Let's talk '25

[84Cat]

U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A! U of A!

LFG!!!

[Chicat]

HUGE!

All of a sudden feeling better about next year.

[Alieberman]

That is a great Freshman class!

Add a couple pieces from the portal and we are ready to fly

[84Cat]

[VegasCatFan]

That is a great Freshman class!

Add a couple pieces from the portal and we are ready to fly

And hopefully get Bryant back for one more year.

[dovecanyoncat]

That is a great Freshman class!

Add a couple pieces from the portal and we are ready to fly

And hopefully get Bryant back for one more year.

That's almost too many nice things to hope for.

[Lando05]

Let's gooooo!!! Beardown!!

[TucsonClip]

Models his game after D Book and Cade. Cade was my comp for him after watching him play.

[pc in NM]

How soon can CTL start training these frosh to play D1 defense??

[HiCat]

Outstanding!

Brayden Burries, 5-star prospect, chooses Arizona
https://www.espn.com/recruiting/basketb ... rizona-usc

[AZCatGirl]

So can Tommy recruit yet?

[84Cat]

So can Tommy recruit yet?

4th best recruiting class according to 247, Houston #2

https://247sports.com/season/2025-baske ... mrankings/

[BBQ wildcat]

Fuck the haters,

Signed, Machina

[Fishclamps]

Oh man he's gonna be mad you're stealing his bit.

Also I've seen a few times they had those two listed as 5 Star Plus+. Is that some weird On3 thing I've never heard of before?

[84Cat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQBuzreVQic

BREAKING NEWS Brayden Burries announces commitment to Arizona | SportsCenter

[azcat49]

Three 5 stars and we are only 4th? Did Houston sign five 5 star kids?

[Alieberman]

2 5s not 3

[Fishclamps]

Depends on where you get your rankings

[IrishAzCat]

[pc in NM]

Recruit rankings cease to be relevant once recruited.

[UAEebs86]

Not bad for a school that can't compete in the NIL era.

[Chicat]

Not bad for a school that can't compete in the NIL era.

Tommy must be VERY charming.

[84Cat]

[SunnyAZ]

Burries is the same age as Kylan Boswell, kinda crazy.

[Chicat]

Hard to believe some people thought the James signing was a waste. Meanwhile his dad is out there pumping us up to his millions of followers.

[Winger]

Not bad for a school that can't compete in the NIL era.

Maybe it’s Clutch (who reps all of these guys) but assuming it isn’t a 1 off this class is very reassuring to Arizona fans in a few different ways. It helps to justify Lloyd’s recruiting philosophy (which heretofore at Arizona hadn’t produced very good results), it signals that Arizona can remain a quasi blueblood in this new era, and it is a sign that Arizona is going to be good enough to matter nationally next season. It is also important to Arizona’s GM because preps are cheaper than transfers in this new era.

[Hank of sb]

Not bad for a school that can't compete in the NIL era.

Maybe it’s Clutch (who reps all of these guys) but assuming it isn’t a 1 off this class is very reassuring to Arizona fans in a few different ways. It helps to justify Lloyd’s recruiting philosophy (which heretofore at Arizona hadn’t produced very good results), it signals that Arizona can remain a quasi blueblood in this new era, and it is a sign that Arizona is going to be good enough to matter nationally next season. It is also important to Arizona’s GM because preps are cheaper than transfers in this new era.

"Preps are cheaper"

Except if your name is Joson Sanon.

That said, i agree with your post. Things are looking better. Arizona's 1-4 next year are all Micky D's (5*). I don't think Lute Olson ever had such a decorated lineup during his entire career.

Arizona needs another center from the portal and they should be a top-5 team.

Maybe the best news is Tommy has proved (to me at least) he can really coach. He certainly held things together this past season. What a great job he did.

[WildcatStunner]

Seeing posts online that a grad transfer PG from Harvard named Evan Nelson committed to play for us. Can anyone corroborate?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DISagzVNlXr/

Played at Salpointe in HS.

[84Cat]

Seeing posts online that a grad transfer PG from Harvard named Evan Nelson committed to play for us. Can anyone corroborate?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DISagzVNlXr/

Played at Salpointe in HS.

Yep

[VegasCatFan]

Is he supposed to be any better than Martinez?

[84Cat]

At least he's 6'2"

[Chicat]

My buddy was talking about him the other day but I’d never heard of him.

My preference is for major conference transfers personally, but I’m not paid millions to run the program.

[Abrahamarvel]

Assuming Bradley stays, he comes in as a back-up pg. I think thats a good get.

[TheCat]

Looks like a good pickup to me. Tucson Native, avg 9.1 points shooting 45.5% fg and a bit over 40% from 3 and was a 91.9% free throw shooter. All numbers increased per year at Harvard. Looks like a guy that could get some minutes but know nothing about his defense. I know if we are up at the end of a close game where the other team needs to foul I want this guy and ADO in the game.

[TucsonClip]

I will keep my thoughts a bit more tame here, as I went to war elsewhere. However, here was my scout on Nelson before he committed.

Games watched: @ Colorado, didnt need/want to watch more

I will keep this one short...

If the plan is to recruit a back up PG, then I guess he can work. He reminds me of a mixture between PJC and Conrad. Good in the PNR, but offers no shot creation for himself, he isn't a threat to get to the rim, paint and spray, draw fouls. He is a connector at PG, meaning he is going to get off the ball, keep continuity make the right read, push the ball ahead. Obviously, the numbers say he can connect from three, but he doesnt offer anything I would be looking for on ball, other than he has good vision and is a good passer.

Defensively, he is thin, a decent athletie, but isnt going to offer resistance on ball, and especially off ball help side. He is active, constantly moving (even on offense), and know where to be, can make the reads. The problem is he isnt long enough, athletic enough, or big enough provide much more than a thin body in the way.

This is a pass for me. We need someone more dynamic on the ball, and someone who can do a bit more defensively. The shooting is nice, but he isnt creating his own shot. Again, think Conrad/PJC here. Get off the ball, keep the ball moving, knows where to be on defense, but too small to offer any resistance.



Overall, my point was we need to go for it. I know we dont have a massive NIl warchest, and we likely burned through it all on Burries and Koa, and Tommy should receive credit for that 100%.

My point has been, the bench isnt good enough to support what is clearly a FF caliber core. I certainly do not trust ADO, felt we desperately needed a reserve CG in the mold of Justin Kier. Nelson is not that guy. Hes a PG. Apparently the staff is quite high on Aristode, and that is also fantastic. However, in my eyes we are back to a 7 man rotation with a razors edge margin for error.

[Postmaster]

was Stone Gettings from Harvard?

[UAEebs86]

I was Stone Gettings from Harvard?

Cornell

[UAdevil]

Worth a look?

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... s-kentucky

Acaden Lewis, No. 7 PG recruit, decommits from Kentucky

[Fishclamps]

Kentucky people on reddit saying he's looking for a starting spot most likely, so I doubt it

[UAEebs86]

The Harvard BB site says he was a senior, so a grad transfer?

Hope he got his Ivy League degree before coming to the Harvard of the West

[SunnyAZ]

My buddy was talking about him the other day but I’d never heard of him.

My preference is for major conference transfers personally, but I’m not paid millions to run the program.

They needed a guard to play like 12 MPG off the bench, not a lot of options like that who are actually good players

[EastCoastCat]

Remember, CTL loves players with experience and we will have a bunch of Freshmen (and hopefully a sophomore) playing a lot of minutes.

[Hank of sb]

I will keep my thoughts a bit more tame here, as I went to war elsewhere. However, here was my scout on Nelson before he committed.

Games watched: @ Colorado, didnt need/want to watch more

I will keep this one short...

If the plan is to recruit a back up PG, then I guess he can work. He reminds me of a mixture between PJC and Conrad. Good in the PNR, but offers no shot creation for himself, he isn't a threat to get to the rim, paint and spray, draw fouls. He is a connector at PG, meaning he is going to get off the ball, keep continuity make the right read, push the ball ahead. Obviously, the numbers say he can connect from three, but he doesnt offer anything I would be looking for on ball, other than he has good vision and is a good passer.

Defensively, he is thin, a decent athletie, but isnt going to offer resistance on ball, and especially off ball help side. He is active, constantly moving (even on offense), and know where to be, can make the reads. The problem is he isnt long enough, athletic enough, or big enough provide much more than a thin body in the way.

This is a pass for me. We need someone more dynamic on the ball, and someone who can do a bit more defensively. The shooting is nice, but he isnt creating his own shot. Again, think Conrad/PJC here. Get off the ball, keep the ball moving, knows where to be on defense, but too small to offer any resistance.



Overall, my point was we need to go for it. I know we dont have a massive NIl warchest, and we likely burned through it all on Burries and Koa, and Tommy should receive credit for that 100%.

My point has been, the bench isnt good enough to support what is clearly a FF caliber core. I certainly do not trust ADO, felt we desperately needed a reserve CG in the mold of Justin Kier. Nelson is not that guy. Hes a PG. Apparently the staff is quite high on Aristode, and that is also fantastic. However, in my eyes we are back to a 7 man rotation with a razors edge margin for error.

The Aristode talk has been extremely strong. I can't find out what his injury was (?) and how much missing his entire senior year lessons his impact but, apparently, he is a leader and, reportedly comes with a perfect, very strong, swing forward body. He's like KJ except bigger. I'm guessing he'll be our 8th man. I'll suggest he's a lock there. Hence, the Harvard guy might be OK as our 9th man. It's not like JB can't play all game as he's not an injury prone guy.

If Carter comes back this team will be our best team on paper, IMO, in 15 years. That is, if Krivas' feet hold up enough to give us 20 minutes.......every game.

[84Cat]

The Harvard BB site says he was a senior, so a grad transfer?

Hope he got his Ivy League degree before coming to the Harvard of the West

No, not a grad transfer. He missed a year due to injury but the Ivy league doesn't allow red shirts.

[pc in NM]

The Harvard BB site says he was a senior, so a grad transfer?

Hope he got his Ivy League degree before coming to the Harvard of the West

No, not a grad transfer. He missed a year due to injury but the Ivy league doesn't allow red shirts.

Correct, which means he exhausted his 4 year eligibility, and has therefore transferred as a "Graduate".

[Winger]

I will keep my thoughts a bit more tame here, as I went to war elsewhere. However, here was my scout on Nelson before he committed.

Games watched: @ Colorado, didnt need/want to watch more

I will keep this one short...

If the plan is to recruit a back up PG, then I guess he can work. He reminds me of a mixture between PJC and Conrad. Good in the PNR, but offers no shot creation for himself, he isn't a threat to get to the rim, paint and spray, draw fouls. He is a connector at PG, meaning he is going to get off the ball, keep continuity make the right read, push the ball ahead. Obviously, the numbers say he can connect from three, but he doesnt offer anything I would be looking for on ball, other than he has good vision and is a good passer.

Defensively, he is thin, a decent athletie, but isnt going to offer resistance on ball, and especially off ball help side. He is active, constantly moving (even on offense), and know where to be, can make the reads. The problem is he isnt long enough, athletic enough, or big enough provide much more than a thin body in the way.

This is a pass for me. We need someone more dynamic on the ball, and someone who can do a bit more defensively. The shooting is nice, but he isnt creating his own shot. Again, think Conrad/PJC here. Get off the ball, keep the ball moving, knows where to be on defense, but too small to offer any resistance.



Overall, my point was we need to go for it. I know we dont have a massive NIl warchest, and we likely burned through it all on Burries and Koa, and Tommy should receive credit for that 100%.

My point has been, the bench isnt good enough to support what is clearly a FF caliber core. I certainly do not trust ADO, felt we desperately needed a reserve CG in the mold of Justin Kier. Nelson is not that guy. Hes a PG. Apparently the staff is quite high on Aristode, and that is also fantastic. However, in my eyes we are back to a 7 man rotation with a razors edge margin for error.

Turns the ball over a ton and his PNR metrics aren’t great. Can put some of that on his teammates but the quality of competition was also not very strong. Defensive liability. Based on what I have seen to date he is another ADO at a different position. He can be better in Tommy’s offensive scheme but his D is going to be a major problem. If he is a feel good story junk minutes only, fine, but anything more than that and we have another (and possibly 2 at the same time) ADO on our hands. Hopefully some folks have learned from last season.

Also while its still early I am starting to get the vibe that all of the recent commitments dont really have all that much to do with Lloyd’s recruiting nor Arizona’s NIL. His presentation and track record matter but this all came to Arizona, I think, from about 10,000 feet above Lloyd. Good news is it likely buys Arizona 2-3 seasons which may be long enough to stay relevant until things settle NCAA - nation - wise.

[TucsonClip]

I will keep my thoughts a bit more tame here, as I went to war elsewhere. However, here was my scout on Nelson before he committed.

Games watched: @ Colorado, didnt need/want to watch more

I will keep this one short...

If the plan is to recruit a back up PG, then I guess he can work. He reminds me of a mixture between PJC and Conrad. Good in the PNR, but offers no shot creation for himself, he isn't a threat to get to the rim, paint and spray, draw fouls. He is a connector at PG, meaning he is going to get off the ball, keep continuity make the right read, push the ball ahead. Obviously, the numbers say he can connect from three, but he doesnt offer anything I would be looking for on ball, other than he has good vision and is a good passer.

Defensively, he is thin, a decent athletie, but isnt going to offer resistance on ball, and especially off ball help side. He is active, constantly moving (even on offense), and know where to be, can make the reads. The problem is he isnt long enough, athletic enough, or big enough provide much more than a thin body in the way.

This is a pass for me. We need someone more dynamic on the ball, and someone who can do a bit more defensively. The shooting is nice, but he isnt creating his own shot. Again, think Conrad/PJC here. Get off the ball, keep the ball moving, knows where to be on defense, but too small to offer any resistance.



Overall, my point was we need to go for it. I know we dont have a massive NIl warchest, and we likely burned through it all on Burries and Koa, and Tommy should receive credit for that 100%.

My point has been, the bench isnt good enough to support what is clearly a FF caliber core. I certainly do not trust ADO, felt we desperately needed a reserve CG in the mold of Justin Kier. Nelson is not that guy. Hes a PG. Apparently the staff is quite high on Aristode, and that is also fantastic. However, in my eyes we are back to a 7 man rotation with a razors edge margin for error.

The Aristode talk has been extremely strong. I can't find out what his injury was (?) and how much missing his entire senior year lessons his impact but, apparently, he is a leader and, reportedly comes with a perfect, very strong, swing forward body. He's like KJ except bigger. I'm guessing he'll be our 8th man. I'll suggest he's a lock there. Hence, the Harvard guy might be OK as our 9th man. It's not like JB can't play all game as he's not an injury prone guy.

If Carter comes back this team will be our best team on paper, IMO, in 15 years. That is, if Krivas' feet hold up enough to give us 20 minutes.......every game.

The major issue is this scenario is ADO is your 7th man, and in no world is that good enough. Perhaps Aristode shows out and he's legit good. We still have a 7 man rotation which isn't good enough to support a FF worthy core.

[TucsonClip]

I will keep my thoughts a bit more tame here, as I went to war elsewhere. However, here was my scout on Nelson before he committed.

Games watched: @ Colorado, didnt need/want to watch more

I will keep this one short...

If the plan is to recruit a back up PG, then I guess he can work. He reminds me of a mixture between PJC and Conrad. Good in the PNR, but offers no shot creation for himself, he isn't a threat to get to the rim, paint and spray, draw fouls. He is a connector at PG, meaning he is going to get off the ball, keep continuity make the right read, push the ball ahead. Obviously, the numbers say he can connect from three, but he doesnt offer anything I would be looking for on ball, other than he has good vision and is a good passer.

Defensively, he is thin, a decent athletie, but isnt going to offer resistance on ball, and especially off ball help side. He is active, constantly moving (even on offense), and know where to be, can make the reads. The problem is he isnt long enough, athletic enough, or big enough provide much more than a thin body in the way.

This is a pass for me. We need someone more dynamic on the ball, and someone who can do a bit more defensively. The shooting is nice, but he isnt creating his own shot. Again, think Conrad/PJC here. Get off the ball, keep the ball moving, knows where to be on defense, but too small to offer any resistance.



Overall, my point was we need to go for it. I know we dont have a massive NIl warchest, and we likely burned through it all on Burries and Koa, and Tommy should receive credit for that 100%.

My point has been, the bench isnt good enough to support what is clearly a FF caliber core. I certainly do not trust ADO, felt we desperately needed a reserve CG in the mold of Justin Kier. Nelson is not that guy. Hes a PG. Apparently the staff is quite high on Aristode, and that is also fantastic. However, in my eyes we are back to a 7 man rotation with a razors edge margin for error.

Turns the ball over a ton and his PNR metrics aren’t great. Can put some of that on his teammates but the quality of competition was also not very strong. Defensive liability. Based on what I have seen to date he is another ADO at a different position. He can be better in Tommy’s offensive scheme but his D is going to be a major problem. If he is a feel good story junk minutes only, fine, but anything more than that and we have another (and possibly 2 at the same time) ADO on our hands. Hopefully some folks have learned from last season.

Also while its still early I am starting to get the vibe that all of the recent commitments dont really have all that much to do with Lloyd’s recruiting nor Arizona’s NIL. His presentation and track record matter but this all came to Arizona, I think, from about 10,000 feet above Lloyd. Good news is it likely buys Arizona 2-3 seasons which may be long enough to stay relevant until things settle NCAA - nation - wise.

I basically bombed the other board for the last 24 hours, and in some cases was getting mocked because I think we have a 20 MPG role open as a combo guard. The bench clearly isn't good enough to me, but sounds like there may not be anything we can do.

I also brought up the reality of having 2 ADOs, which is not tenable at all. We literally just did this last year. Yeah, we finally got the reserve PG, but we needed a legitimate 3rd guard off the bench, and we certainly do not have one. I fear were a man short, yet again, and lacking in the shot creation category. Extremely frustrating, but IIWII if we have no money, and nobody willing to pony up more to lock in a FF worthy rotation.

Aristode is being setup for a make or break freshman campaign to level up our bench, and that seems like a lot to ask, and even more to pin a FF on.

[Hank of sb]

Tucson Clip:

The major issue is this scenario is ADO is your 7th man, and I no world is that good enough. Perhaps Aristode shows out and he's legit good. We still have a 7 man rotation which isn't good enough to support a FF worthy core.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starting five
6. Awaka
7.Aristode
8. Harvard guy
9. ADO.........................now known to having proved useful making FTs at game's end, & hopefully more experienced, to boot.

There's no world whereby Aristode doesn't beat out ADO, IMO.

Biggest team issue for me is Krivas' feet. Clickety clop. I assume our coach somehow knows our concerns and they are his, too. We need another center.

[TucsonClip]

Tucson Clip:

The major issue is this scenario is ADO is your 7th man, and I no world is that good enough. Perhaps Aristode shows out and he's legit good. We still have a 7 man rotation which isn't good enough to support a FF worthy core.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starting five
6. Awaka
7.Aristode
8. Harvard guy
9. ADO.........................now known to having proved useful making FTs at game's end, & hopefully more experienced, to boot.

There's no world whereby Aristode doesn't beat out ADO, IMO.

Biggest team issue for me is Krivas' feet. Clickety clop. I assume our coach somehow knows our concerns and they are his, too. We need another center.

Then back to my original comment, we have a 7 man rotation. We saw it play our this year. ADO isn't good enough, and the staff clearly didn't trust him against good competition or better. Nelson is a reserve PG and isn't offering anything outside that archetype except for some spot up shooting on low volume, and he isn't helping on D.

Additionally, guys 6 and 7 are both coming off foot injuries, and one of them is a freshman.

That does not sound like a FF caliber bench.