After his live commitment on ESPN Sportscenter Wednesday, five-star combo guard Brayden Burries discussed why he chose Arizona, what it will be like playing with his classmates and who he models his game after. Arizona now has the top-ranked 2025 class in the On3 Industry Rankings after the commitment from Burries.
Burries mentioned he has built a trust with Lloyd, who has been recruiting him for about three years, that he lets his guards play and that he fits the Arizona style of play perfectly. The commitment from Burries provides Arizona and Lloyd with a potential replacement for Caleb Love if they do not add a scoring wing through the transfer portal.
Burries joins four-star forward Dwayne Aristode, who signed with Arizona in November, three-star guard Bryce James, who committed to the Wildcats in March and five-star forward Koa Peat, who gave his pledge in March, preceded Burries in the 2025 Arizona class.
Burries discussed playing with Aristode, James and Peat, stating they are one of the freshmen classes coming in and that Arizona has a chance to make some deep pushes in March. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons are the players Burries models his game after.
"The trust with Coach Lloyd and the staff...he's been on me for about three years...and...he lets his guards play and his play style...fits me perfectly...and...he's going to get the best out of me... We're gonna...one of the best freshman classes coming in... We got a chance to make some deep pushes in March Madness... Just stay tuned and it's going to be great... I model my game after... Devin Booker or Cade Cunningham, a big guard that likes to get to their spots and minimum dribbles...can score at all three levels and rebound."Arizona 2025 commit Brayden Burries
At 6'5 and 175 pounds, Burries is an inch shorter than Booker and Cunningham, who are both 6'6. Booker has a career 52.4 eFG percentage and Cunningham has a 49.5 eFG percentage. Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona staff would be very happy if Burries could approach those numbers as a freshman.
Burries has proven to be an efficient player throughout his high school career. In his junior and senior seasons, Burries averaged 27.5 points per game, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 turnovers on 55.1 percent from the field, 35.6 percent on three-point attempts and 77.2 percent from the free throw line with a 66.7 eFG percentage.
Burries has a proven ability to get to the free throw line by making 6.1 per game on 7.9 attempts per game. That's an average of about fouls drawn just on attempts that Burries shot free throws. Burries is an efficient shot maker. If Burries can continue being efficient in college, he will be a reliable scorer.