Koa Peat had 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks on Monday as Arizona defeated defending national champion and third-ranked Florida 93-87 in the season opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Social media was abuzz with Peat's performance and asking for comps for the star freshman.
Appearing on the Field of 68 podcast hosted by Arizona alum Jeff Goodman and former Wake Forest and NBA Star Randolph Childress, Wildcat's head coach Tommy Lloyd compared Peat to former NBA and UNLV star Larry Johnson. Johnson was the first pick in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
UNLV signed Johnson out of Odessa College in Texas. Johnson was 20 when he enrolled at UNLV for the 1989 fall semester. Johnson averaged 22.3 points per game as a freshman at Odessa against junior college competition.
As a freshman at Odessa, Johnson averaged 22.3 PPG and was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Player of the Year. Johnson averaged 29 PPG as a sophomore at Odessa and became the first player to be named the NJCAA Division I POY in the two seasons he played.
"He's special....Koa is 18...and Larry obviously was a great player. He's playing at UNLV at 22 23...Let's give Koa some leash here, but he's a special player, he's...a great learner. He's a great kid and...it's an honor to coach him."Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd
Johnson led UNLV with 20.6 PPG and 11.4 rebounds with 2.1 assists as the Runnin' Rebels won their only National Championship in 1990. The year before Johnson arrived, UNLV upset number one-ranked Arizona in the West Regional Semifinals with most of the same team.
UNLV beat Arizona 95-87 in 1990 during Johnson's first season with the Runnin' Rebels. In 1990-91, UNLV won its first 34 games to advance to the Final Four. Duke ended UNLV's 45-game winning streak with one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history on its way to the first national championship in its history.
Johnson played at 6'7 and 235 pounds. Peat is 6'8 and 235 pounds. Johnson averaged 16.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 3.3 APG before a chronic back injury forced him to retire after 10 seasons in the NBA. Peat plays with a powerful, physically imposing style of play that is similar to Johnson.
Despite their size, Johnson and Peat are both athletic players with excellent court vision who are excellent passers. Peat played an all-around efficient game against Florida. Peat made 11 of his 18 shots from the field and eight of 12 free throws with two electric dunks on consecutive possessions in the second half to showcase his athleticism.