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Two Arizona players ESPN Top 100 and one On3 top 125

Two Arizona players were named in the top 100 nationally and one was chosen by On3 in their top 125 entering the 2024-25 season.

By Alan Rubenstein

Mar 23, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (2) reacts after a basket during the first half in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Dayton Flyers at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Gabriel Mayberry-Imagn Images
Mar 23, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (2) reacts after a basket during the first half in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Dayton Flyers at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Gabriel Mayberry-Imagn Images / Gabriel Mayberry-Imagn Images
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After being named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023-24, Caleb Love is ranked as the sixth-best player by ESPN on their top 100 and 11th-best nationally entering the 2023-24 season by On3. Arizona center Motiejus Krivas is 74th on the ESPN list. Love averaged 18.0 points per game 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 2023-24.

Love was also named to Preseason All-Big XII and All-American earlier this month. Only two players in the Big XII are ranked higher than Love by On3. Big XII preseason Player of the Year, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson is third on the On3 list and Houston guard L.J. Cryer is sixth.

Dickinson who is fourth is the only Big XII player ranked higher than Love on the ESPN list. Former Arizona center Oumar Ballo who is now with Indiana is ranked as the 16th best player entering the 2024-25 season by On3 and 19th by ESPN. Ballo averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds in 2023-24 for Arizona.

Krivas averaged 5.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and shot 55.4 percent from the floor in 12.1 minutes per game as the primary backup to Ballo. Krivas is viewed as a better NBA prospect than Ballo. ESPN praised Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd as helping some of the top big men mature into elite players and that Krivas should be next.

Guards K.J. Lewis who is 55th and Jaden Bradley who is 71st are the only Arizona players on the NBADraft.Net Top 100 Big Board. These lists don't include Oakland transfer Trey Townsend who led Arizona in scoring in each of the first two games. By the end of the season, Arizona will likely have at least three players in the top 100.

Bradley, Love and Townsend seem like the most likely to finish the season as top 100 players. Bradley will have a much bigger role for Arizona in 2024-25 as the starting point guard and Townsend moves up from the Horizon League to the Big XII after averaging 23.5 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.5 steals in two NCAA Tournament games.

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