Tucson eats, game nights help Arizona basketball veterans bond with freshmen

While sprinkling team game nights into their offseason downtime, Arizona men’s basketball players decided they have outgrown their favorite from last season, Uno.

Senior guard Jaden Bradley says he knows why.

“They’re tired of me winning,” Bradley said.

Well, maybe. But the primary reason the Wildcats have branched into other games, such as Clue and a new favorite called “Mafia” likely has more to do with the gamesmanship of walk-on guard Addison Arnold — and the overall effort to bond together a barbell of a roster that includes four seniors, a junior ... and seven freshmen.

Youth and experience. Veterans and rookies.

Good and bad … in “Mafia,” at least.

“You have a set of people that are good, a set of people that are bad, and basically it’s the bad people are trying to survive,” center Tobe Awaka says of the game. “The good people are trying to find out who the bad people are and when you interact like that, you get to learn about who people are. Stuff that you might not have known without those sort of close interactions.”

It’s an opaqueness that can sometimes lead to clarity, even if it is just a game.

Bradley says he’s nailed that concept, too.

“You’ve got to find out who in the room is kind of lying almost,” Bradley said. “Addison and a lot of guys are good because, you know, they’re just natural liars.”

Bradley chuckled over that, but the truth of it is he said the game nights have been a “great chemistry piece,” which could be complementing the leadership roles that veterans Bradley, Awaka, wing Anthony Dell’Orso, guard Evan Nelson and center Motiejus Krivas have all been playing, in somewhat different ways.

As the team’s senior point guard, having already spent two seasons in the Arizona program following a freshman season at Alabama, Bradley is in a natural leadership position. He answered affirmatively when asked if his role included being an “on-court coach.”

“Yes, sir,” Bradley said. “It’s just making sure people are in their spots and if they can help me, too, I’m always available, listening, as well.”

Bradley’s leadership comes with the advantage of having the ball in his hands much of the time, and Dell’Orso adds a confident, vocal style that the Aussie began displaying last season as a transfer from Campbell.

Dell’Orso hit four free throws in the final nine seconds to help UA hang on to beat Oregon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, and, after the Wildcats lost to Duke in the Sweet 16, he’s spoken repeatedly about his determination to bounce back.

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“I think that experience from last year has helped,” Dell’Orso said. “Guys like Caleb (Love) and Trey (Townsend) who had a big role have kind of stepped out, and now the doors kind of open.”

Dell’Orso said he’s worked with strength coach Chris Rounds to put on 25 pounds of strength, and Awaka already has a physique that is literally pushing the Wildcat freshmen to get better.

Several newcomers — including even Nelson — have described running into the 255-pound Awaka via a screen or clash under the basket as something of a welcome moment.

“Getting hit by big guys like Tobe and Mo, that takes energy out of you,” freshman forward Dwayne Aristode said. “I’ll say that.”

Told about those sorts of stories, Awaka denied any intentionality.

“Nah, that’s just kind of part of the process, really,” Awaka said. “With these guys coming in, I never really came in with that mentality that ‘I’ve got to show them what college is about.’ It’s just talking to them and being able to interact with them.

“I knew what kind of people they were, their integrity as humans, and I had no qualms about them faltering, not living up to the standard that coach is trying to set here.”

While throwing around his own 270 pounds, Krivas also has a Lithuanian background that can help him mentor the Wildcats’ four international freshmen. He says he’s spoken with German freshman Ivan Kharchenkov about the differences between college and European basketball.

“The basketball I played in Lithuania was, I would say, way different from here,” Krivas said. “I see some things that I went through that he goes right now, and I’m just trying to give him advice.”

Then there’s the team’s elder statesman, Nelson, a grad transfer who returned home to join the Wildcats over the summer after graduating from Harvard. While Nelson is technically new to the program, he’s a lifelong Tucsonan who therefore qualifies as a team tour guide.

So far, Nelson says the freshmen he has shuttled around town include Aristode, Mabil Mawut and Bryce James.

“Me and Mabil hit up a lot of restaurants, and I make a point of taking some of the younger guys to some good Mexican spots, get some Sonoran dogs,” Nelson said. “I took Mabil to get a raspado over on Congress once, at Sonoran Delights and he’s just like ‘Man, this is so good.’”

Nelson said his parents and grandparents have also chipped in, making tacos or otherwise cooking for the freshmen, again helping create the sort of bonding experience that just might prove as important as all that time the Wildcats have spent in the weight room and on the court during the offseason.

“You never know how you’re gonna rub off on people,” Nelson said. “So any chance I can get to work in with them, or just give them some encouraging words, I take those opportunities.”