One constant for Arizona basketball thus far under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd has been a changing roster. After his inaugural 33-4 season in 2021-22, the Wildcats saw three starters selected among the top 35 picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. Now, after reloading and finishing with a 28-7 record in Year 2, Lloyd is grappling with another significant talent exodus that includes star forward Azuolas Tubelis.
Four of the five starters from Arizona’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Princeton are gone, and a trio of high-profile transfers are arriving to help replace their production. While a four-man freshman class is also in the mix, it looks more like a developmental group than one poised to make significant early contributions.
The rapid changes within the program’s rotation stand in contrast to how Pac-12 rival UCLA was able to build a similarly potent contender in recent years. Bruins’ coach Mick Cronin enjoyed rare continuity with players such as Tyger Campbell, David Singleton and Jaime Jaquez as hallmarks of the rotation for each of his first four seasons.
In Cronin’s third season — the 2021-22 campaign — six of the Bruins’ top eight rotation players had been with the program for the duration of his tenure. Lloyd’s third team at Arizona is on track to feature only two players — Pelle Larsson and Oumar Ballo — who were part of his first rotation, and neither of them were starters back then. But in spite of the attrition, there is no doubt the Wildcats have reestablished themselves as one of the nation’s top programs under Lloyd’s direction. Can they sustain the momentum?
Players have reported to campus for summer workouts, and the countdown is on for the start of the 2023-24 season. As college basketball’s offseason player movement cycle slows to a trickle, it’s time to start breaking down the rosters of the sport’s top programs. For this installment, we’re taking a look at the Wildcats…
..
