State, while Tiller scored 21 points in Kansas' win over BYU.
UA targets on McDonald's rosters
While Arizona signee Cameron Holmes will not get a chance to make a hometown appearance in the March 31 McDonald’s All-American Game at Glendale’s Desert Diamond Arena, top UA target Caleb Holt was among those named to the rosters earlier this week.
A guard on Lloyd’s U19 USA Basketball team last summer who is now playing at Florida’s Prolific Prep, Holt visited Arizona in October. He is scheduled to play for the West team along with other former and current UA targets, including Brandon McCoy, Christian Collins and Duke commit Cameron Williams of Phoenix St. Mary’s.
Another UA target, forward Bruce Branch, was named to the East team roster. Once a teammate of UA forward Koa Peat at Gilbert Perry High School, Branch is now playing with Holt at Prolific Prep. He visited BYU during its Jan. 26 game with Arizona.
Rim shots
— Arizona remained a unanimous No. 1 pick in the Associated Press Top 25 for a third straight week. The Wildcats (22-0) have occupied the top spot for eight straight times, tying their streak set in the 2013-14 season.
— Arizona's 2 p.m. game with Oklahoma State on Saturday will be carried on ESPN. The Wildcats' schedule initially listed either ESPN or ESPN2.
