Arizona Basketball: Wildcats continue stead rebuild by adding Ryan Luther
The Arizona Wildcats added one of the top grad transfer big men to their 2018-2019 roster. What impact does Ryan Luther have on the program?
Arizona added a key piece for next season in Pittsburgh transfer Ryan Luther. Luther was one of the top available big men on the grad transfer market and his addition will help Sean Miller rebuild this gutted roster.
Luther’s role steadily increased over his four seasons at Pittsburgh as he transitioned from a bench warmer to a key contributor. During his injury riddled senior season, he became an offensive focal point and averaged 12.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg while shooting 39% from three.
This foot injury limited Luther to just 10 games last season, but on a positive note, gave him an extra year of eligibility. He will not match his gaudy stats from his final year in Pittsburgh while playing for Arizona, but he will see regular minutes and make meaningful contributions.
Currently, Arizona has a four person frontcourt which consists of Chase Jeter, Ira Lee, and Emmanuel Akot as well as Luther. Luther has a chance to start, but will more likely emerge as a sixth man.
Luther’s ability to stretch the floor will be heavily relied upon as Lee and Jeter are more comfortable in the paint. Pairing him with a versatile combo forward like Akot will give Arizona great offensive floor spacing and lineup versatility.
Arizona can pair any two of the frontcourt players together, but Luther is the only one who can play both the four and the five while not sacrificing size, rebounding, or floor spacing. He will see at least 18-20 minutes per game and should average at least 7 ppg and 4 rpg.
His veteran presence will also benefit this extremely young and inexperienced Wildcat squad. Jeter, Luther, and Dylan Smith are the only players who are not freshmen or sophomores so experience is at a premium.
While it is quite apparent that Arizona will have a down year, do not bury the Wildcats just yet. They are a piece or two away from being a NCAA Tournament caliber team, even though they do not have their usual top talent on the roster.
Arizona is still in the mix for former commit Brandon Williams who is a top 40 player in the class of 2018. If they can add him and or a grad transfer lead guard, the Wildcats will have a sneaky good roster and an extremely promising future.
Next: Which teams need a grad-transfer PG?
Overall, this is a great fit for both Arizona and Luther. The Wildcats get a skilled veteran big man to add to their rotation and someone who can help them return to the NCAA Tournament. Luther gets to play a fairly large role at one of the biggest brands in college basketball. Presumably, he left Pittsburgh because they are mired in a deep rebuild. Arizona is in a rebuild on their own, but are only a piece or two away from being relevant in a Pac-12 conference that is completely up for grabs.