While there wasn’t much drama in Team USA’s 105-79 win over Serbia on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, there might have been for the one former Arizona player on the floor.
Former Wildcat center Dusan Ristic is trying to make one of the last spots on Serbia’s Olympic team, which still has yet to cut to 12 players for the games in Lille and Paris, France.
In a seven-minute appearance against the Americans in Abu Dhabi, Ristic hit 1 of 3 3-pointers while collecting two rebounds. He also had two turnovers.
Serbia has four NBA players on its roster, including all-star center Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets. Ristic’s chances of making the team appear to depend on whether Serbia ultimately stacks its roster with more centers or forwards.
So far, UA has two former players in the Olympic field: Dallas guard Josh Green (Australia) and Warriors coach Steve Kerr (USA coach), while Azuolas Tubelis and Lithuania did not make it out of an Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico.
Former Arizona Wildcat center Dusan Ristic (pictured playing for Serbia during a matchup with China during the Basketball World Cup in August 2023) is attempting to make his case for a roster spot on the Serbian Olympic team. Ristic played six minutes scoring three points and grabbing two boards in a tune-up loss Wednesday against Steve Kerr-coached Team USA.
Roster holding pattern
After working out most of his 2024-25 team earlier this summer, UA coach Tommy Lloyd says he’s still OK with an 11-player roster if another addition isn’t made this summer – and that he’s still analyzing which way to go to fill the assistant coach role vacated when Riccardo Fois went to the Kings last month.
Lloyd can elevate his current staffers and fill in a lower-level spot or hire a more experienced coach to replace Fois directly.
“I just have never felt any need to do anything quick,” Lloyd said. “I have a lot of guys on the staff who have been around and have grown, and there’s an opportunity for them to continue to grow. We’ll see if we add another piece of the staff. It’s just in a little bit of a holding pattern right now.”
Lloyd has also considered adding a “general manager” type of role that would handle NIL and other modern-day recruiting issues, but says that’s also up in the air.
“We’ve looked at a lot of different options,” Lloyd said. “But I haven’t done anything because I feel good where we’re at, and the right thing hasn’t presented itself.”
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) of Lithuania draws a crowd in a FIBA U20 EuroBasket game against Turkey on Wednesday.
Krivas, Martinez reach EuroBasket quarters
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas had 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting and nine rebounds to help Lithuania beat Turkey 79-63 in a round of 16 game at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament in Gdynia, Poland.
Former UA forward Paulius Murauskas added a double-double for Lithuania, scoring 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting while collecting 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Arizona guard Conrad Martinez had 10 points, two rebounds and one assist to help Spain beat Montenegro 80-45. He shot 3 for 6 from the field and had two turnovers over a 15-minute appearance.
Over four games so far in the tournament, Krivas is averaging 15.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Martinez is averaging 4.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 46.7% from the field (1 of 6 from 3)
Murauskas, who transferred from UA to Saint Mary’s after last season, is averaging 13.5 points while leading the U20 EuroBasket event in rebounding with an average of 11.5 per game.
Spain (4-0) will face France (4-0) in the quarterfinals Thursday at 4 a.m., while Lithuania (3-1) will face Greece (2-2) in the U20 EuroBasket quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The games will be carried on FIBA’s YouTube channel.
If both Spain and Lithuania win, they would face each other in the semifinals on Saturday.
Arizona's head coach Tommy Lloyd watches the action during the Wildcats' Sept. 29 Red-Blue Showcase from between the benches at McKale Center.
Grandpa Tommy
Lloyd became a grandfather for the first time last month when his son, Liam, and fiancée Halle had a baby boy, Luka James Lloyd.
Liam just finished his fourth college season while playing at NAU and is currently in Flagstaff. Tommy Lloyd said his son could possibly join the Wildcats for a fifth season.
“We’re still working through all that but he’s got a lot on his plate right now,” Tommy Lloyd said.
Arizona Wildcats guard Grant Weitman hugs head coach Tommy Lloyd after he exits the court in his senior night game against Oregon on March 2 at McKale Center.
Tucson-native Weitman returning
Lloyd said graduate walk-on Grant Weitman, a local product out of Salpointe Catholic High School, will return to the Wildcats after considering playing elsewhere as a graduate transfer for a fifth season.
Other UA walkons including Will Menaugh, Luke Champion, Will Kuykendall and Jackson Cook are also expected to return to the Wildcats.
