Projecting Arizona Basketball's starting lineup (again) for the 2024-25 season
By Mason Duhon
2: Shooting guard
Starter: Caleb Love (5th year)
Like Bradley, Caleb Love landed at Arizona before last season after being unceremoniously pushed out of his last home. The former North Carolina star has settled into the desert beautifully and has become the catalyst for the new wave of Wildcats recruited to Tucson entirely by Lloyd. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year didn't get the right feedback from pro scouts, so he's running it back with the 'Cats.
Despite a rough stretch of games in the postseason when it mattered most, the facts are that Arizona wouldn't have even been in such good position without Love's season-long contributions. Love logged a career-best 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game while also shooting a career-high 41.3% from the floor and committing a career-low 1.1 fouls and 2.1 turnovers per game.
"Backup": KJ Lewis (Sophomore)
Lewis is less of a backup for Love, and this is more based on what type of personnel Lloyd wants on the floor. Lewis excelled as the 7th man last year and would almost certainly see his scoring tick up if he called his own number more often from the No. 2 spot. The freshman standout will no longer be coming off the bench but will be a crucial part of Arizona's game plan at both ends of the court.
This was another hard whiff in my original projections. I was using Lewis' listing as a guard on the roster as the end-all-be-all, hence why he was listed here as a "backup" and nowhere else as a starter.