Swedish guard Pelle Larsson became the latest international player to commit to the Arizona Wildcats on Sunday, and this time nobody has to wonder if he can thrive in the Pac-12.
Because he already has.
A 6-foot-5 combo guard from Nacka, Sweden, Larsson moved into Utahβs starting lineup after just seven games during his freshman season in 2020-21 and briefly took over point guard when starter Rylan Jones was hurt late in the year.
Larsson finished as the Utesβ fourth-leading scorer (8.2 points per game) while becoming the Pac-12βs third-best 3-point percentage shooter (50.0%) in conference games and the Pac-12βs second-best free-throw shooter (88.3%) in all games.
Larssonβs father, Christian, told the Star via direct message Sunday that his son was intrigued by βthe style of play Tommy (Lloyd, new UA coach) likes to implement and the familiarity of the Pac-12.β
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Larsson also considered Kansas, Creighton and Stanford.
Already 20 years old, Larsson had two years of Swedish club experience before arriving at Utah last season, playing against a mixture of amateurs and pro players. He also comes from a basketball family, with Christian Larsson having played professionally in Sweden and older brother Vilgot having started as a senior forward for Maine last season.
Swedish guard Pelle Larsson will be part of a talented sophomore class for the Wildcats.
Pelle (pronounced Pell-luh) is regarded an a versatile athlete who also brought a physical touch to the perimeter that impressed then-Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak last season.
βHe has been playing against men for a few years, and heβs got the physical presence and the strength, (so I thought) he is going to be maybe a little bit more college ready than some other folks,β Krystkowiak said in January, after moving Larsson into the starting lineup, according to the Deseret News. βHe likes contact and physicality. β¦ I wouldnβt say heβs fearless, but he is not going to get intimidated by anybody.β
Thrown into the fire against eventual league champ Oregon in his first start, Larsson responded with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. In mid-January, according to the Deseret News, Larsson said he was still adjusting to the college game.
βThe spacing in Europe, I feel like, is better and itβs not as crowded in the paint,β Larsson said. βWhen you drive, there are not sometimes four guys coming to block your shot, like here. The college floor is just crowded.β
Larsson finished the season averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 46.7% from 3-point range in all games. According to Krystkowiak, Larsson was also just shy of recording a 4.0 grade point average in the fall semester.
Next season, Larsson will be expected to play a similar role for the Wildcats β as a starter or key reserve at either guard spot β and is not expected to need a redshirt.
The NCAA has already implemented a one-time transfer waiver while the Pac-12 Council is expected to do the same with its one-year redshirt requirement of intraconference transfers, according to the San Jose Mercury News (Washington has already picked up two intraconference transfers β Terrell Brown from Arizona and Daejon Davis from Stanford).
The Wildcats are still recruiting five-star point guard TyTy Washington of AZ Compass Prep and other ballhandlers but Larsson and rising sophomore Kerr Kriisa give them options at both guard spots regardless of what happens with the rest of the class.
Adding Larsson also further strengthens what will almost certainly be the strongest sophomore class in the Pac-12. Arizona already returns two of the leagueβs five all-freshman players from last season, forwards Azuolas Tubelis and Bennedict Mathurin, while Kriisa might have picked up votes had he not missed 18 games because of NCAA clearinghouse ruling over arrangements to play for a Lithuanian club (Larsson had no such issues).
The Wildcatsβ sophomore class is also expected to include wing Dalen Terry, who started 14 of 26 games last season and has been invited to the USA Basketball U19 trials, along with Gonzaga transfer center Oumar Ballo, an all-star in the 2019 U19 World Cup while playing for Mali.
Overall, seven of the Wildcatsβ nine current players are from other countries while Terry and incoming freshman wing Shane Nowell of the Seattle area are their only domestic players at this point.
