With about one month to go until Arizona basketball begins its’ 2024-25 season, some key players provided an outlook of what to expect.
KJ Lewis and Jaden Bradley met the press on Oct. 3 to discuss their hopes for the season and what they have seen happen in the offseason. Both Lewis and Bradley will play for a new-look team, one which certainly involves them within the starting five.
“When you get that opportunity, you don’t want to change anything you have been doing,” said Bradley. “Trust your work, trust in your coaches.”
Bradley didn’t start in any games for the Wildcats in his sophomore year, however, with key moves at the guard position and stellar play from coming off the bench, this has almost ensured him the position to start alongside Caleb Love.
Love has surely been the spotlight of this Arizona basketball team, and coming into his fifth year he will be both looking to keep his success and bring those around him up to build up the program.
When asked about what Love has improved and how he has adapted to his new position, Lewis said, “He’s been a way better teammate, learning what the best shots for us and the best shots for him.”
Love has grown from being a star player to a leading role model for fresh players ready to get the chance to start on the court. It will be interesting to see how Love changes his game to accommodate all the talent in both the guards and the roster overall.
This growth over the offseason wasn’t just limited to Love, but rather Lewis and Bradley noted that throughout the roster a defensive push emerged.
“I think we’re going to be a way better defensive team,” said Lewis. “I think one through five can switch everything, we’re going to be aggressive on the ball, off the ball.”
He went on to highlight the depth of talent from bigs to the guards, and especially how the defensive mindset has been the biggest force over their offseason.
They also discussed these growths over the offseason and the impact of this new-look team heading into one of the hardest conferences for basketball, the Big 12.
“This team is very special in a unique way, it’s a great year to have guys like this heading into the Big 12,” said Lewis. “I think we’re going to have a lot of matchup problems for the opposing team guarding us and again I’m super excited for the year.”
Lewis echos all Arizona basketball fans who are eager to see this team on the court. The Arizona Wildcats’ first outing comes at the Red-Blue game on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m., Lewis looks to retain his dunk contest victory in another exciting preseason outing.