Insights from Arizona Wildcats Star Transfer on Team's Early Struggles

The Arizona Wildcats, who were among the favorites to win the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, fell woefully short of expectations.

After defeating the Davidson Wildcats in the first round, they were defeated by the Oklahoma Sooners in their second game. Playing for third place, they had another shaky outing, being defeated by the West Virginia Mountaineers 83-76 in overtime.

That loss dropped the Wildcats to 3-4 on the year. It marks the first time the men’s basketball team is under the .500 mark since 2010.

This certainly isn’t the start anyone expected from Arizona. Coming into the campaign, they were regarded as one of the most talented rosters in the country and a legitimate championship contender.

They certainly have not looked the part through seven games, as they have lost to all four major conference teams they have faced off against. One of the reasons the team has struggled in the early going is working with some new players.

One of them is Trey Townsend, who transferred into the program from the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. It has been an adjustment for him, as he is playing a new position with the Wildcats after playing a majority of his minutes at center last season.

“I feel I’m a pretty versatile player. At Oakland we didn’t have 7-footers, I played the 5 there. Me being able to play my true position like this ultimately helps our team. It was a struggle at the beginning. We’re all still finding our way,” the talented forward said via Brian J. Pedersen of Arizona Desert Swarm.

He is currently averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.6 minutes per game. While his role has shrunk with the Wildcats, he is attempting a career-high 1.7 3-pointers per game and making only 25 percent of them.

Tommy Llyod needs to find a way to get him more involved as he is shooting 65.1 percent on 2-point attempts but is attempting only 6.1 shots per game.

Confidence is a big factor for Townsend, who is starting to get more comfortable with his new team.

“For me it’s all about confidence. At the beginning of the regular season I was struggling with that. I felt every time I was touching the ball we were building momentum,” he said, referencing the loss to the Mountaineers.

Townsend had a strong game against their Big 12 foes, who they will face off with again on January 7 in Morgantown. On Friday, he scored a season-high 19 points with four rebounds and two assists.

Arizona certainly hopes that they will have turned things around by the rematch. Their star transfer is confident that will be the case.

“I’m confident in our guys and just excited to keep playing with them,” Townsend added.