If Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats were opening a football season Monday, a promising but longer-term prospect such as Emmanuel Stephen could test himself in the opening game with no downside.
But since he’s a basketball player, for now, the freshman center from Nigeria can’t play a single minute against Canisius if he decides to sit out this season as a non-injury redshirt player.
Football players have been able to play in up to four games and still qualify for a redshirt season since 2018, and wrestlers can participate in up to five matches, but for basketball players and other NCAA athletes, a single minute played in a regular-season event burns an entire year of eligibility.
A more comprehensive redshirt policy for all sports is under review this season, in which athletes in all sports might get a flat four events to play in or possibly 30% of their season’s games, which could round up to 10 games for basketball teams that play 31.
“It would be great if they could come up with something in basketball,” Lloyd says. “I mean, eventually, they’re gonna have to. Obviously football has done it, and it’s made sense. I just think for health and safety, for personal development, we’re coming out of an era where guys got five years of eligibility (for those who played in the COVID-altered 2020-21 season).
“So what’s wrong with giving guys four years plus nine games or whatever the ratio is?”
Stephen arrived at Arizona long after the COVID year, and the rule still exists. So he can’t play Monday if he intends to redshirt, a possibility Lloyd said they would discuss.
Arizona center Emmanuel Stephen, left, jumps to stop a drive to the basket by Point Loma guard Luke Haupt during Monday’s exhibition matchup in McKale on Oct. 28.
“We’re gonna have those conversations but, like anything, the player is going to have input,” Lloyd said Thursday. “It’s not going to be me sitting him down and telling him, ‘This is what you’re doing.’ We’re going to give him some information, and give him some opinions, and then we’ll let him make the choice.”
Stephen’s promise —and rawness — were both on clear display over three preseason appearances in McKale Center.
He picked up three fouls in the first seven minutes of the Red-Blue Showcase scrimmage and was 0 for 3 with only one rebound, three fouls and two turnovers against Eastern New Mexico. But Stephen also had two blocks against ENMU and, on Monday against Point Loma, had four points on 2-for-3 shooting along with seven assists — and only one foul in 10 minutes.
“He’s gotten so much better the last few months, it’s almost staggering,” Lloyd said. “We have other really good players that have a little bit more experience than him, and that’s a good thing.
“You’re going to have those kind of situations when you’re at a program like Arizona, and it’s my job to handle those delicately, because it impacts the kid’s career. I really believe in E-man, and I think he’s got a ton of potential in him.”
Arizona center Emmanuel Stephen (34) dunks the ball during the Wildcats’ Oct. 28 exhibition game against Point Loma at McKale Center.
Lloyd said he was glad he redshirted center Dylan Anderson last season because, even though Anderson wound up transferring to Boise State, it gave him three years left to play college basketball.
Lloyd said he also wished he had redshirted and thus preserved more eligibility for wings Adama Bal (Santa Clara) and Filip Borovicanin (New Mexico), who both transferred after only playing limited roles at UA for two seasons.
“That’s genuinely how I feel,” Lloyd said. “It doesn’t always work out that way, but I think just anything you can do to lengthen those guys’ careers is a good thing.”
