Arizona Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for Wildcats

Key Reserves

Every team needs a solid bench in order to perform up to any expectations and luckily for the Wildcats they have that. Led by Georgetown transfer James Akinjo, the reserves for Arizona this season will be able to come in in relief of key starters and at least keep the game where it was when the starters left.

The return of Ira Lee gives Sean Miller a veteran presence off the bench that knows the system well and the addition of Seattle grad transfer Terrell Brown Jr. allows for the Wildcats to have yet another solid guard option next to Akinjo.

Rounding out the rest of the bench for the Wildcats comes incoming 4-stars Daniel Batcho and Bennedict Mathurin, two big men who will pair up alongside Lee in creating a matchup issue size-wise against other teams throughout the season.

With this size at his disposal, head coach Sean Miller can switch things up a bit when it comes to which way he wants to go for his team at the moment. Miller could have Mathurin, Batcho, and Koloko on the court at the same time which would give the Wildcats an extreme size advantage in the three through five spots.

If he wants to go small, Miller can employ Dalen Terry, James Akinjo, Terrell Brown Jr., and Kerr Kriisa together which would give them a quick lineup without compromising too much size on the court.

One of the biggest issues for this edition of the Wildcats will be if they can get consistency off their bench throughout the season. As mentioned before, this could prove to be their biggest weakness or surprise many and become their biggest strength as the season wears along. It is left to be seen how much the bench will impact Arizona’s chances this year.