Arizona Basketball: Christian Koloko declares for NBA Draft
In somewhat of a surprising move, Arizona Basketball star Christian Koloko has officially declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Well, it was a move we did not completely anticipate; however, are not entirely surprised by either, as Arizona Basketball star Christian Koloko has officially declared for the 2022 NBA Draft.
The Pac-12’s Most Improved Player of the Year and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year is on to bigger and better as is projected to be a late first-round/early second-round pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft.
Forever thankful Wildcats nation ❤️❤️ 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/usbrkfMw6U
— CjKoloko (@kolokojunior1) April 18, 2022
In his junior season, Koloko made a major jump from the year before, starting in all 37 of the Wildcats’ games compared to the 19 he started in last year.
Koloko registered 10 double-doubles on the season, blocked an astounding 102 shots, and averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in an average of 25.4 minutes per game.
| Season | School | Conf | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | BLK | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 28 | 0 | 8.3 | 1.0 | 2.1 | .483 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .491 | 0.3 | 0.7 | .350 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| 2020-21 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 26 | 19 | 17.3 | 2.0 | 3.8 | .520 | 2.0 | 3.7 | .526 | 1.3 | 2.2 | .625 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 5.3 |
| 2021-22 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 37 | 37 | 25.4 | 4.9 | 7.8 | .635 | 4.9 | 7.7 | .642 | 2.7 | 3.7 | .735 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 12.6 |
| Career | Arizona | 91 | 56 | 17.9 | 2.9 | 4.9 | .590 | 2.9 | 4.8 | .597 | 1.6 | 2.3 | .670 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 7.3 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 4/18/2022.
The following is a list of all of the awards Mathurin has accumulated thus far:
- Pac-12 Regular Season Champion
- Pac-12 Tournament Champion
- Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year (2022)
- Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year (2022)
- First-Team All-Pac-12 (2022)
Koloko came to Arizona a scrawny 7-feet tall and weighing 195 pounds after originally hailing from Cameroon.
Coming into basketball later in life, Christian has made great strides over the past few years and has cemented himself as being one of the better centers in college basketball, so naturally, he is going to capitalize on that.
As far as the draft, there is no consensus as to which team and what spot he will land, but almost all projections have him hearing his name called near the end of the first round or the early second round. Here are some projections:
- Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report) – No. 37 to the Sacramento Kings
- Tankathon.com – No. 29 to the Memphis Grizzlies
- NBA Draft Room – No. 31 to the Indiana Pacers
- Bryan Kalbrosky (HoopsHype) – No. 36 (No team listed)
We cannot wait to cover his pro career, he has so much upside and has already grown substantially. We have been privileged to be a part of his journey so far, and look forward to continuing to follow his career!
Just for fun, we included Christian’s Highlights from the 2021-22 season!
Next. NBA Playoffs begin for these former Arizona Basketball Stars. dark