Arizona Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for Wildcats

Starters

Unlike the year previous, head coach Sean Miller could go a multitude of different ways when it comes to who starts the first game of this coming season. Obviously, the likes of Dalen Terry and Jemarl Baker Jr. will be two key starters, but what about after that?

7’1 big man Christian Koloko returns after a solid freshman campaign backing up Zeke Nnaji and looks to be the most solid option to occupy the five spot to begin the season. At the other guard spot, Miller could choose to go with Georgetown transfer James Akinjo or incoming 4-star Kerr Kriisa instead.

Jemarl Baker Jr. will almost undoubtedly be the starting point guard for the Wildcats this season. Although he only averaged just under six points per game a season ago, Baker was almost always the first man off the bench spelling Nico Mannion or Josh Green and will finally get his chance to shine at the beginning of the game.

Baker is a great ball-handler and brings a 3.2-1 assist to turnover ratio into the coming campaign. This ratio was good for top ten in this category for all of college basketball and can ultimately prove to be a key part of whether or not the offense runs smoothly through him.

Although he has not started for the Wildcats in his career, he is still no stranger to playing significant minutes on the big stage. This past season, Baker averaged just under 20 minutes a game and with a starting spot in his future, look for that to increase as the season wears on.

At the two-guard, the most likely option here is 4-star freshman Kerr Kriisa. At 6’3 and 180 pounds, Kriisa isn’t the biggest guard in basketball but will give the Wildcats a strong two-guard to pair alongside veteran Jemarl Baker Jr.

Kriisa will definitely bring another aspect to the starting lineup with his strong shooting capability. His pure stroke from long range contributed to him shooting 39% from beyond the arch in the Lithuanian NKL this past season.

Kriisa is not just one-dimensional though as he has a keen eye for spotting the open man on the court as well. He averaged six assists per game in the NKL as well and is able to keep defenses honest when it comes to what path he will take to get his team points.

Hopefully for the Wildcats, Kriisa will bring a bit of what Green and Mannion brought to Tucson in their shear shooting capabilities when they were on. Kriisa will most likely retain the two-spot for the Wildcats this year and could be a sleeper candidate for Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Dalen Terry should lock down the third guard spot in the Wildcats offense this year and rightfully so. Wildcat Nation is ecstatic to have Terry in their program and he keeps the line of top-50 players coming to the program under Sean Miller.

Although tall for a guard at 6’7, Terry shows just how much he can do each time he has the ball in his hands. This past season at Hillcrest Prep he averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game which also put him in the top 10 nationally among small forwards.

These stats are even more impressive when you take into account that Terry played alongside 2021 Top-50 player Michael Foster at Hillcrest. This shows how easy it is for Terry to get his shot but also to help his team get better overall.

Terry will surely add a third dimension to this team when it comes to what type of guards you will face in that he can score at will. Plus, at 6’7, there are not many teams that have a player quick enough and big enough to effectively guard Terry at his size and skill level.

Another freshman should occupy the four spot for the Wildcats this season in the form of top-60 forward Azuolas Tubelis. At 6’9 and 240 pounds, the Lithuanian forward will be the floor stretcher for the Wildcats this season. Tubelis averaged 20-12 for his professional team in Lithuania while being named the MVP of the tournament.

A do-it-all type player, the Wildcats expect Tubelis to give them a strong rebounder and scorer down low after the loss of Zeke Nnaji. While he may not play the five spot, Tubelis will surely be forced to guard the other team’s biggest player at times and the Wildcats aren’t worried about that one bit with his size.

Down low the Wildcats will rely on returning sophomore Christian Koloko for an imposing force in the paint. One of the lone holdovers from the stellar 2019 recruiting class, Koloko is looking to improve on his output this season as he did not get much of an opportunity the year previous.

With Zeke Nnaji gone, Koloko will take over shot blocking duties and will be tasked with improving upon his 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. If the Wildcats are to go anywhere this season, Koloko will be a large piece in that movement.