With Motiejus Krivas out for the season, Arizona Wildcats continue to adjust

When Tommy Lloyd pulled 7-foot freshman Emmanuel Stephen out of a redshirt year and began making other shifts to his rotation last month, the signal was clear: Center Motiejus Krivas would probably be out for the long haul.

On Monday, after Arizona beat TCU 90-81 in its Big 12 opener, Lloyd made it official. The UA coach said Krivas would miss the rest of the season with a foot/ankle injury that has been an issue since late last summer.

Lloyd said he met with Krivas earlier Monday, while UA medical staffers, along with Krivas’ family and agent, have all weighed in on the decision.

“It doesn’t look like he’s going to play,” Lloyd said, “but he’s a great person and a great player, and he’s an important part of our program going forward.”

Krivas is expected to have surgery on his left ankle to repair and protect the area of his ankle and foot, though Lloyd said he didn’t want to offer details that might violate Krivas’ privacy.

Lloyd deferred to UA athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie, who described it only as one that didn’t result from any one moment in practices or games.

“Krivas, his family and the U of A medical staff are finalizing plans for him this week,” Kokoskie said. “As coach Lloyd mentioned, he’s out for the season and we’ll have more information as the week progresses.”

The Wildcats didn’t have any rotation players miss a single game in the previous two seasons, but Krivas has faced some unique challenges. Not only is the Lithuanian sophomore 7-foot-2 and 260 pounds, but also he basically played from the spring of 2022 to August 2023 without more than a week off, since he also had commitments with his national basketball federation.

After averaging 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds off the bench as a UA freshman last season, Krivas worked out at UA in the spring and then went home to work out with the Lithuanian U20 team.

Krivas played a standout role for Lithuania in the U20 EuroBasket event last July, averaging 13.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 59.6%. But shortly after returning to Tucson, Krivas said he felt pain in his left ankle area.

“I was practicing for two, three weeks and then it started,” Krivas said during UA’s Oct. 11 preseason media day (he has since been unavailable for comment).

Krivas wound up missing most of the preseason but was cleared to return for the start of the regular season. He played in UA’s first eight games, averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds, but was sidelined again before the Wildcats’ Dec. 14 loss to UCLA and has missed the past four games.

As a result, Stephen began playing on Dec. 18 against Samford, effectively ending what would have been a redshirt season if he continued to sit out. Lloyd praised the energetic and athletic Stephen for his efforts against Samford and, on Dec. 21, against Central Michigan, though he did not play Stephen on Monday in a close game with TCU.

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But Lloyd did continue with a few Krivas-related trends on Monday, giving 18 minutes to Estonian big man Henri Veesaar and pushing more of freshman Carter Bryant’s time to power forward. In what he has described as a “domino effect,” Lloyd also played reserve Conrad Martinez for two minutes at point guard.

Bryant finished with just seven points, but he made several eye-opening plays. During the first half, Lewis fired a three-quarter-court pass to Bryant as he raced to the basket, then Bryant made a layup just before his momentum took him past the basket.

In addition, Bryant dunked off an alley-oop pass upon entering the game after five minutes and later leapt about 8 feet to block a jumper from TCU’s Micah Robinson.

“He’s growing,” Lloyd said of Bryant. “I think he’s got enough game experience, so he did some great things today.”

Guard Caleb Love had a season-high 33 points to lead the Wildcats offensively on Monday, and Veesaar also posted a season-high with 15 points while collecting six rebounds and four assists. Scoring mostly inside, the mobile 7-footer from Estonia also hit his first 3-pointer since UA beat Old Dominion on Nov. 9, having missed all seven 3’s he tried since that game.

“It felt really good,” Veesaar said. “I missed a lot in a row, but that felt really good to go in.”

Added Love, who was sitting next to Veesaar on the postgame podium, “He’s a real shooter, I’m telling you.”

After dropping out of the rotation as a freshman in 2022-23 and missing last season with an elbow injury, Veesaar has become a regular contributor at both spots.

He’ll likely be needed now more than ever.

“We’re going to be able to roll with Henri, and he’s going to get probably a little more opportunity,” Lloyd said Monday. “For him to kick off his Big 12 career the way he did tonight was a great sign.”