Arizona Basketball: 3 takeaways from Courtney Ramey choosing the Wildcats

Arizona’s potential next year

It’s not necessarily a surprise that former longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd was successful as a collegiate head coach, but it certainly wasn’t expected that last year’s Arizona team would be as good as they were. This Arizona team was dealing with their share of issues, including a late-season injury to Kriisa, and did run into a buzzsaw against Houston. However, this team was absolutely a national title threat in the first year of a new head coach, having completely retooled the roster.

It could be more of the same in Tucson this season. The Wildcats were not ranked in the preseason polls last season before ending it by receiving a slew of 1st place votes. This year, they aren’t going to sneak up on people, even if they don’t get Mathurin or Koloko back. Tubelis and Kriisa are stars and the addition of Ramey is more important than it initially seems.

The best part of the Transfer Portal is the ability of players to move onto teams that are better fits for them, and Ramey just fits much better on this Arizona team. Not only will he excel in a fast-paced offense, but he should become a star in the Pac-12 and play a major role in leading this Arizona team back to where they want to be. It’s impossible to say that this team will be as good as last season; that’ll depend greatly on how some of these players develop, but Ramey fills a hole at guard and offers important experience.

If we’re being negative, we don’t know how these new pieces will mesh together. There might be some unrealistic expectations in Tucson based on last year’s success, though it’s fair to expect big things from Tubelis and Kriisa at the very least. On the other hand, a talented Arizona roster with experience and talent at every position looks to be in great position to contend for national success. With Ramey on this team, the Wildcats just might have enough to challenge UCLA for Pac-12 supremacy.