In announcing his commitment to play for Arizona next season, Estonian big man Henri Veesaar said it helps to join a team where heβs not the only foreign player.
The Wildcats have him covered there. They now have eight international players lined up for 2022-23 β five of whom who were recruited by coach Tommy Lloyd, the second-year coach known for his strong international ties.
βThey are used to having different players from different continents," Veesaar told ESPN. "The basketball background varies a lot depending on where you grow up, so I think they have a nice mixture from different cultures."
No doubt, Veesaar is also a fit for Lloydβs needs. Heβs a versatile big man capable of helping replace departed center Christian Koloko, while also able to play power forward behind Azuolas Tubelis.
βHenri is a skilled player that can play inside and outside and gives us length and a presence around the basket on the defensive end,β Lloyd said in a UA statement. βWe are excited for Henri and his outstanding family to join our program and we canβt wait for him to arrive on campus later this summer.β
Veesaarβs addition had been increasingly expected in recent weeks. He is believed to have signed a letter-of-intent at some point before the spring signing period ended on May 18.
Eurohopes reported on May 20 that Veesaar committed to UA, citing sources, and Veesaar confirmed his commitment in an ESPN story Wednesday morning that appeared shortly before before his Instagram post. UA also announced Veesaarβs commitment later Wednesday.
Veesaar could not be reached for comment, but he told ESPN that he believed in Lloyd's philosophy and coaching style.
"I've had my eyes on playing college basketball for some time now, and I believe that Arizona is a great fit to make a jump between youth and professional sport," Veesaar said.
Lloyd noted that Veesaar has been well coached with Real Madridβs youth program the last few years and played against some of the top teams in Europe, while Veesaar has also received plenty of attention from analysts watching European talent.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony wrote that Veesaar is considered "arguably the most promising European prospect committing to the college route in the class of 2022," as he did about Tubelis when he committed to the Wildcats out of Lithuania in 2000.
"Veesaar has an intriguing skill set for a modern big man, with a 7-2 wingspan, excellent size, mobility and perimeter shooting ability that could allow him to emerge as a legit NBA prospect as his lanky frame fills out in time," Givony wrote. "He's quick off his feet for lobs or putback dunks, but he shows promising ballhandling, passing ability and shooting range, as well as the ability to protect the rim and clean the defensive glass."
The NBA Draft Junkies website projected Veesaar would become the first Estonian in the NBA in over 25 years, while ID Prospects rated Veesaar the No. 6 prospect born in 2004. ID Prospects graded him highly as a spot-up shooter who can finish and defend well inside.
Playing in 2021-22 for Real Madridβs top junior club, Veesaar averaged 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 67.3% from two-point range and 35.2% from 3. He scored 18 points in Real Madridβs 86-81 loss to Juventut Badalona in the Spanish U19 championship final.
Over four games in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, Veesaar averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 56.3% from two and 33.3% from 3.
βThe future of Estonia basketball is Henri Veesaar,β wrote Rafael Barlowe of NBA Draft Junkies. βAt the very minimum, Veesaar projects to be a pick-and-pop (center) in the NBA."
Veesaar becomes the third member of Lloydβs 2022 Arizona recruiting class, joining Anderson and 6-8 Serbian wing Filip Borovicanin, who committed to the Wildcats last month.
Arizona now has 10 players on the roster for 2022-23, and is still pursuing Nigerian forward Efe Abogidi of Washington State and Leonard Miller of Ontario, Canada, among others. Guard Dalen Terry is testing the NBA Draft and has until June 1 to withdraw if he decides to return to Arizona.
Indiana game finalized
Arizona and Indiana have finalized plans to play on Dec. 10 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
The game fills the Wildcats' open weekend of Dec. 9-11 while also potentially fitting the new Pac-12-ACC-Big Ten allianceΒ that was intended to include men's and women's basketball.
Arizona still has four openings for 2022-23 but is still waiting to see how its roster shakes out before finalizing the rest of the schedule. The Wildcats' pre-New Year's schedule also includes home games with NAU (Nov. 7), Southern (Nov. 11), Cal (Dec. 4) and Tennessee (Dec. 17) while they will play three games in the Nov. 21-23 Maui Invitational.
UCLAβs Etienne assigned diversion
UCLA basketball player Mac Etienne was assigned toΒ complete a diversion programΒ after receiving a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with a spitting incident at McKale Center in February.
University of ArizonaΒ police cited Etienne with a chargeΒ of "assault-touch with intent to provoke" after he was both caught on video and by a UAPD officer as spitting at the crowd he walked off the court following UAβs 76-66 win over UCLA at McKale Center on Feb. 3.
Etienne pleaded not guilty to the charge on March 31 in Pima County Justice Court and was assigned a case management conference for Friday. The case management conference was later vacated when Etienne agreed to complete the diversion program.
While the court calendar states Etienne has until Nov. 21 to complete the program, his attorney, Phoenix-based Aaron Reed, said he faces some deadlines in July and will complete the program before basketball season. Reed declined to state specifics of the diversion program Etienne was asked to complete.
Etienne, who reclassified to play part of the 2020-21 season as a freshman, sat out this season as a sophomore afterΒ tearing an ACL in November. On Feb. 3, he sat on the Bruinsβ bench at McKale Center wearing a T-shirt and pants.
Koloko signs with Klutch
Former UA center Christian Koloko has signed with Klutch Sports, run by well-known agent Rich Paul. Max Hazzard, a teammate of Koloko's at UA in 2019-20, was hired as a Klutch executive assistant last summer.
Fellow UA draft prospect Bennedict Mathurin is being represented by Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports, while Dalen Terry is with Excel.
