During a preseason when the Arizona Wildcats firmly established that they can win in a number of different ways, they also added a few extra “coaches.”
That is, guys like Caleb Love, KJ Lewis and Jaden Bradley, all veteran perimeter players, have been teaching by example on the floor, making Carter Bryant’s freshman initiation all that much harder.
After Bryant flashed his considerable versatility and talent in UA’s 113-64 exhibition win over Point Loma on Monday with 13 points on mostly acrobatic and powerful 6-for-8 shooting, he acknowledged as much.
“I’m used to being the biggest guy on the court, really being the one that really lays the hit on guys,” Bryant said, also citing pressure from facing wing Anthony Dell’Orso and forward Trey Townsend. “Now I’m kind of playing catch-up just terms of pace, physicality, shot-making, and intensity in general. It’s been a journey.”
While Bradley called Bryant an “unbelievable freshman” after Monday’s game, he maybe wasn’t quite as nice on the floor to the new kid over the past couple of months. Bryant has not only been learning the college game but also playing a number of positions, sometimes having to find a way to keep his 6-8 frame in front of his experienced perimeter teammates.
Arizona freshman forward Carter Bryant dunks during the Wildcats’ exhibition game against Point Loma Monday in McKale Center.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from (Bradley), along with the other guards is just guarding these dudes,” Bryant said. “Trust me, if you would have seen me the first three weeks of practice, they were beating up on me. Anytime they got a switch on me, it was just like, ‘OK, we’re going at this kid. We’re gonna make him work.’
“I’m grateful for them doing that, because it’s got me to the point where I am now, where I’m able to pick up fast guards that are smaller than me. I’m able to switch on a big.”
All this, of course, is a luxury for UA coach Tommy Lloyd. While Lloyd said he has been prodding Bryant to play harder, in order to squeeze the most out of that talent, the coach doesn’t have to do all the convincing himself.
“When you’re a supreme athlete and really talented, one of the greatest gifts you have is to be able to play harder than other people,” Lloyd said after Monday’s game. “I think KJ is setting a good example for him. KJ today was tremendous in his effort, Jaden as well, and Caleb has made a lot of progress in that area. So I think our overall effort and energy is getting where it needs to be.”
The other luxury Lloyd has with Bryant: He’s 6-8 prototypical pro wing whom ESPN rates the No. 13 prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft... and comes off the bench.
On Monday, Bryant did so by tearing into one of Division II’s best teams with athleticism and ferocity. Bryant elevated to throw down three dunks while hitting 1 of 2 3-pointers, a performance that highlighted but also actually just supplemented Arizona’s attack.
Love had nine points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field (1 for 5 from 3). Among its other starters, Arizona had 16 points from Bradley, all in the first half, along with 15 from Lewis, and 12 from Tobe Awaka, who added nine rebounds.
Then there was the bench scoring: The 13 points that Bryant threw in off the bench, 12 from forward Henri Veesaar, and eight from Dell’Orso, who hit 2 of 3 3-pointers.
Dell’Orso, Bryant and Veesaar appear to have moved into Lloyd’s top eight heading into the regular season, and Lloyd also gave backup point guard Conrad Martinez 13 minutes.
“We have 10 guys that can play anywhere else, and a lot of guys could start on any other college basketball team,” Bryant said. “So the biggest thing for me is just constantly learning. I’ve never been in a position where I’ve come off the bench before. Seeing guys like JB and the guards in front of me, seeing the coverages and how physical they are kind of allows me to mentally prepare.”
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) talks to reporters inside the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium on the UA campus on Oct. 11.
Krivas ‘amping it up’
Lloyd’s top eight will grow to nine the second center Motiejus Krivas is cleared to play after suffering a preseason ankle injury, but it still isn’t clear if the sophomore center from Lithuania will play on Nov. 4 in the Wildcats’ season opener against Canisius.
Lloyd said athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and Krivas would make the decision.
“He’s amping it up day by day, and I think he had a good day today,” Lloyd said after Monday’s game. “As long as we don’t have any setbacks, that’s a possibility.
“I want him back as soon as we can get him, as long Justin and the doctors feel like he’s built for the long haul.”
Arizona center Emmanuel Stephen, left, jumps to stop a drive to the basket by Point Loma guard Luke Haupt during Monday’s exhibition matchup in McKale on Oct. 28.
Stephen could redshirt
With Division I basketball players still unable to play in any regular-season games if they want to qualify for a non-injury redshirt season — though football players can play in up to four games — Stephen faces an immediate decision over whether to redshirt.
Lloyd said he hasn’t discussed the possibility yet but could this week.
“E-man’s position on our roster is no slight to him or his ability or his talent,” Lloyd said. “He’s gotten so much better the last few months, it’s almost staggering. We have other really good players that have a little bit more experience and and that’s a good thing...
“it’s my job to handle those delicately, because it impacts the kid’s career and and, and I really believe in E-man, and I think he’s got a ton of potential in him in this. And I think redshirting for us is across the board has almost worked out.”
Lloyd said he was glad that the decision last season to redshirt sophomore center Dylan Anderson wound up leaving Anderson with three years to play college basketball after transferring to Boise State this season.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) attempts to get the ball off in time as Point Loma guard Luke Haupt (2) puts on the pressure during Monday’s exhibition tilt in Tucson.
Lewis slides over to PG
Lloyd said again Monday that Martinez is “somebody I trust,” but he has also been shifting Lewis over to play point guard on some occasions when Bradley is out on the floor.
In the second half Monday, Lewis took advantage of one of those moments by passing off and eventually dunking, then setting up a layup from Bryant on another possession with a 25-foot pass from the wing.
“I’m trying to just give it a few looks here and there, and then casually build it over the course of the next few weeks,” Lloyd said of using Lewis at the point. “Because it’s not necessarily that he’s the point guard. I think if you put him out there with Delly, he could be the point guard. I think Caleb could be the point guard. It’s just having another lineup if we need to rest JB and Conrad is somebody I really trust, giving us another option as well.”
Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso (3) practices his free throws before the Wildcats second exhibition game of the 2024-25 preseason Monday in Tucson against Point Loma.
Delly dally
Though it ultimately didn’t matter in the final scoring margin, Dell’Orso allowed the Sea Lions to make things more interesting late in the first half after he fouled 3-point shooter Zack Paulsen beyond the 3-point line — and committed a Class A technical afterward.
The technical happened right in front of the UA bench, and Lloyd described Dell’Orso as being guilty of, basically, a body language violation.
“I think a little something happened between him and that kid,” Lloyd said. “You just can’t stand over somebody. The official told me, `Hey, I don’t know what he said, but somebody stands over somebody, and it’s threatening. And then the guy on the floor (maybe) retaliates.
“So I thought the ref did a great job of handling it. We’ve got to learn we can take a deep breath in those situations and not hurt ourselves.”
The foul gave Paulsen a potential five-point play, though he missed the first of two technical shots before hitting all three free throws, winding up with a four-point play that cut UA’s lead to 51-38.
As it turned out, Paulsen fouled UA’s Trey Thompson in the left corner on the Wildcats’ ensuing possession, and Townsend hit both free throws to put the Wildcats up by 15 before the Sea Lions cut it as low as 10 points before halftime.
