Hey guys, Arizona opened its 2024-25 season off on a winning not securing an impressive 93-64 victory over Canisius. Now, the Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday as the team takes on Old Dominion at 2 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+. Before looking at that game, I wanted to share my quick five takeaways from last night.
Five takeaways:
Rhythm in motion
Coming into the 2024-25 season, No. 10 Arizona had three guards from last season returning after testing the NBA Draft waters in Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis. In today's game, it is rare to see a program like UA return high-level guards given the draft and the easy access the players have to the transfer portal. The only question with their return was how it would look with all of them in the starting lineup for the first time as a trio.
Monday night,the power of the three guards was on full display with Love, Bradley and Lewis combining for 46 points and 15 assists helped spark the starting lineup on the offensive side of the court. It wasn't perfect and there is room to grown but it was an impressive performance and shows that the trio will be the backbone of Arizona.
Motiejus Krivas climbing back
During the off season, Arizona center Motiejus Krivas suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for the majority of off season team workouts, Red-Blue game and both exhibition games. Krivas got back on the court on Monday night playing 10 minutes against Canisius recording nine points, five rebounds and an assist.
It wasn't a lot of minutes for Krivas but he was able to make the most of it and was high efficient with his time out on the court. He looked mobile and had solid lateral movement on the defensive side of the ball. The energy level was there and he was a tough on the glass and in the paint.
He has a long way til he is playing the 18 to 22 minutes a game he will get this season. However, that was a promising effort as Krivas gets back to 100% health.
Trey Townsend underwhelming game
There was a lot of hype regarding Trey Townsend coming to Tucson with him picking the Wildcats over many other high-level programs. In his first game, Townsend struggled going 1 of 4 from the field for two points and six rebounds.
Is it something to worry about? I don't think so at all, it was his first game with the program. Sometimes the bright lights of a place like McKale Center can go to a player in their first game. Townsend is a talented kid and has the ability to be one of the best bigs in the Big 12 conference. I think people need to stay passionate as he gets more reps in Tommy Lloyd's system.
Arizona's 3-point attack
Overall, this Arizona team has the potential at being one of the better 3-point shooting teams across the country and this roster might be the best behind the arc that Lloyd has had his entire career in Tucson. The Wildcats started Monday night's game going 7 of 14 from deep but then went 1 of 14 the rest of the way. Most of the shots were in the flow of the offense and didn't feel forced.
This team will take a lot of threes (especially when its fall) throughout the course of a game. But, I felt the 28 number was a little too high and would like to see that get cut down to somewhere around 18-21 per game. I just think this offense can hurt you in a number of ways and I don't think limiting itself to the 3-point line is a smart move.
Full-court press
With the way this roster is build with the length, athleticism and speed at the guard and forward that Arizona has, it has the ability to play an aggressive style of defense and get into the passing lanes to create chaos and easy points on the other end. Coach Tommy Lloyd sees that potential and ran a good amount of full-court press in key moments of the game.
I think this might be the key in pushing Arizona over the edge and not only helping them in a tough Big 12 but getting the program back to the Final Four for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Please comment and share your thoughts on Monday night's game and what you like, or questioned about the performance.
