After experimenting wildly with his rotation during a three-game summer exhibition trip, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was expected to start whittling things down for real now.
Except he can’t. Not yet, at least.
The Wildcats will miss their two key returning seniors, Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson, along with an expected frontcourt rotation player in freshman center Motiejas Krivas, during an exhibition game Friday against Lewis-Clark State because of minor injuries, Lloyd said Thursday.
Speaking to local media after practice Thursday, Lloyd said Larsson had a “pretty good” sprained ankle while Ballo and Krivas were banged up with minor injuries he declined to disclose further.
“We went pretty hard the last week and a half, and we just got a few bumps and bruises,” Lloyd said, adding that of Ballo and Krivas, “Those big bodies, we ask them to do a lot, so it’s not bad for them to mix in a day off.”
The three players’ collective absence means the Wildcats won’t get to display the full versatility they are expected to have this season. But, having said how he wanted to build a bigger margin for error and presumably a deeper rotation after a first-round loss to Princeton last season, Lloyd said practices have still gone well.
“I think balance and depth is going to be a strength of this team,” Lloyd said, saying he didn’t know yet how he’ll distribute minutes nor how deep he might go. “If guys can play with incredible effort for an extended period of time, they’ll get more minutes.”
While Larsson is a pretty safe bet to get as many minutes as anyone this season, the protective boot over his right foot Thursday meant he’ll be getting a unique, almost coach-like look at how it plays out Friday from the bench.
“I’m very” curious, Larsson said. “I was spending time getting ready for this game and I’ve also seen all these guys spend time getting ready and it’s gonna be really exciting to see them to show out (in front of) McKale fans. I know what it’s like, but some of these guys don’t. I’m just really excited for them. And hopefully, they do their job.”
Veesaar near full strength
The Wildcats will also be gaining one player they didn’t have most of the preseason in sophomore forward Henri Veesaar, who said he sustained both high and low ankle sprains while playing for Estonia during a FIBA U20 European Championship game in July.
Arizona's Will Menaugh (33), left, Dylan Anderson (44), Keshad Johnson (16) and KJ Lewis (5) line up against Arizona's Henri Veesaar (13) in the hunt for a rebound in the University of Arizona’s season opening Red-Blue Showcase at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., September 29, 2023.
Veesaar, who averaged 7.1 minutes over 29 games as a freshman last season, accompanied and practiced lightly with the Wildcats on their Middle Eastern exhibition trip in August but did not play. He said even in last month’s Red-Blue Showcase the ankle wasn’t fully healed but that it is now.
“It was pretty bad,” Veesaar said. “I feel like I can definitely work on it and get it stronger, but it’s pretty good right now.”
Northwest ties
The addition of Lewis-Clark State College for Arizona’s exhibition game Friday was a natural for Lloyd, for two reasons: He said he’s been a longtime friend of coach Austin Johnson, a two-time NABC-named NAIA coach of the year. Also, Lloyd’s son, Liam, grew up playing club ball with Warriors guard Sam Stockton, who is the son of Gonzaga legend John Stockton.
“I’ve known coach Johnson for a lot of years …. and I have a good relationship with the Stockton family,” Lloyd said. “So it just kind of came about naturally.”
Stockton averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 assists while starting 2 of 29 games last season.
The Warriors, located in Lewiston, Idaho, were picked to finish in a third-place tie in the NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference this season. They are scheduled to be paid $12,500 for appearing at McKale.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd celebrates after cutting down the net following the Wildcats’ victory over UCLA in the championship of the Pac-12 Tournament in 2023 in Las Vegas.
McKale North on way out
Already locked into arguably the nation’s toughest conference schedule next season, Arizona may also lose its conference tournament advantage for the long term.
During the Big 12’s preseason media days this week, commissioner Brett Yormark said the conference is currently in discussions to keep the Big 12 basketball tournament in Kansas City through 2031 and that he hoped to finalize a deal this spring.
If that happens, the Wildcats wouldn’t be able to play before legions of their Arizona and California-based fans who annually make the drive or short flight to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena, sometimes fondly referred to as “McKale North” around the UA program.
The Big 12 added BYU this season and will add four others from the Mountain Time Zone next season — Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah — but Yormark indicated a preference to stay in Kansas City, which is within a half day’s drive of the Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Oklahoma State campuses.
“Kansas City has been a great home for the Big 12 basketball championships,” Yormark said. “While nothing is definitive at this point, we are excited by the prospect of calling Kansas City home for years to come.”
Annually drawing the largest crowd contingent to the Pac-12 Tournament at both T-Mobile and, before that, the MGM Grand Garden, Arizona has won the past two and four of the last five full Pac-12 Tournaments they have played in it (the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament was canceled after the first round and UA self-sanctioned itself out of the 2021 event).
Picked to win the Pac-12 this season, the Wildcats would have been picked to finish third in the Big 12 if the AP rankings were consistent with the Big 12’s preseason poll.
Ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, Kansas was picked to win the Big 12 followed by Houston (ranked seventh in the AP poll, five spots ahead of Arizona). Texas, which will leave for the SEC next season, was picked to finish third and ranked 18th in the AP poll.
Arizona’s Jamelle Horne, right, steals the ball from Kansas’ Markieff Morris during a 2008 game. The Wildcats and Jayhawks will be in the same conference a year from now, but that doesn’t mean Kansas will be making yearly trips to McKale Center.
Big 12 plans 20 games
Yormark also said the men’s coaches have decided to play a 20-game Big 12 schedule next season, cutting down on the potential for UA to face old Pac-12 foes outside of the conference. A 20-game league schedule would leave just 11 nonconference spots, about half of which are typically allotted to multi-team and neutral-site games.
With 16 teams in the Big 12 next season, a 20-game schedule would mean each team would play five schools twice and 10 teams once. It’s not certain if Arizona would continue to play ASU twice annually no matter what, as the Pac-12 has required of geographic rivals within its 20-game schedule.
“We’re exploring all that right now,” Yormark said when asked about natural rivalries such as UA-ASU. “We haven’t come up with any definitive decisions, but rivalries, historic match-ups are critically important for us. They’re some of our guiding principles. As I sit here today with no definitive answer, I’d say it’s most likely that that will occur, but nothing has been cemented yet.”
While Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said the Big 12’s additions this year and next would improve the conference, he indicated single-game matchups in many cases could offer some relief.
“We’re going to get away from the double round-robin which I’m not necessarily upset about because it was really a gauntlet going through this league,” Boynton said. “It’ll continue to be (difficult). It’’s just that maybe you don’t have to go to every place every year like you used to. You still play everybody, but the league is going to be as strong as it’s ever been.”
While there has been speculation that Gonzaga could be the next to move to the Big 12, at least for men’s basketball, Yormark said he aimed to continue to create value.
“There’s nothing imminent, but I do explore all options that come to me,” he said. “If it creates value for membership, both short- and long-term, I’m going to pursue it even further.”
Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa (25) gets the headband just right before heading out for the team's workout prior to tipoff against the Stanford Cardinal at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., March 3, 2022.
Ex-Cat Kriisa ditches headband
Now playing for West Virginia, former UA guard Kerr Kriisa showed up at the Big 12 media day wearing a blue sportcoat, purple pocket square and gray dress slacks. When asked by NCAA.com’s Andy Katz if that was what being in Morgantown, West Virginia, did to him, Kriisa smiled.
“They really took me under their wing and they said `Man, we gotta stop the BS, suit up and everything, no headband, etc.’ “ Kriisa said. “So I’m trying to blend in.”
Arizona men’s basketball commit Carter Bryant (24), pictured playing for Sage Hill High School of Newport Beach, Calif., in a CIF-SS championship game in February, took the court in Glendale this past week with powerhouse Corona (Calif.) Centennial at the prestigious Section 7 showcase.
Bryant bullish on Wildcats
In an interview with 247 Sports after taking in the Red-Blue Game along with fellow UA commits Jamari Phillips and Emmanuel Stephen, five-star forward Carter Bryant said the Wildcats could win a national championship this season.
“We have an elite combination of size and athleticism (that) you don’t find in a lot of college basketball teams,” Bryant said. “We have guys who can handle the ball, and shoot it from the one through four. We have guys who are physical, willing defenders a with some of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country. … I have no doubt we have a national championship caliber team.”
Five-star 2025 guard to visit
While UA is hosting 2024 five-star guard Zoom Diallo this week – Diallo attended UA’s practice Thursday and is expected to be on hand for Friday’s exhibition with Lewis-Clark State — 2025 five-star guard Joson Sanon of Vermont Academy has scheduled an official visit for Arizona from Nov. 18-20, according to 247’s Andrew Slater.
The visit will allow Sanon to take in UA’s Nov. 19 game with Texas-Arlington, while Sanon has also scheduled visits ahead with Oklahoma State (Oct. 27-29), LSU (Nov. 24-26) and Kansas (Dec. 21-23).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on how Keshad Johnson developed at San Diego State, and what that “growth” means with him now at Arizona. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on how returnees (Pelle Larsson in particular) from last year’s team developed this offseason (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on what transfer Caleb Love coming brings to the Wildcats after reports of “inconstant” play at North Carolina. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on the team’s early nonoconference schedule and what he might need to see out of his team heading into those matchups. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on how he’s “stylistically, I’m always looking to grow” in terms of “different layers we’re trying to add to our system.” (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on “special place in my heart” Oumar Ballo holds, and what he means as a leader for the Wildcats. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on “toughness” and how his team plans to rebound after last season’s early NCAA Tournament exit. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
VIDEO: Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd speaks at Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, on the “long offseason” and his excitement about his team going into the 2023-24 Wildcats basketball season. (Video courtesy Pac-12 Networks).
