Three BOLD Takeaways From Arizona's Red-Blue Showcase

Arizona basketball is gearing up for the season and has wrapped up its annual Red-Blue Showcase ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Mar 15, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) reacts with teammates against the Houston Cougars during the first half for the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship game at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Friday marked the annual Red-Blue Showcase for Arizona basketball as head coach Tommy Lloyd enters his fifth season with the Wildcats after making the tournament all four of the previous seasons with three trips to the Sweet Sixteen, which includes last year’s 100-93 loss to No. 1 seed Duke.

This past season, Lloyd and his program entered a new era of Arizona basketball with the Wildcats leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12 Conference. In UA’s first season in a new conference, the team went 24-13 while finishing third in the conference standings.

In the Big 12 Tournament, the Wildcats made it to the conference title game and fell 72-64 to Houston, which would go on to play for the National Title.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) drives to the basket against Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the first half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Following the end to the season, Arizona lost star guard Caleb Love to graduation and forward Carter Bryant to the NBA Draft where he went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.

Plus, Arizona saw two key players in KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar leave the program and transfer to Power 4 programs.

Despite that, Arizona will be fully loaded again with four key returners in Jaden Badley, Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas. Plus, Lloyd and his staff signed the No. 2 recruiting class according to 24/7 Sports.

The atmosphere was rocking in McKale Center with fans excited to see the seven new freshmen and four key returning players with a team that will almost certainly be ranked in the Preseason AP Poll.

Arizona target and five-star recruit Caleb Holt winning a gold medal in the FIBA World Cup | Caleb Holt's Instagram

In attendance for the showcase was five-star guard Caleb Holt out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who has seen heavy interest from the Wildcats.

It was a good night for Arizona basketball that saw the Red Team walk away with a 45-44 win over the Blue Team.

Here at Arizona Wildcats On SI, we’ve broken down the three takeaways from the night that fans should be excited about for the upcoming season.

Three Takeaways

Koa Peat brings the heat. 🔥 #GoCats pic.twitter.com/LYDmgJhMjl

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 4, 2025

Brayden Burries

• For the last two seasons, Arizona has been led by Caleb Love, who was the clear go-to guy for the Wildcats and head coach Tommy Lloyd when the team needed a bucket. Love averaged 17.6 PPG for UA.

• Now, coming into the 2025-26 season, one of the main storylines is who will be the go-to guy for the Wildcats?

Brayden Burries has 20 of Red's 43 points

— AZ Desert Swarm (@AZDesertSwarm) October 4, 2025

• Well, in the Red-Blue Showcase, freshman guard Brayden Burries was smooth from the floor dropping 22 points while going 7 of 11 from the field. Burries was able to find his shot when needed but in the follow of the offensive groove.

• Yes, it is only a scrimmage but it is something to watch as Arizona looks for its next top scorer.

Leadership

• One of the main returning guys this season will be point guard Jaden Bradley, who is entering his second season with the program. Now, Bradley will be looked at as a leader in the locker room as the Wildcats try to get this young squad ready for the season.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) shoots the ball against Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) during the first half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

• The whole night, Bradley was making sure guys were in the right position and making the right switches on the defensive side of the ball. He is clearly going to be a vocal leader at a position where you need it the most, the point guard.

Evan Nelson

• Last season, Arizona had a hard time with its backup point guard role when Bradley and Love needed a rest, or if there were any foul issues.

• This offseason, Lloyd and his staff added transfer guard Evan Nelson to the roster, who played at Harvard as one of the starting guards. And although it is only a scrimmage, it looks like he could be that steady point guard force off the bench for this team.

Dec 22, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Harvard Crimson guard Evan Nelson (11) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

• Nelson was able to total three assists in his 17 minutes on the court and really helped run the offense and set up his teammates in the right position to score.

Arizona will need that this season if the team hopes to make a deep run come March.

Please be sure to share your thoughts on the Red-Blue Showcase. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.