Big men Oumar Ballo, Henri Veesaar stand out in Arizona's Red-Blue celebration

For those who have closely followed the Arizona Wildcats’ transition into their second season under coach Tommy Lloyd, the Red-Blue Game offered virtually no surprises Friday.

That is, the Wildcats look pretty loaded in the post as expected: Sophomore center Oumar Ballo picked up where he left off after finishing last season strongly, freshman 7-footer Henri Veesaar showed off unusual mobility and ballhandling skills for his size, in-state freshman Dylan Anderson scored in double figures, while junior forward Azuolas Tubelis acted somewhat like, well, a returning all-Pac-12 player.

“I think we have a great core,” Veesaar said.

At the same time, Lloyd also appeared to reveal what could be his starting lineup and top reserve players. In his first Red-Blue Game last season, Lloyd put what became his starters on one team in the second half, and he bunched things up again in the second half Friday.

So, if the same thing happens this time, that means second-half Blue team starters Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson, Courtney Ramey, Tubelis and Ballo will be the Wildcats’ starting lineup to start the season. Veesaar and grad transfer forward Cedric Henderson came off the bench in the second half for the Blue, as they are expected to for the Wildcats this season.

“I love doing that because you’ve got to get comfortable,” Lloyd said. “The guys that are likely going to play a lot of minutes, they’ve got to play together, and I want them to play together under the lights.”

As it was, Friday’s game was only the Wildcats’ fourth official “practice” of the season. UA started full-length workouts on Monday, exactly six weeks before its Nov. 7 season opener, and then held a brief scrimmage on Tuesday.

By Friday, the Wildcats were forced into a full-on scrimmage with about 10,000 fans in attendance – including a long list of notable former Wildcat standouts.

“It’s great to play in front of a full stadium and you can’t simulate that experience in practice,” Lloyd said. “And I want our guys to have a good time and I want it to be a celebration. .. I just like to see how our guys respond.”

The big guys did, without doubt. Ballo and Veesaar each had 16, Tubelis had seven points and three rebounds, while Anderson had 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting, hit 4 of 6 free throws, and collected seven rebounds.

That helped offset some rough outcomes from the Wildcats’ expected backcourt gang: Kerr Kriisa shot just 1 for 6 (all from 3-point range) while Pelle Larsson had eight points on 2-for-5 shooting and Ramey went scoreless while playing the first half for the Red and the second half for the Blue.

Ramey was a combined 0-for-6 from the field (0 for 4 from 3-point range) but had an assist for each team he played for.

While Kriisa’s shot was off, he had three assists to only one turnover, with Veesaar saying he owed his fellow Estonian a “big hug” for the feeds he gave him.

While they didn’t produce heavily Friday, Lloyd indicated the guards have collectively shown enough in offseason workouts and practices this week that he had no concern.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

“Kerr has really worked,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, his stat line didn’t look great today but he really worked in the offseason and I think you guys are going to see some growth in his game. ... along the same lines is Courtney – he’s really worked. I really challenged him on finishing. He didn’t have great numbers tonight but I’m not sweating it.

“If my concern with this team is Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey, I’m sleeping pretty good at night.”

In the first half, the Blue team’s big men jumped out right away even as the Red team took a 23-19 lead. Ballo had 10 points and seven rebounds before halftime, while Veesaar added six points.

Before the game, a host of former UA standouts and celebrities helped judge the dunk contest. The judges included Deandre Ayton, Lauri Markkanen, Stanley Johnson, A.J. Bramlett, Jason Terry, Aari McDonald, comedian Frank Caliendo and country singer Mark Wystrach.

Both Tubelis and Larsson received perfect scores in the final round of the dunk contest. Tubelis drove down for an acrobatic 360-degree dunk but Larsson earned points for originality when, instead of taking the ball from Kriisa under the basket and elevating for a dunk, he instead elevated Kriisa so that Kriisa  could dunk instead.

During player introductions, the loudest cheers arrived when Lloyd was introduced and after a young girl handed Kriisa his signature headband at midcourt.

Lloyd and former UA player and assistant coach Jason Terry both briefly took the microphone to address the crowd, after Terry came out on the McKale Center floor as he did in his NBA playing days, with arms extended in his “JET” pose.

"It’s been a long time since I've been in this building and felt this type of energy,” said Terry, who coached at UA only during the fan-less "COVID" season of 2020-21.

After that season, Terry was initially a holdover on Lloyd’s new staff but left in August 2021 to take a G League coaching job.

“We coached together for a few weeks,” Lloyd told the crowd. “We never lost a game together."

Before the festivities at McKale Center began, about 800 fans took in the premiere of a Lute Olson documentary across campus at Centennial Hall.

Lloyd, calling it all “a great day to celebrate Arizona basketball,” said he even took in a few minutes of the documentary before heading over to McKale.

“You guys are going to be blown away,” Lloyd said of the movie. “It was really cool. I’m just really proud to be here and thankful for everything. And thankful for a fan base that – I can feel it – is really getting behind us.”

Photos: 2022 Arizona Wildcats Red-Blue basketball game