The two best basketball teams in Arizona met Friday night, and I’m not talking about ASU, Grand Canyon or one of Brian Peabody’s top-ranked Pima College teams.
After months of reading about Tommy Lloyd’s recruiting class, the group of Brayden Burries, Koa Peat, Dwayne Aristode, Ivan Kharchenkov and Evan Nelson passed the eye test at Friday’s Red-Blue Showcase. The UA is so potentially deep, 10 players, that Lloyd’s biggest challenge could be determining who sits and who gets the minutes. It’s not an exaggeration to think that the UA’s second team could finish 13th or 14th in the Big 12; last week, the Athletic’s preseason evaluation of the Big 12 ranked Arizona No. 2 and ASU No. 16.
Arizona forward Dwayne Aristode (2) flies to the bucket after getting the pass from Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) in the dunk contest during the annual Red-Blue Showcase, Oct. 3, 2025, in Tucson.
Of particular notice, Burries came off as an impact player. He scored 22 points in a 20-minute game. In a TV interview, Lloyd talked about “our upside” balanced by the sobering truth of the pre-conference schedule. “Today is Oct. 3,” said Lloyd. “On Nov. 3 we play (defending national champion) Florida.” Gulp.
As promising as this UA basketball team is, it’s possible they could open the season 3-4 and temporarily disappear from the Top 25. Get this schedule:
– Nov. 3: Florida in Las Vegas
– Nov. 14: UCLA in Los Angeles
– Nov. 19: At UConn (National champs, ’23 and ’24)
– Dec. 6: Auburn (’24 Final Four)
But the Wildcats should be able to absorb the blows of what is surely America’s most challenging pre-conference schedule and challenge Houston, BYU, Iowa State and Kansas for the Big 12 title. Center Motiejus Krivas was impressive Friday. He has a presence and is more confident when he gets the ball in traffic. Henri Veesaar? He might not be missed. Senior point guard Jaden Bradley is the man at the wheel. His foot is always on the accelerator.
As Arizona was playing before about 10,000 fans plus Rob Gronkowski and Shaq O’Neal at McKale on Friday, ASU’s Bobby Hurley staged the Sun Devils’ equivalent of the Red-Blue Showcase on an outdoor court near Tempe’s Mill Avenue Friday evening. It was called Moonlit Madness. In the video I saw, attendance might’ve been 500. Different strokes, different folks.
