Deep-thinking Arizona big man Tobe Awaka accepts — and thrives in — reserve role

Shortly after hitting all four free throws he took over the final six seconds to seal another big Arizona win Wednesday at UConn, Tobe Awaka stuffed his 6-foot-8, 255-pound frame into an airplane seat for a 5½-hour ride across the country. 

Not surprisingly, even though he said the Wildcats’ charter airplane was actually pretty comfortable, he was still awake when the plane touched down at 3:36 a.m.

“I never sleep on planes,” Awaka said. “It’s just been a thing. I’ve always had trouble doing it.”

But instead of spending those early morning hours continuing to celebrate or watch videos, as some of his teammates did before dozing off, Awaka said he logged into airplane Wi-Fi to research stocks and dove into a book about spiritual prosperity.

They were analytical and mental actions that may have had nothing to do with basketball ... and yet everything to do with Wildcat basketball.

They might explain how Awaka has accepted a backup role this season, going from an honorable mention all-Big 12 pick last season to a guy who comes off the bench behind center Motiejus Krivas and forward Koa Peat.

“Koa is playing out of his mind,” Awaka said. “Big Mo is making a big jump.”

That's the analytical part. Then there's the mental, or maybe spiritual, part about why Awaka accepted the idea of fitting in behind them.

“Honestly, it's just been about serving my team, just focusing on that, only on that,” Awaka said. “Spirituality, my faith and God, has kind of changed my perspective on how I look at things.”

Already known as a deep thinker who ran a book club with his former teammates at Tennessee — and waded through Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” midway through last season — Awaka said he’s essentially modeling the way “Christ came to serve and serve his people,” making the individual thought secondary.

“It’s sort of taking that mindset, that psychology, that philosophy, and using it as a leader — serving instead of being served,” Awaka said. “So whatever capacity that I can serve my team, that's what I'm looking to do.”

Still, Awaka says he also understands the outside perspective. He’s seen the takes about it on social media, the DMs that slide to him, people wondering why, whether something is wrong, or what.

He's averaging 8.8 points and 9.8 rebounds so far this season, starter-level production once again, but off the bench this time.

“I don't really see it as a demotion, really. It's just putting my team in the best position to win,” Awaka said. “I know a lot of people might tweet or comment, 'Oh, he's not starting — what happened?' I'm just trying to serve my team the best way possible.

“But internally, we know what we're trying to build, the pieces that we have. And I don't underestimate how hard coach (Tommy) Lloyd’s job is. You have big-time talent coming in every single year, and there's a lot of egos, there's a lot of skill sets you have to mix and match, you know? I'm just trying to make his job as easy as possible.”

Awaka’s acceptance has helped allow the Wildcats to avoid the sort of messy rotation uncertainty that led to their miserable early start last season, and ultimately kept them from getting better than a No. 4 NCAA tournament seed even after they won 14 Big 12 regular-season games and reached the conference tournament final.

At this time a year ago, the Wildcats were trying to figure out what to do with Krivas, their dominant 7-footer who had missed most of the preseason with a foot injury, and where to put eventual NBA lottery pick Carter Bryant into the rotation, among other things.

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Was Krivas a starter? Was Bryant, and at what forward spot exactly? Lloyd went with Awaka, often, but with questions early on until Krivas was declared out for the season in December when his injury flared up again.

So far this season, it’s been simple: Lloyd starts Krivas at center, Peat at power forward and has Awaka fill in for both, sometimes playing alongside Krivas in a monstrous post combo.

On the perimeter, Lloyd has also shifted another former starter in Anthony Dell’Orso to a prominent reserve, while he has also been sprinkling in athletic freshman forward Dwayne Aristode.

“Obviously, I feel comfortable with the eight-man rotation at this point,” Lloyd said on Nov. 10, after just three games, then used it again to beat UCLA and UConn. “I feel like we’ve got a really solid eight-man rotation.”

Awaka had 10 rebounds in 26 minutes against the Bruins, and Lloyd said when he was at the four alongside Krivas, the Wildcats had a "real, physical presence" with Awaka excelling in defensive switches and being a "monster on the boards.”

It's not a one-way street. Playing the four might also actually benefit Awaka personally, since he might need to excel at that position off the bench to make an NBA roster.

“It definitely helps me moving forward in terms of my versatility, playing more on the perimeter, and guarding (power forwards) than anything else,” Awaka said. “I understand the court-mapping, the different spots to be in.

“Obviously, I know that if I make it to the league, I'm not the No. 1 pick. So it’s about mentally understanding what to look for when you're on the bench, how a team's playing, and how to get your mind ready so when your opportunity does come, you're ready."

Awaka nearly lost his opportunity Wednesday at UConn. He picked up two early fouls and played just 14 minutes, but was in the game when it mattered most.

Awaka rebounded a missed free throw by UConn’s Eric Reibe with six seconds left, then hit both free throws after he was fouled to give UA a 69-64 lead. After UConn's Demary Silas hit a 3-pointer to pull the Huskies within 69-67 with two seconds left, Awaka drew a foul and hit two more free throws before time expired.

Before making those last four free throws, Awaka had made only 8 of 16 free throws this season. But Awaka said that wasn’t on his mind, nor was the magnitude of the moment, nor even the fact that his New York-based parents were sitting just a few feet away.

It was just him and the basket.

“Surprisingly — it was weird — I wasn't really nervous,” Awaka said. “My mind was just kind of blank. In my head, it was like 'two free throws, whatever happens, happens.'"

What happened was they all went in. And a tightly knit Arizona team left the East Coast at 5-0, with arguably the best resume in college basketball to date.