Arizona Basketball: Why this off-season is important for Christian Koloko

The 2020-21 Arizona Basketball roster will look completely different and one of those players that will play a key role in the Wildcats success is Christian Koloko.

There are many things that will be different next season for the Arizona Basketball team. One of those will be the role of seven-footer Christian Koloko. During the 2019-20 season, it was more of a learning season, but come next year, he will be a fundamental piece to the Wildcats’ success. This offseason will be important for Koloko.

The transformation he has undergone from prior to the start of the season till now has been remarkable, to say the least. Listed at 7 foot and 215 pounds, he has been putting in the work in the weight room and conditioning. For a freshman and someone who has only been playing basketball since the age of 12, it’s scary to think how good Koloko can be in the next couple of seasons.

With the departure of Chase Jeter, Stone Gettings, and likely Zeke Nnaji, Koloko will be playing a major role as the starting center for the Wildcats next season. He didn’t get a chance to start at all his freshman season, but as the season went on he did begin to see an increase in minutes. When he was on the court, he made immediate impacts.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

For the season, Koloko played in 28 games, he averaged 8.3 minutes per game, 2.3 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. Those stats may not blow you away, but that’s because he saw limited action coming off the bench. The one stat that does stand out this past season is he was second in the team behind Zeke Nnaji with 25 blocks. His size, wingspan, and athleticism made it a problem for his opponents to get any easy buckets down low.

This off-season, it will be crucial for Koloko to continue to work on getting stronger and step up his conditioning. Of course, for now, it will be challenging to due that with gyms closing as a result of the coronavirus, but that shouldn’t stop him from finding ways to stay fit.

Not just in the gym, but on the court as well Koloko will need to build confidence with his shot and get as many reps in as possible. There will a few times this season that showed when he got touches down low, he can be a problem. Against Arizona State at home, he delivered with eight points, six rebounds, one assist and two blocks in just 11 minutes of play!

This sequence right here shows how versatile Koloko can be on both ends of the court:

https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/1204947681979727873?s=20

At Zona Zealots, we are very excited about what the future holds for the Christian Koloko. He is already a fan favorite and I am sure to come next season he will provide many exciting moments for fans to cheer about. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!