Transfer forward Trey Townsend adjusting on and off court to life as an Arizona Wildcat

After five summertime weeks in his new Tucson home, Trey Townsend went back to his native Michigan last weekend a changed man.

“I was able to play a golf outing at my high school and it was 85,” Townsend said. “All my friends were dying and I was like,`Well maybe I am adjusting to that 115 degree weather because it doesn’t feel too bad out here right now.’ ”

Yep, he’s ready. Off, and on, the court.

Arizona’s grad transfer forward from Oakland (Mich.), Townsend says he’s also already adopted a favorite Mexican spot, Momo’s, and getting to know well his new teammates, including fellow transfers Tobe Awaka (Tennessee) and Anthony Dell’Orso (Campbell).

Given the Lou Hensen award as the nation’s top mid-major player last season, Townsend still found some initial adjustments upon joining the Wildcats.

He’s played against and beaten high-major teams — with standout roles in Oakland’s first-round NCAA Tournament win over Kentucky and subsequent overtime second-round loss to eventual Final Four team N.C. State last season — but practicing at Arizona meant dealing with other high-level players every day.

“The elite talent that every single player on this roster has ... everyone is an impact player can help this team in any way,” Townsend said. “There’s not one guy that’s so far below someone else and there’s a lot of guys who have played together ... so they’re able to teach a lot of the new guys, which has helped me.”

The other big adjustment for Townsend is going from a team that ran the No. 248-ranked tempo in the country to one that ranked No. 16 last season. He said Oakland coach Greg Kampe is “one of the best coaches in the country at running plays,” resulting in execution that often resulted in an open shot.

But things are a bit different at UA.

“I had to find a new style of play and not always look for a play to run,” Townsend said. “I struggled a little bit at first but it’s starting to come along learning the motion offense. Coach Lloyd will sprinkle in plays here and there. Most of the time, it’s a free style of play, and I think that’ll help me, obviously this year and in future endeavors.”

Townsend has had an adjustment on the other side of the ball too, having played largely a matchup zone defense under Kampe.

“Anywhere I would have went would have been a huge adjustment,” Townsend said. UA conditioning “Coach Rounds actually plays a huge part in leaning me up a little bit, losing some body fat to get me laterally quicker. It has been a huge thing. I feel I’m doing a great job with that.”

By the time the season rolls around, Townsend is expected to become UA’s starting power forward, taking over the spot vacated by grad transfer Keshad Johnson. Townsend said Johnson’s transformation over one season at UA into a player who signed a two-way contract with Miami was part of the reason he committed to the Wildcats.

“I saw what they did with him,” Townsend said. “I believed in their vision that they had for me and I think I can fill in that role that he had for this team last year.

“I want to expand my game 3-point-wise as they allowed him to do last year. I want to show that I’m a capable 3-point shooter and so far I’ve been able to do that through practices. I really see myself being that rebounder, 3-and-D kind of guy to help us win in any way I can.”

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Krivas ejected in Lithuania’s loss

Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas of Lithuania was ejected in the third quarter of his team’s 87-82 loss to Greece in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket quarterfinals Thursday, setting him up to face UA teammate Conrad Martinez of Spain in a consolation game Saturday at Gdynia, Poland.

One of the leading players in the U20 event so far, Krivas played just 15 minutes Thursday while collecting nine points and five rebounds before being ejected for technical and unsportsmanlike fouls.

At the end of the second half, Krivas was called for an excessive celebration technical foul after former UA teammate Paulius Murauskas put back a Lithuanian missed free throw at the end of the first half, giving Lithuania a 39-37 lead at halftime. FIBA’s YouTube video largely cut away from Krivas, but Krivas appeared to at least lightly bump a Greek player as he headed off the floor.

Later, with 4:08 left in the third quarter, Krivas tangled with Greece’s Vangelis Zougris near the basket, and Zougris hit the floor as both ran up the court. Officials whistled Krivas for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul and confirmed it after a video review, sending Krivas out of the game when it was tied at 51.

Meanwhile, Martinez was scoreless with two assists over five minutes of France’s 74-72 win over Spain, which ended on a dramatic note when France’s Noah Penda hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The losses by Lithuania and Spain put them in the 5-8 consolation bracket, where they will face each other on Saturday at 4 a.m. Arizona time.

UA offers five-star guard Mikel Brown

One of the top players on Lloyd’s USA Basketball U18 team last month, five-star class of 2025 point guard Mikel Brown, posted to Instagram that he received an offer from Arizona. Now playing for Overtime Elite, the 6-1 point guard picked up all-tournament honors after averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 assists during USA’s gold-medal run through the U18 AmeriCup last month in Argentina.

Arizona also offered four star 2025 combo guard Derek Dixon of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga High School, according to Dixon’s social media.

NCAA considering schedule standard

The NCAA’s Division I men’s and women’s oversight committee recommended standardizing regular seasons so they would always begin on the Monday (for women) and Wednesday (for men) exactly 22 weeks before the start of their respective NCAA Tournaments starting in 2025-26.

As of now, the season has fluctuated between 21 and 22 weeks depending on how the calendar breaks. The new schedule would call for the men’s season to begin the first Wednesday of November through at least 2030.

The Division I Council will vote on the proposal in October.