Along with all the shiny new options Arizona picked up during a whirlwind of springtime recruiting, the Wildcats found one of the old tricks still works pretty well.
That is, they just need to get the ball inside to Oumar Ballo.
Arizonaβs first-team all-Pac-12 center collected 18 points and 10 rebounds over 23 minutes of the Red-Blue scrimmage on Friday, leading the Blue team to a 60-48 win over the Red.
But other new options also surfaced all around Ballo, too. From UAβs dive into the transfer portal came forward Keshad Johnson (13 points), Caleb Love (12 points) and Jaden Bradley (nine).
From the Wildcatsβ international pipeline arrived Motiejus Krivas (seven points, four rebounds) and Paulius Murauskas (eight points, seven rebounds).
Then there was that product of some good, old-fashioned high school recruiting: Guard KJ Lewis won the dunk contest and impressed on both sides of the court in the scrimmage.
Those ne w guys helped produce a Red-Blue scrimmage that was reflective of the competition in practices, Ballo said.
βTrust me, our practices are aggressive,β Ballo said. βGuys get after each other and thatβs how we got better.β
The Wildcats were balanced and deep enough Friday that UA coach Tommy Lloyd opted not to consolidate his best players on one team in the second half to give them some prep time together, as he did during the previous two Red-Blue scrimmages.
Lloyd said he could let Fridayβs teams continue to compete as it was because UA now has so much more depth, though he noted that the Wildcats found things worked out best when they didnβt try βsome superhero type play.β
Hereβs how Lloyd broke down some of the new options:
On Lewis, who won the Red-Blue dunk contest, raced to block a shot from Love and scored nine points:
βHe seems to have been on a steady upward trajectory, and thatβs a credit to him. Iβm sure some bumps in the road are gonna come as a freshman, but heβs an extremely high-character guy, and his care factor is really high. So I think heβs well-positioned to have a really good freshman year.
βOne of the things I love about KJ is he solves problems with effort. Thatβs a great thing to have because you can bank on high effort. He plays with a relentlessness that I think is going to be infectious for our team.β
On Murauskas, who spent most of last season in Lithuaniaβs top pro league. The 6-8 forward debuted last month for Arizona by hitting 5 of 7 3s against Israel Select and hit another 2 of 5 3-pointers while pulling down seven rebounds in the Red-Blue scrimmage.
βHeβs a really good player. Heβs like a lot of European players. Heβs kind of finding his way over here and we havenβt had too many moments where weβve scrimmaged for that length of time this year. So itβs good for him to get in the flow of the game and feel it.
βIβm sure when we go back and look at the film, thereβs going to be a bunch of things we can help him with but heβs never lacked confidence on the offensive end of the floor. He kind of has that scorerβs mentality where he forgets his misses pretty quick, and heβs able to keep on plugging away.β
On Krivas, the Lithuanian 7-foot freshman who took only two field goals but made it to the line eight times and hit five free throws.
βI thought a Krivas did a good job impacting the game. It felt like he got fouled a lot. I think heβs gonna learn this system and kind of understand where he can assert his will.
βI donβt know if it was him or his team but I think maybe he had some opportunities to carve out and establish position a little earlier in possessions. I donβt know if he got fatigued or (if there was) a little bit of game slippage β probably both things happened β but when he was around the action, he impacted the ball. Heβs a big, strong guy with great hands and an incredibly high IQ. Iβm excited about him.β
On Johnson, who was recruited because of his veteran and defensive presence β¦ but also managed to hit 3 of 8 3-pointers. While playing primarily at power forward for San Diego State last season, Johnson took only 42 3-pointers over 38 games, hitting them at a 26.2% rate.
βItβs fun to watch him. Iβm not sitting here saying our season hinges on how well he shoots 3s or doesnβt shoot 3s. I think we can win a lot of different ways. But to see him do that could be a little added dimension for us.β
On returners such as forward Henri Veesaar, Dyaln Anderson and Filip Borovicanin, who could also become new βoptionsβ in the Wildcatsβ rotation after spending most of last season on the bench. Each hit only one field goal Friday, but Anderson pulled down three rebounds while Veesaar had two and Borovicanin won the pregame 3-point contest.
βHenriβs had a good camp. Obviously, he didnβt get to do much with us this summer with his ankle injury (from the U20 European Championships), so Iβm excited where heβs going. I think heβs going to really build into a steady player. Dylanβs made solid progression, and I think heβs continuing that way.
βFilipβs a good player. I think he has an ability to be one of, if not our best, shooters but I think heβs got to kind of settle into that role a little bit. He also has a nice IQ, and heβs a creative passer. I think sometimes he gets stuck in between those things a little bit, which is OK.
βA lot of really good players do more than one thing. But I think with his size and his ability to shoot the ball, when he kind of understands the added dimension that gives us, thatβll really help him out. But I love where heβs at and I appreciate him. He was a freshman who last year kind of fought through a tough year. Heβs back here and heβs had a positive attitude, and heβs a great kid. I really respect him as a person and a player.β