With a few Student-Athletes making decisions on their future, current Arizona Basketball star Ben Mathurin announced he will be returning to school for 2021-22.
It has been a great start to the Tommy Lloyd era in Tucson as Arizona Basketball is seeing several recruiting wins this off-season, particularly with the current roster and most recently with Ben Mathurin.
Coming in, we said his first job was going to be re-recruiting the current roster and so far, he’s done a terrific job in doing so as he brought back Kerr Kriisa. However, his latest recruiting win is with Ben.
Arizona Wildcats
Following a terrific freshman campaign in which the former NBA Latin America star averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds through 26 games with the Wildcats, and some thought there was a possibility he could explore his options in playing basketball professionally.
Well, luckily for us, just over a week on the job and Tommy Lloyd has him believing in his vision and his future with Arizona Basketball.
Making his announcement via social media, here is what Ben had to say on his decision:
"“This past year at Arizona has been a time of growth and learning. I have felt the thrill of victory and the pain of defeat. My teammates and I competed in the midst of a global pandemic and through sadness of a lost postseason, playing in front of cardboard cutouts and empty seats.My vision is that as Spring turns to Summer and the world reopens, our lives will get back to some normalcy. Which is why I want to finish what I started, locking arms with my teammates and welcoming back our fans to McKale. There is more growth, more learning and most importantly, more winning in my future, and that future will continue here at Arizona under Coach Lloyd. Bear Down and Go Wildcats!”"
Now, coming into 2021-22 he is going to have an even bigger role with the team, and that is great news for us as we all saw the potential this past season. This year we could see Ben take off.
In case you need a reminder of just how talented he is, here are his highlights from his 31-point game against Oregon State.