Takeaways from the Arizona Basketball Red-Blue Game

Kicking off the 2022-23 Arizona Basketball with the annual Red-Blue game, these were the major takeaways in the Wildcats’ intra-squad scrimmage. 

Arizona Basketball is here! After months of anticipation, the Wildcats officially kicked off the 2022-23 season with the annual Red-Blue Game on Friday evening.

Returning to action inside a raucous and energetic McKale Center, fans were buzzing as the Wildcats began year two of the Tommy Lloyd era.

Welcoming a myriad of familiar faces, the Wildcats also introduced several new faces as the team began making its preparations for the quickly approaching season.

So with Arizona Basketball action now officially underway, we look at the major takeaways following the Wildcats’ annual Red-Blue Game.

Arizona’s post will provide Match-up Challenges

For the second-straight year, it appears the Wildcats have improved immensely in the post-game. Returning Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo and bringing in Estonian star Henri Veesaar, together, the two combined for 34 points on 15-24 shooting with 11 combined rebounds.

We all saw the damage done by Christian Koloko last season, and while C-Lo is no longer with the Cats, it seems as if production may not drop too much on the offensive end with the presence of Ballo and Veesaar. Overall, the Cats should be in good hands here and will provide defensive challenges to several teams in the post.

Wildcats could not hit their shots… is it a cause for concern?

It is hard to put too much stock into what is essentially a glorified practice, especially when it is so early in the season; however, last night, the Red Team shot a combined 15-44 (34.1 percent), while the Blue Team shot a combined 19-42 (45.2 percent).

As I stated already, it is early, so it is hard to put too much stock into this; however, it is at least mildly concerning. Arizona was lucky to have great shooters in Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry (later in the season) last year, and so far, it appears they do not have anyone like that.

Hopefully, the next couple of weeks will allow Arizona to find consistency with their shots, which in turn results in better shooting overall.

Filip Borovicanin will be an X-Factor this season

Still, not much is known about the Wildcats’ freshman wing; however, the Serbian native made one hell of an introduction to Arizona fans last night.

Joining the team a bit later in the recruiting process, the skilled wing flashed moments of brilliance last night with several jaw-dropping passes, high basketball IQ, and overall toughness.

In 20 minutes played last night, Borovicanin finished with 6 points on 1-4 shooting (4-4 from the free throw line), four rebounds, and one assist. With continued development, he could turn into a great player for the Cats this year, and may very well be their “X-Factor”.

Kerr is still a bit Inconsistent

Last year, we got several instances of good Kerr and bad Kerr, and last night, we, unfortunately, got the latter.

Entering his junior season, there are high hopes for the Estonian point guard especially as he is the heart and soul of this team. And a lot of the team’s success will be contingent on how he plays.

As he finished his evening with just five points on 1-6 shooting (1-6 from three) with zero rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes played, the hope is that this was an off-night and will not be a regular occurrence in 2022-23.

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