To put it bluntly, Arizona Basketball underachieved following a second-place finish in the Pac-12 standings and a conference tournament championship in 2022-23. They lost as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 seed Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Year 2 under head coach Tommy Lloyd didn’t go as planned, but the Wildcats return this season with some high-profile names out of the transfer portal and five returners looking to run it all back.
Pelle Larsson, Oumar Ballo, and Kylan Boswell are the most notable returning names. Caleb Love (North Carolina) and Jaden Bradley (Alabama) will look to revamp the backcourt while Keshad Johnson (San Diego State) will look to make his presence felt on the wing. Regarding the freshmen, Paulius Murauskas looms as a name that could find space in the rotation at the small forward spot.
There’s room for returners Henri Veesaar, Filip Boravicanin, and Dylan Anderson to carve roles out for themselves in a frontcourt that loses a significant piece in Azuolas Tubelis. Ballo’s return gives them a solid piece to build around, but they’ll need to focus on depth and perimeter shooting as a new season approaches.
The Wildcats boasted the sixth-best scoring offense (81.9 ppg) this past season, but things sputtered for them in a big way when they scored a season-low 55 points in their upset loss in the NCAA Tournament. They shot just 3-of-16 from deep in that loss. With the possibility of a 10-man rotation on the horizon, we take a look at the projected starting rotation and depth chart for Arizona Basketball heading into 2023-24.
Point Guard
Starter – Jaden Bradley (27 mpg)
Jaden Bradley is the first name out of the transfer portal for the Arizona Wildcats that’ll look to turn things around at the point guard spot. Kerr Kriisa’s departure certainly stings, given he led the team with 5.1 apg in 2022-23, but the prospects of Bradley producing the same if not more assists exist. Bradley dished out 3.1 apg in his debut season of college basketball with the Crimson Tide in 2022-23. He started in just 22 of his 37 appearances. Bradley finished 10th in the SEC in assists (114) while also putting up 6.4 ppg and 2.6 rpg on 31.8 percent shooting from 3-point land.
Bradley dropped a career-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting against Gonzaga back on Dec. 17. He’ll be a featured lead guard that should share the point-guard duties with Caleb Love this season.
Bench – Kylan Boswell (13 mpg)
Kylan Boswell returns to the Wildcats’ backcourt looking to grow in his reserve role. The 6-foot-2 freshman averaged 15.2 minutes of action this past season but look for that number to grow at both guard spots.
Boswell, after all, has his own experience in the Pac-12 under his belt. He appeared in 35 contests this past season, averaging 4.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, and 1.6 apg on 39 percent shooting from deep and 45 percent shooting from the field.
Shooting Guard
Starter – Caleb Love (30 mpg)
Caleb Love is another acquisition for the Wildcats out of the 2023 transfer portal looking to make a splash in 2023-24. His addition changes the dynamic of their approach with two-high profile guards now instead of a frontcourt presence like Azuolas Tubelis. He’ll certainly have the “green light” on offense, so to speak, given his experience from playing the ACC. He posted 16.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.1 spg on 37.8 percent shooting from the field.
Love’s 3-point shooting is something he’ll need to improve upon. He shot 29.9 percent from behind the arc this past season. It’s fluctuated throughout his career. He shot 36 percent from deep in 2021-22 and in 2020-21, shot 26.6 percent.
Bench – Kylan Boswell (10 mpg)
Kylan Boswell has an opportunity for more minutes at the backup shooting guard spot. Boswell shot 39 percent from deep in 2022-23 for Arizona. He really caught fire at the end of conference action, knocking down four 3-pointers to the tune of 14 points off the bench against UCLA back on March 4. Look for him to pick up where he left off this past season. He finished third among freshmen in the Pac-12 with 30 made 3-pointers a year ago.
Small Forward/Wing
Starter – Pelle Larsson (27 mpg)
Pelle Larsson should flourish once again in the starting lineup for Arizona. He won the Pac-12 Sixth Man award in 2021-22. He was a weird case in the 2022-23 rotation as he started the first 18 games before coming off the bench for the final 17 games. He shoots the ball efficiently and has continued to improve as a playmaker and slasher on the perimeter.
He tied his career-high of 17 points in a victory this past season over Tennessee back on Dec. 17. He was just 4-for-10 from the floor but also was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. He’s a solid prospect at 215 pounds to keep an eye on for Arizona.
Entering his third season with the Wildcats, look for him to flourish on the wing at the small forward spot. Interchanging at the guard spots isn’t a bad proposition for Larsson, either, which is also a possibility.
Bench – Paulius Murauskas (13 mpg)
Paulius Murauskas is a budding international name for Wildcats fans to get to know out of Lithuania. He brings experience with him from his overseas roots to the fold in 2023-24. He’s shown he can run rim to rim and knock down shots on the perimeter and should grow in the rotation as a versatile forward option to have.
Power Forward
Starter – Keshad Johnson (28 mpg)
Keshad Johnson brings his experience from last year’s San Diego Aztecs squad to the Wildcats rotation this season. He put up 7.7 ppg and 5.0 rpg across 39 games, all starts, for San Diego State. He’s a staple on the defensive end of the floor and an efficient scorer in the paint. He ranked eighth in defensive rating (96.7) in the MWC this past season and fourth in 2021-22 (90.2).
In his best outing in 2022-23, he put up 16 points and eight rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting from the field in a victory over San Jose State back on Jan. 28. While Johnson isn’t a double-double machine, he’s shown he’s capable of finding his own role for the Wildcats. He’s got some bulk to his 6-foot-7 frame at 225 pounds. Look for him to utilize to his advantage at the starting power-forward spot.
Bench – Henri Veesaar (12 mpg)
Henri Veesaar enters Year 2 with the Wildcats with 206 minutes of experience under his belt from his debut season. He produced 2.4 ppg and 1.5 rpg across 7.1 minutes per contest for Arizona in 2022-23. He remains one of their biggest question marks heading into a new year. He’s a native of Estonia that’s shown he can operate quite well at the stretch-forward spot on the overseas track. He’ll just need to translate his game to the college basketball landscape.
Center
Starter – Oumar Ballo (30 mpg)
Oumar Ballo is another returner for the Wildcats and the only one that started in all 35 games in 2022-23. He’s shown he can be a defensive anchor for this squad and should prove to be a solid combination alongside Keshad Johnson in the frontcourt. Ballo really blossomed this past season while earning the Pac-12 Most Improved Player award. He produced 14.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, and 1.3 bpg on 64.7 percent shooting from the field in 2022-23.
He was quite the breakout player in the Arizona frontcourt alongside Azoulas Tubelis. Now, he’ll need to show he can lead on the offensive end. He’s got Pac-12 Player of the Year potential heading into his fourth season of college basketball.
Bench – Dylan Anderson (10 mpg)
Dylan Anderson is another player in the Wildcats’ frontcourt with room to grow into a reserve role off the bench. He’s a 7-foot presence that appeared in 15 games in 2022-23, posting 1.4 ppg on 41.2 percent shooting across 3.6 minutes of action.
He put up six points, a block and a rebound on 2-of-2 shooting in his college debut. With a year to grow around Ballo and more frontcourt players to push him in practice, he’ll look to blossom in the backup center spot.