There have been a lot of excellent basketball players who have cycled through the Arizona Wildcats men’s program.
They are regularly one of the top teams in the nation and loaded with talent. This year is no different, as Tommy Lloyd has a lot of potential NBA players at his disposal to use in the rotation.
Since taking over as head coach from Sean Miller, he has done an excellent job of getting things back on track. The transfer portal has been nice, but he has ensured that the long-term outlook of the team remains strong with stellar high school additions.
This year’s team features Carter Bryant, a highly touted freshman who some scouts believe could be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. As the season moves along, we should see him unleashed more and more as he comes off the bench behind Trey Townsend, a stellar transfer from the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
Next year, the Wildcats will be welcoming Dwayne Aristode, one of the top players in the 2025 class who announced his intentions to play in Tuscon a few weeks ago.
Expectations will be as high for him as they are for Bryant this year. The fan base would love to see them reach their potential at Arizona before moving on in their basketball career.
In recent history, there have been some incredible freshman performances. They have one to aspire to reach in Wildcats lore, as Deandre Ayton was a special player during his one collegiate campaign.
The Bahamas native was dominant, averaging 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.9 blocks and 0.6 steals in 33.5 minutes per game. He was incredibly efficient, shooting 61.2 percent from the field overall, 34.3 percent from 3-point range and 73.3 percent from the foul line.
Ayton was named a consensus All-American, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and made the All-Pac-12 Team. He was also on the All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team as he got the job done in every facet of the game.
Just how dominant was his single season at Arizona? He was placed at No. 16 in a list of the top 25 freshman seasons from the last 25 years by Myron Medcalf of ESPN.
“Ayton was the top player in ESPN’s recruiting class of 2017 before Michael Porter Jr. and then Marvin Bagley III surpassed him. Yet, Ayton arguably had the best statistical season of the trio, all of whom entered the NBA draft in 2018. Ayton won Pac-12 player of the year and a first team AP All-America spot after averaging 20.1 PPG and 11.6 RPG.”
The talented big man parlayed that success into being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.
While he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations of a first overall pick, he has been a solid player at the next level. Ayton averages 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game and his win share of 35.4 is sixth among players in his draft class.
