Projecting Arizona Basketball's starting lineup (again) for the 2024-25 season
By Mason Duhon
I heard the outcry. My rigidity based on how the guys are listed on the roster instead of the positions they actually play limited my accuracy when I took my first crack at Arizona Basketball's starting lineup back in early May. I fell short in a lot of areas, so I'm doing it better this time.
Most of the dust has settled from the transfer portal and recruiting trail for this cycle — outside of Will Riley's pending decision. The picture for the 2024-25 roster has become about as clear as it can get, so let's take a look at the projected two-deep:
1: Point guard
Starter: Jaden Bradley (Junior)
After a short stint in the 2024 NBA Draft pool where he was likely just gauging professional interest, second-year Wildcat Jaden Bradley will return to Arizona in 2024-25 and take up the starting point guard role. Bradley is a heady two-way player who was seriously in the running for last year's Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year.
Bradley transferred to Arizona from Alabama before the 2023-24 season after playing significant minutes for the Crimson Tide as a freshman. He swooped in near the end of the season and became too good to keep on the bench, usurping former starter Kylan Boswell — who has since transferred to Illinois. He finished 2023-24 with averages of 7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal per game, setting the stage for a massive junior season out of the 6-foot-3 court general.
Backup: Conrad Martinez (Sophomore)
Martinez, affectionately nicknamed "El Jefe" — Spanish for "The Chief/Boss" — by Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, plays with a confidence and smoothness that jumps out. The Spaniard comes in a small package, listed at a generous 6 feet tall on Arizona's roster, making him the shortest player on the team by at least 3 inches.
However, he has the movement skills required to cut it at the American collegiate level. He's extremely quick and can read the court in front of him in a flash. He uses his eyes to draw defenders out of position like a quarterback, and it will be fireworks on the court when Bradley heads to the NBA and Martinez gets his chance to run the show.