Facing the same cruel adjustment almost every new Arizona Wildcat gets slapped with upon reporting to campus — namely, a Tucson summer — Tobe Awaka thought of a solution upon transferring from Tennessee.
That is, books.
“Reading is definitely one” of the key activities this summer, Awaka said.
It’s not just light, summertime reading, either. Once called “The SEC’s Most Intriguing Man” by Rocky Top Insider, Awaka dug into "The Brothers Karamazov," a heavy 19th-century Russian classic, during Tennessee’s trip to Italy in August 2023. He also said he shared book recommendations with Volunteers teammate Josiah-Jordan James.
Awaka
During his introductory news conference Thursday at McKale Center, Awaka said he’s interested in all genres but has been lately interested in psychology and is considering a look at Albert Camus’ 1942 essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus," which considers the philosophy of the absurd.
This is not a simple guy.
“It was really something that stood within me from my mom,” said Awaka, the son of Nigerian emigrants. “I used to hate reading when I was younger. And every summer when school was out, she would force me and my siblings would go to the library. From then on, I started to get into things I was interested in, and my love for reading grew.”
Awaka said he’s spoken with basketball manager Coleman Chennault about sharing book recommendations at Arizona, but that’s hardly the only relationship he’s built since arriving in Tucson earlier this summer.
Awaka said he has become "really great friends” with forward Trey Townsend of Oakland, whom he came to know when both were being recruited out of the transfer portal last spring. Awaka said he's also hit it off with junior point guard Jaden Bradley, a fellow New York native he played against in club-ball during their high school years, as well as Spanish sophomore guard Conrad Martinez.
Tobe Awaka, right, had some foul trouble last year, especially when matched up against National Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue.
“Great guy. Funny dude,” Awaka said of Martinez. With center Motiejus “Krivas, it’s been fun battling him in practices and getting to know him. Delly (transfer Anthony Dell’Orso) has been great as well. Caleb (Love), KJ (Lewis), really all the guys, I could speak great things about them all.”
Along with books, those relationships have helped Awaka avoid the summer heat. He said he and Townsend have become frequent movie-watchers, while he and Bradley have taken a serious liking to EA Sports’ College Football 25 video game.
The relationships also helped him make a home out of McKale Center, a place where he received a rude introduction as a freshman in 2022-23, picking up four fouls in just seven minutes while facing Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis during UA’s 75-70 win over Tennessee.
“It was definitely a good challenge for me,” Awaka said.
Awaka said he remembered it being a “great environment” at McKale, then found it a little different to return to the arena in Arizona practice gear this summer.
“Just being in Tucson, in a new place, was a little surreal,” Awaka said. “But I felt like the guys here really made me feel at home. It kind of felt like I’d already been here a year, just with how smoothly I was able to transition. It's definitely been a great experience.”
On the court, while Awaka is adjusting to playing for a Tennessee team that ran with the 80th-fastest adjusted tempo in college basketball to one that operated with the 16th-ranked tempo last season, Awaka said the adjustments have been minimal.
Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis pokes the ball from then-Tennessee forward Tobe Awaka, center, in their game at McKale Center in 2022. Awaka is now a Wildcat.
Other than some terminology differences, and the pounding on his legs, that is.
“I think transition is a big thing. We like to push the ball for sure,” Awaka said. “And within the halfcourt offense, the bigs are moving a lot, flash and setting screens, things like that. It's definitely taken some getting used to, but I feel with more reps and listening to the coaches, watching film, I’m getting better day-by-day.”
Already, Awaka is a proven rebounder. Playing for USA Basketball in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup, he led all players with an average of 10.6 rebounds per game while he posted eye-popping rebounding percentages of about 20% on both ends of the floor last season at Tennessee.
It’s just that he sometimes couldn’t always stay on the floor. Awaka averaged 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game for the Volunteers last season but picked up three or more fouls in 17 of the 35 games he played, fouling out twice against Purdue and center Zach Edey, and also at Mississippi State.
In an Elite Eight game against Purdue, Awaka had four rebounds, a block and a steal but fouled out after 14 minutes, and the Volunteers ended their season with a 72-66 loss.
See what the top sports stories are for UA and Tucson.
Over the summer, a time when players tend to work most heavily on their individual games, Awaka has made solving that sort of issue a priority.
“Fouling has definitely been one” point of focus, Awaka said. Also, “just making better decisions on the perimeter, playmaking, knowing how to read defenders and how to help my guards in the pick and roll, things like that.
“Playmaking also — being able to shoot the 15-foot jumper and possibly extend it to 3-point range as well. That's something I've been looking to improve on.”
Though Krivas has recently been limited for precautionary reasons because of an undisclosed foot/ankle issue, Awaka said it has been great to play against him.
“He's a really good person, and he's really dedicated to his craft,” Awaka said. “He's somebody that really sharpens you as a player. When you're working out with him, that makes you want to be better as well.”
Tobe Awaka survived his first summer of facing the brutal Arizona heat. “Just being in Tucson, in a new place, was a little surreal,” he said.
Then there’s graduate assistant Przemek Karnowski, the 7-foot former Gonzaga standout who still takes an active role in practices.
Basically, he's shown Awaka how to excel at another form of "reading."
“I think going up against him in practice has been really beneficial for me,” Awaka said. “I know back during his playing days, he was an amazing player, and I'm definitely grateful.
“In terms of footwork, positioning, stuff like that, he's really taught me a lot, just to understand what reads to make when having the ball in the post, what to do if they're double teaming from the bottom side or from the top side, things like that. He’s been really influential this past summer.”
