With Christian Koloko and Bennedict Mathurin gone, Wildcats wait to find out what Dalen Terry will do

With their two top players gone for good, the Arizona Wildcats now face some suspense that could last all the way up until June.

Sophomore wing Dalen Terry has until Sunday to decide if he will at least test the NBA Draft waters, after center Christian Koloko on Monday joined wing Bennedict Mathurin in deciding to jump fully in.

The major mock drafts have Koloko going between No. 26 (The Ringer) late in the first round, to No. 36 (ESPN) early in the second, and the junior from Cameroon declared via social media Monday his intention to make the jump.

“I can’t wait to see what my next chapter will bring,” Koloko wrote, “but one thing is for sure, I put my faith in God.”

ESPN projects Terry to be taken slightly lower than Koloko, at No. 43 in the middle of the second round, a range that can command guaranteed NBA contracts or at least a two-way deal that is likely to be worth $500,000 next season.

Terry appears to be leaning toward a return, possibly because he has the potential to turn into a solid first-round pick in 2023. Under today’s more liberal NCAA rules, Terry would have until June 1 to withdraw if he tests the NBA Draft and signs with an NCAA-certified agent.

But if Terry opted to test the draft and then stays, that would leave the Wildcats with just seven or eight players on hand for 2022-23, pending additional recruits or the possible reclassification of 2023 commit Kylan Boswell.

Unlike Terry, Koloko might have found it difficult to improve his draft stock if he stayed at Arizona next season. He was already the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last season and will turn 22 in June, making it more difficult to flash additional potential.

The finality of their decisions, while not a surprise, still hit hard. UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, the only UA coach on hand throughout the stays of Mathurin and Koloko, said the departing Wildcats were two of “my all time favorite guys” in a Twitter post.

“(Koloko) has grown so much over his three years but from Day 1 was always a great person with high character,” Murphy said. “(Mathurin) came to AZ on a mission to get us back to the top of Pac-12. I’m so proud of him. I’ll miss them both so much.”

If Mathurin winds up a lottery pick as projected, he will slot into a rookie-scale two-year contract worth at least $7 million, while Koloko is likely make at least $500,000 next season even if he falls midway into the second round.

Being taken late in the first round would put Koloko into a rookie-scale slot for a guaranteed two-year contract worth at least $3.7 million, while teams often give high second-round picks guaranteed deals worth at least the rookie minimum of about $1 million per season.

Players taken lower in the second round often sign two-way contracts, which allow NBA teams to shuttle players who have participated in less than four seasons back and forth to the G League. Two-way salaries are now half the rookie minimum ($462,629 in 2021-22), allowing players up to 50 games in the NBA but paying them a flat rate no matter where they are.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

In announcing his decision to move forward, Koloko thanked former coach Sean Miller, current coach Tommy Lloyd and his teammates as well Arizona staffers and fans.

“To the best fans in the country, I can’t thank you enough for embracing me as a skinny kid from Cameroon and making me the man I am today,” Koloko said. “I can’t finish this without thanking my family, especially my sister, Stephanie, for always being here for me whenever I need them.”

After moving from Cameroon in 2017, Koloko moved in with his sister while enrolling at Birmingham High School in Southern California, where he was a teammate of former UA wing Devonaire Doutrive.

Koloko then moved to Sierra Canyon School in 2018-19 while committing to the Wildcats in November 2018, choosing UA over schools such as Cal, Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, USC and UCLA.

As a freshman in 2019-20, Koloko did not play in four of his first eight games, but took advantage of an opportunity that arose after forward Stone Gettings suffered a concussion during the Wooden Legacy event during Thanksgiving week.

Koloko played in every game after that and logged double-figure minutes in seven of the Wildcats’ final eight games before the 2019-20 season was shut down over COVID-19 concerns. As a sophomore in 2020-21, Koloko started 19 of 26 games, averaging 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while then-coach Sean Miller also played both Jordan Brown and Azuolas Tubelis at center.

Then, as a junior early last season, Koloko began to really take off. He earned the Main Event MVP award in November after averaging 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in wins over Wichita State and No. 4 Michigan in Las Vegas, outplaying Wolverines preseason All-American Hunter Dickinson.

“I’ve told you guys forever how good I think C-Lo is. I mean, I think he’s a problem for anybody,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after the Main Event championship game. “For a while the biggest thing was just making sure he believed it, but I think he believes it now. You’re seeing his effort. I see the way his teammates react to him, and it’s been a really awesome progression to watch.”

Koloko went on to start all 37 of Arizona’s games last season, and became the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, showing the ability to not only protect the rim but defend out to the perimeter when necessary. He finished with averages of 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, with his 102 blocks tying the UA single-season record set by Loren Woods in 1999-2000.

“Man, I’m gonna miss you,” guard Kerr Kriisa said on Twitter, tweeting at Koloko. “Especially when (UCLA guard Tyger Campbell) drives by me and I need help from the weak side. Love you and I know you’re gonna be a stud in the league. Happy that I can call you a brother for life!”

Without Koloko next season, the Wildcats are expected to turn to reserve center Oumar Ballo and 7-foot freshman Dylan Anderson, while they also appear to be recruiting Estonian big man Henri Veesaar, a highly rated 18-year-old prospect who is now playing for Real Madrid. UA has been following Veesaar and a several other recruiting targets on Instagram.

While Terry will have the opportunity to play a more scoring-minded role without Mathurin around,, the Wildcats also have a proven combo guard in rising junior Pelle Larsson and a potential breakout candidate in French wing Adama Bal, who made a minor splash in several late-season appearances.

Arizona also could receive an immediate replacement for combo guard Justin Kier if Boswell reclassifies and joins the Wildcats next fall. A five-star guard, Boswell has been playing EYBL club ball for Team Why Not this spring but his father, Brandon, said last week he still has yet to decide on reclassification.