Considering that four-star center Dylan Anderson committed to Arizona basically the second Tommy Lloyd was hired to take over the Wildcats last April, there was never any doubt he would sign a letter-of-intent for UA this week.
But having him see the way the Wildcats distributed the ball in their 81-52 win over NAU on Tuesday, on the eve of the fall signing period, apparently didn’t hurt, either.
Of Arizona’s 28 field goals, 25 came off assists — with wing Dalen Terry dishing seven assists and point guard Kerr Kriisa another five.
“He is super excited to bring his talents to Tucson and play for Coach Lloyd and staff,” Anderson’s father, Rob, told the Star on Wednesday after Dylan took part in a signing ceremony at Perry High School in Gilbert. “After watching the game last night and the team having 15 assists in the first half is why Dylan is super-excited to play in that system.”
Sitting at a long row of tables with other Perry athletes who had committed to other colleges, Dylan Anderson wore a UA hat and sweatshirt while thanking his coaches and family.
“Excited to be a Wildcats and play for Coach Lloyd,” Anderson said. “Bear Down.”
Perry coach Sam Duane said choosing Arizona was a “perfect fit” for Anderson, a 7-footer with stretch-four ability.
“He’s a tremendous player and his best basketball is ahead of him, which is really exciting,” Duane said. “What separates him from other players is at his height, he can score at all three levels. He can score inside, from mid-range and he can shoot the 3 and that is going to play very, very well at the next level.
“He’s picked a tremendous program and a perfect fit for him. He will do really well there and he will reach his goal of playing for money.”
Duane then smiled and looked at Anderson: “Not to put that pressure on you,” he said, “but I’ve coached a lot of elite players and he’s in that category.”
Earlier in his remarks at the ceremony, Duane gave an emotional tribute to Anderson, who has turned away repeated offers to play for basketball oriented-prep schools but stayed at Perry. Last season, he became the first Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year from the Chandler Unified School District while being what Duane called a positive leader and great teammate.
“As a coach, I could not ask for anything more,” Duane said. “Every day, he comes in and works. He has a tremendous work ethic. He’s cheering for his teammates on the floor. He’s always positive. … I think he brings more to our program than just his numbers.”
Arizona announced the addition of Anderson on Wednesday morning, indicating it has received his letter-of-intent. Lloyd isn’t expected to comment on him until after the Wildcats face UTRGV on Friday.
Arizona is not expected to add any other high school players during the fall signing period, but will likely add transfers or international players as needed in the spring. Barring NCAA sanctions, the Wildcats will have a minimum of two scholarships open for next season, one to replace super senior Justin Kier and another with the 13th spot that is currently open.
Fast and efficient
Not only were the Wildcats dishing assists for most of their baskets on Tuesday but they also had only six turnovers against the Lumberjacks.
“That’s some Warriors basketball right there,” Kriisa said.
Lloyd called the 25 assists for 28 baskets a “little bit of an anomaly” but was happy to see his new team already buying into that approach.
“Obviously, we really value sharing the ball and moving it around,” Lloyd said. “It’s great when teams play with that type of joy and togetherness. I think it’s fun for the fans, it’s fun for the coaches, it’s fun for the players.”
Those numbers also made for some good offensive efficiency. The Wildcats scored their 81 points over 70 possessions, for about 1.15 points per possession.
“We saw some zone, we ended up with some funky lineups in there, and it kind of disrupted the pace and the tempo early,” Lloyd said. “But it was OK. I thought we left a lot of meat on the bone with some missed layups. You make a few of those and your (offensive efficiency) is 1.3, which is amazing.
“So the nitpicky part of me is that we need to be a little bit better. But overall it’s not a bad start and I think there’s some things for some guys to learn from.”
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson eyes the basket during Tuesday’s season-opening win over NAU.
Larsson praised after debut
In his first appearance for a public game or scrimmage since breaking his foot in August, sophomore guard Pelle Larsson had seven points on 3-for-4 shooting along with an assist over 13 minutes played. The Utah transfer also drew an offensive fouls from NAU.
“I thought Pelle looked better today than he has in practice, which didn’t surprise me,” Lloyd said. “Pelle is a really good player and he’s kind of been feeling his way in practice a little bit and, and maybe overanalyzing things a little bit I thought.
“I didn’t have any hard-minute thing on him tonight. I just kind of wanted to see how he played and I was just hoping he had a good play or two to build off of and I think he did.”
Ballo staying patient
In just 10 minutes Tuesday, reserve center Oumar Ballo became the Wildcats’ leading rebounder (nine) and their top free-throw shooter (6 for 6).
The 7-footer, 260-pounder from Mali has unique potential inside but Lloyd said he’s had a “tough journey” getting there, both at Gonzaga and during the preseason this fall.
“I love him for sticking with it and it didn’t start easy today,” Lloyd said. “He had a tough scrimmage against Saint Mary’s, but kind of battled back. Then we kind of got on him and he really picked it up the next couple weeks in practice. You could see his body changing, you could see his production on the court changing.
“Then (Tuesday), it’s funny, the first thing or two didn’t go right for him. I think he gave up a free throw blockout right when he got in the game and maybe had another mistake.
“I just told him, ‘This game challenges you and it doesn’t let things come easy, and you’ve got to keep your head up and keep fighting and keep moving forward.’ I was really happy to see him kind of respond.”
