The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball program has been an annual contender in college basketball for the better part of the past 40 years, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Since Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson was hired as Arizona’s coach in 1983, the program has made the NCAA Tournament 35 times, the Sweet Sixteen 19 times, the Elite Eight 10 times, and the Final Four five times. They’ve also gone 1-1 in NCAA Tournament finals as Sean Miller and Tommy Lloyd continued Olson’s legacy after the coach’s 2008 retirement.
They’re one of the nation’s premier programs, and their move to the Big 12 from the Pac-12 should ascertain their status as a basketball power will continue, as should Sunday’s news from the recruiting trail.
Dwayne Aristode, a native of The Netherlands and one of the top recruits in the class of 2025, announced Sunday via ESPN that he would be playing college basketball for Lloyd and the Wildcats.
“The winning culture Tommy Lloyd has built at Arizona is remarkable, They play fast and have the right balance between structure and giving players freedom,” Aristode told ESPN.
The 17-year-old wing chose the Wildcats over the Duke Blue Devils, Michigan State Spartans, and USC Trojans.
Aristode has spent the past two seasons playing high school basketball at the famed Brewster Academy. He already has international basketball experience, having suited up for the Dutch national team over the summer.
[ESPN]
