Here's a question that even a UA basketball season-ticket holder might miss if asked on Jeopardy or Family Feud: When was the last time a senior played all four basketball seasons at Arizona?
Keep in mind that this year the Big 12 conference had just four seniors — no transfers — complete their eligibility at their original school. Four. It's difficult to comprehend how the game has changed so much.
BYU's Richie Saunders, Houston's Emanuel Sharp, Cincinnati's Day Day Thomas and Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey were the only Big 12 seniors to complete all four years at one school. (Not counting non-scholarship walk-ons.)
At Arizona, the last four-year seniors were Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Dusan Ristic in 2017-18. That's almost a decade of transfer-first basketball. Before that, it was Gabe York and Kaleb Tarczewski. Compare that to Arizona's 2005 Elite Eight team that had seven players on the roster who completed all four years of eligibility at Arizona: Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Hassan Adams, Mustafa Shakur, Chris Rogers, Ivan Radenovic and Jawann McClellan.
Seven then. None now.
Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd poses with seniors on the court before a game against Iowa State at McKale Center on March 2, 2026.
What's even more head-shaking is that the mighty SEC had just one senior to finish four years at his original school this season — Mississippi State's Shawn Jones Jr. That's one four-year, one-school only senior for 16 SEC schools.
The Big Ten had 10 fourth-year seniors, the Big East had three and the ACC three. That means there were just 21 fourth-year, one-school-only players in the 81 Power 5 basketball conferences.
In 2003, Arizona went 28-4 and was ranked No. 1 for 13 weeks. Its starting lineup of Jason Gardner, Rick Anderson, Salim Stoudamire, Luke Walton and Channing Frye all spent four years at Arizona without transferring.
How times have changed.
