Just 17 years old as an Arizona freshman a year ago, French wing Adama Bal played a predictably limited role.
He stayed on the bench most of the season and made a splash toward the end, especially after guard Kerr Kriisa became limited by a high ankle sprain in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Bal ran into the same problem over the summer. At 18, he was enlisted to play for France in the FIBA U20 European Championships. There, he played alongside and against players up to three years older than he was; FIBA rules state that players must be 20 or younger only on Jan. 1 to play in U20 events in the same year.
Not surprisingly, considering the age gap and Franceβs deep well of young talent, Bal was asked to come off the bench in the U20s. But this time he made an even bigger impact than he did at UA last season.
Bal averaged 19.6 minutes over seven games in the U20 European Championships, and started a consolation-bracket game against Croatia.
βIt was a coachesβ choice but it didnβt really bother me that much because I got to play a lot of minutes and it was a really good team,β Bal said Tuesday.
France wound up finishing fifth thanks in no small part because of Balβs efforts. In the consolation bracket game against Croatia on July 23, he had 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and hit both 3s he took in Franceβs 83-71 win.
A day later, Bal helped France beat Turkey 84-65 to finish in fifth place, scoring 15 points while hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers. Turkeyβs roster included both former UA wing Tibet Gorener, who had 22 points, and incoming UCLA freshman Adem Bona, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Bal averaged 9.6 points and 1.1 rebounds over the seven games while shooting 43.8% overall and 37.9% from 3-point range.
βThat was a great experience,β Bal said. βYou get to play against the best European players and a lot were older than me. It really helped my confidence.β
Even though heβs 18 until December, Bal is expected to play at least the same sort of major reserve role for the Wildcats now.
Arizona lost Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Justin Kier from the backcourt, while Bal and projected starter Pelle Larsson are expected to play bigger roles this season alongside Texas grad transfer Courtney Ramey and incoming freshman Kylan Boswell.
βIβm expecting him to really help the team,β UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Bal. βAdama is somebody that I really like and Iβve continued to ask him to make changes and grow certain areas of his game that arenβt easy changes to make and he seems to embrace them.
βWeβre kind of working through those processes right now. But I feel by the time November comes, I think heβs going to be a mainstay and will have an opportunity to impact every single game.β
Converted carnivore
Growing up in Estonia, freshman center Henri Veesaar said he didnβt have much of a taste for beef.
That changed after he spent the past three years in Spain playing for Real Madridβs developmental club. Maybe thatβs sort of unavoidable in a city where taller bar patrons might have to duck to avoid a hanging ham or where a display of hooves sometimes greets restaurant diners.
βThe level that they grill at and make meat is amazing,β Veesaar said. βItβs so high quality.β
Marketing-minded GA added
After working as an undergraduate marketing aide in Gonzagaβs athletic department, Ben Lathwell has been named an Arizona graduate assistant in charge of blasting out the programβs videos and graphics over social media.
Lathwell effectively replaces Nick Colosimo, who left as UAβs branding director for a similar role at Duke. Lathwell will pursue a graduate degree in marketing within the Eller College of Management.
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