Arizona Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2021-22 season

Center

The Wildcats’ strength of length and athleticism continues down on the block, thanks to the bouncy play of center Christian Koloko. He’s a 7’1 forward and center tweener that plays at a light 230 pounds. He is a terrific rebounder, averaging 4.8 boards in just 17.3 minutes per game last year. Even more promising, the big averaged 2.2 offensive rebounds which should serve huge with the perimeter shooting that is found on this team.

Koloko’s a solid defender as well, averaging 1.3 blocks in those limited minutes. The center from Cameroon should make a huge step in junior season and is the perfect center for a high-tempo offense looking to find easy points in transition.

Koloko will be backed by Oumar Ballo who is coming along with Lloyd after playing at Gonzaga. Ballo has had the benefit of studying this system since 2019-2020. He is looking to continue to grow his game in America after looking raw in his limited minutes on the vaunted 2020-2021 team. He’s listed as a junior but all of 19 years old.

Ballo showed immense potential playing for his Mali national team in U17 and U19 competitions. He earned the moniker of “Baby Shaq” because of his forceful rebounding and post play that earned him all-tournament team honors. If he is able to unlock a way to have that translate to the college game he becomes a foundational piece that affects both ends of the court. Ultimately, this could be another year of learning and earning more responsibilities.