Arizona's Dalen Terry made most of short USA Basketball experience

When Arizona’s Dalen Terry went through four USA Basketball workouts in Texas last week, almost everything around him was familiar.

Same high-level guys he’d seen all over the club and college basketball circuits were there, 26 in all. Two players and a coach, Stanford’s Jerod Haase, were Pac-12 counterparts. And UA assistant coach Jason Terry showed up to offer a few pointers “like he always does,” Dalen Terry said.

Except the gear Terry wore implied prestige — and competition — that was at another level.

So when he was trimmed from USA Basketball’s camp after two days, the news hit him in different ways.

“It was definitely an honor to be selected and wear that jersey,” Terry said. “If I had been selected it would have been even more of an honor, but it’s a blessing and a curse.”

The team was reduced to 17 finalists after four workouts over the first two days of camp, then trimmed to 12 players who left for the U19 World Cup in Latvia this week. The jet-lagged Americans who did make the team suffered through a major travel delay and then lost to Australia 78-72 on Wednesday in an exhibition shortly after their arrival.

Meanwhile, Terry came back to Tucson and hit the gym. He joined a few other Wildcats on hand for limited offseason workouts this week.

“I was upset but I’m gonna look at it this way: I get to work out instead of having to go” across the world, Terry said. “I can get in here, put some more weight on, get my jumper right, get my handle right and get ready for the season.”

Terry will be doing all that with a sharper focus of what he needs.

Terry played a key role on the wing as a freshman last season, starting 14 of 26 games while averaging 4.6 points and 1.5 assists, and USA Basketball gave him experience working under several other head coaches: TCU’s Jamie Dixon is the head coach of USA Basketball’s U19 team while Terry’s position coach in camp was Oklahoma State’s Mike Boynton and Haase is a assistant U19 coach this summer (Terry watched the camp as a non-USA staffer).

Haase “said he’s seen a big jump since the season,” Terry said. “He’s seen me before, and he gave me a few pointers. Pac-12, we gotta stay together. And with (Boynton), that was a good experiment. He had me playing a lot of guard and put me in positions to make myself better.”

All that experience comes on top of playing for both Sean Miller and new UA coach Tommy Lloyd since March.

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After Miller was fired in April, Terry said he considered transferring but ultimately never entered his name in the transfer portal despite the flurry of activity around him. Terry said he still keeps in touch with Miller, who did not attend the U19 camp despite being on USA Basketball’s Junior National Team committee.

“I keep my circle real tight, so I kept it all under wraps,” Terry said. “But obviously, I wanted to give coach Lloyd a chance and he wanted to give me a chance, so I’m staying.”

Terry’s 6-foot-7 size and versatility suggests he’ll fit in somewhere in Lloyd’s scheme. Lloyd’s first roster will have a number of experienced guards and wings who are proven ball-handlers, including Terry, Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson and Justin Kier.

“I know that speaking between me and coach Lloyd, he expects a lot out of me,” Terry said. “So I’m gonna do a little bit of everything. i’m gonna be able to handle the ball, and be able to shoot more, and I have to be a leader. I’m not a freshman anymore so I’m gonna expand my space and show everybody what I’m working for.”

He’s not alone. In fact, the Wildcats will have a distinct sophomore core next season that will also be led by wing Bennedict Mathurin and forward Azuolas Tubelis, creating intrigue about what might be ahead.

“Last year, we were a really good team, but I feel like we didn’t get over the hump,” Terry said. “I feel like this year, we all know what we were last year and … we’re always trying to make this our best situation.”

Rim shots

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ESPN’s updated 2023 rankings have Corona (Calif.) Centennial guard Kylan Boswell a five-star at No. 21 overall, after he received scholarship offers from Arizona and several other high-major schools during Section 7 play in June.

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Former UA guard James Akinjo has received a waiver to play right away next season at Baylor, according to Stadium, despite being a two-time transfer who played for Georgetown before arriving at UA in January 2020.