Arizona men's basketball could stick with just 11 scholarship players in 2024-25

While Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is off directing USA Basketball’s U18 team in Argentina this week, another FIBA tournament in a different hemisphere might be more telling about the Wildcats’ future.

Because after guards Joson Sanon and Jamari Phillips decommitted from the Wildcats last week, rising sophomore guard Conrad Martinez could get a chance to show what he can do next season if he makes Spain’s U20 EuroCup team this summer.

And center Motiejus Krivas, if he plays for Lithuania in the same event, might be able to showcase himself in the same sort of start role he’ll have at UA next season without Oumar Ballo around.

They are two of the players expected to move up after the Wildcats lost seven players after last season– including five outgoing transfers — while three transfers and two freshmen are on board to join them this summer.

The spring revolving door left Arizona with 11 scholarship players on hand for next season, two under the limit, with guard depth particularly thin after Sanon and Phillips took off.

The returns of Caleb Love, KJ Lewis and Jaden Bradley from the NBA Draft gives the Wildcats a strong starting perimeter trio, but Martinez and Campbell wing transfer Anthony Dell’Orso are the only perimeter reserves on the roster behind them.

Still, Lloyd said he would only add another if something “makes sense,” and was OK with 11 players.

“Caleb, Jaden and KJ are a great foundation of a backcourt to build around,” Lloyd said before departing with USA’s U18 team, which opened play Monday against host Argentina. “So I’m really excited about our team. I think talent wise, we’re going to be at the same level we’ve been. We’re going to do our best to put it together and make gains in areas we feel like we can make gains in. I think we’re gonna be a really good team next year.”

While Bradley and Lewis were expected to return from the draft pool, Love’s future initially appeared more up in the air. He participated in the G League Elite Camp last month and went down to the wire before announcing his return to Arizona on May 29, the final day players are allowed to withdraw and still return to college basketball.

Lloyd said he wanted Love to go through the process and has had “nothing but positive” conversations with him throughout.

“Caleb’s got big dreams, and he’s got great potential,” Lloyd said. “He and I are talking about some things that we want to help him grow in and he’s definitely got a growth mindset right now. If we didn’t think that this was a good opportunity for him, I don’t think either side would have pursued it, but we see nothing but positives.

“I don’t think this was Plan A. Plan A was for the NBA draft. But as it turns out, he and his agent didn’t feel like it was. So we’re fortunate to have him back and we’re gonna do everything we can to help him make the gains he’s looking to make.”

The only drawback for Arizona was that Love’s return ensured that any perimeter newcomer would be facing a reserve role, with fewer minutes, shots and possibly even NIL money. So, not surprisingly, Sanon announced he flipped to ASU just 20 minutes after saluting Love’s announcement that he was returning to Arizona.

Phillips, meanwhile, also faced potential competition from Dell’Orso, so he took off despite having committed to the Wildcats in December 2022.

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“Though I’ll always cherish the University of Arizona, my family and I have decided at this time that it is best to reopen my recruitment,” Phillips posted last week. “As I continue to pursue my dream of playing basketball professionally in the NBA, I hope that I may continue to garner your support.”

While Lloyd couldn’t discuss Sanon or Phillips specifically, since they are still-recruitable athletes, he said in general he still felt he the “right pieces” in place for next season.

“Obviously, when Caleb comes back, there’s a little bit of a ripple effect,” Lloyd said. “Sometimes, some of these younger players, whether it’s NIL or playing time, things don’t align, and there’s other opportunities out there.

“But, more importantly, I’m really excited about the team we’ve got. We’ve got everything in the right place.”

That includes point guard, the way Lloyd described it. Bradley and the seldom-used Martinez are the Wildcats’ only point guards, suggesting Lloyd might consider adding a point guard willing to play a role off the bench — if he didn’t believe Martinez might be ready to do just that.

“Conrad can play his own role off the bench,” Lloyd said.

While it was difficult to tell last season how ready Martinez might be to make such a jump — he averaged just 3.6 minutes over 19 appearances as a freshman last season — Martinez will get a chance to showcase himself this summer. He was one of 16 Spanish players invited to try out for the U20 EuroCup team in Spain, a country that ranks No. 2 overall behind only USA in overall FIBA youth rankings.

Lloyd will have other options at point guard, too. Love, Lewis and possibly even transfer forward Trey Townsend could take over some of the ballhandling duties when Bradley is off the floor.

The Wildcats’ frontcourt is deeper. Townsend is expected to start at power forward alongside Krivas, while Tennessee transfer Tobe Awaka is a proven backup center and five-star power forward Carter Bryant is expected to play a key reserve role. Meanwhile, power forward Henri Veesaar returns from a medical redshirt season while center Emmanuel Stephen adds long-term promise at center.

Lloyd could still add another player for next season. There are even still potential UA high school targets remaining, especially if 2025 five-star wing Will Riley of Canada opts to reclassify. Riley has already visited Arizona and, according to 247, is visiting Illinois, Kentucky and Alabama this week.

While Lloyd says he’s fine with just the 11 he has now, there’s always a possibility that multiple injuries or other issues could require more depth.

“That’s always the question,” Lloyd said. “We’ll see. If something presents itself that makes sense, we’ll definitely chase it down. But that being said, I feel like the 11 guys we have are going to allow us to have a great rotation with great depth.”