Future could be bright for Arizona Basketball in 2021-22

With Arizona Basketball amid their long off-season, the Wildcats could have a special group in 2022 if a large core of this talent returns. 

We’ve got a long way to go until Arizona Basketball action returns, and with the Wildcats just beginning their off-season, we take an early look into what could be a special group in 2022.

There’s no doubt that 2020-21 didn’t quite go the way many had hoped. Covid surely had its impact on the season, there were key injuries and suspensions, and of course, the self-imposed postseason ban put a damper on the year for all of us fans.

Arizona Wildcats

Nonetheless, at 17-9 (11-9), it was a fairly productive year all things considered, and following the 2020-21 season, there is plenty of optimism for fans to look for going into next year.

For starters, the Wildcats should return a large core of their talent from this years’ roster. That means crucial players like James Akinjo, Ben Mathurin, Azoulas Tubelis, Jordan Brown, Kerr Kriisa, etc. could be here next year, and that is the type of stability this program has been longing for as of recent.

Additionally, Arizona Basketball will have a talented incoming trio of Shane Nowell, Shane Dezonie, and K.J. Simpson.

Unlike most Sean Miller teams of recent, he won’t have completely retool and rebuild his roster for the first time in a while. He should have a large contingency of players that are returning to continue to build off of.

Now granted, a lot will depend on exactly who comes back and how some of these kids respond and develop in the off-season, however, things at least look promising. If all goes well, this is a group that could contend for a Pac-12 title.

For fans that have been critical of Miller and his rosters recently, we should see a bit of a return to normalcy in 2021-22, so long as this group doesn’t see any postseason punishment again.