Post a Free Blog

Submit A Press Release

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Action
Animation
ATP Tour (ATP)
Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Breaking News
Business
Business
Business Newsletter
Call of Duty (CALLOFDUTY)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Car
Celebrity
Champions Tour (CHAMP)
Comedy
CONCACAF
Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)
Crime
Dark Comedy
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
Documentary and Foreign
Drama
eSports
European Tour (EPGA)
Fashion
FIFA
FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC)
FIFA World Cup (FIFA)
Fighting
Football
Formula 1 (F1)
Fortnite
Golf
Health
Hockey
Horror
IndyCar Series (INDY)
International Friendly (FRIENDLY)
Kids & Family
League of Legends (LOL)
LPGA
Madden
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
MLS
Movie and Music
Movie Trailers
Music
Mystery
NASCAR Cup Series (NAS)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Women's Soccer (NWSL)
NBA Development League (NBAGL)
NBA2K
NCAA Baseball (NCAABBL)
NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)
NCAA Football (NCAAF)
NCAA Hockey (NCAAH)
Olympic Mens (OLYHKYM)
Other
Other Sports
Overwatch
PGA
Politics
Premier League (PREM)
Romance
Sci-Fi
Science
Soccer
Sports
Sports
Technology
Tennis
Thriller
Truck Series (TRUCK)
True Crime
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Uncategorized
US
Valorant
Western
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Women’s NCAA Basketball (WNCAAB)
World
World Cup Qualifier (WORLDCUP)
WTA Tour (WTA)
Xfinity (XFT)
XFL
0
-- Advertisement --spot_img
HomeSportsBasketballWith key players returning, No. 10 Arizona starts season vs. Canisius

With key players returning, No. 10 Arizona starts season vs. Canisius

Add to Favorite
Added to Favorite


No. 10 Arizona had two exhibitions to prepare for the season ahead of its season opener Monday against Canisius, while the Golden Griffins will head into the meeting in Tucson, Ariz., facing an opponent for the first time under a new coach.

Canisius did not renew the contract of eight-year coach Reggie Witherspoon, who guided his team to a 14-18 mark in his final season and a 108-130 record overall.

Jim Christian, a head coach with a total of 19 years of experience at Kent State, TCU, Ohio and Boston College, was hired after spending the past two years as an assistant at Kent State.

His career record is 320-286.

Christian said he and his team welcome the challenge of being together for the first time in a contest against a program such as Arizona.

“Those are the games that kids want to play, which is part of recruiting,” Christian said. “We will not play a bunch of non-D-I schools to build some fake momentum. We will see what Arizona can expose and then learn how we can get better and do what we need to do at the right time.”

Arizona, in its fourth season under Tommy Lloyd, utilized its exhibitions against Eastern New Mexico (117-54 win) and Point Loma (113-64) to develop chemistry, work on a rotation and further hone the off-guard skills of preseason All-American Caleb Love.

Love attended the NBA Draft Combine after last season and decided to return for his fifth year of eligibility after three years at North Carolina (including the COVID-19-impacted season of 2020-21) and last season with the Wildcats.

He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year after he averaged 18 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season.

Love struggled in the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 loss to Clemson, scoring 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field, prompting him to work on his perimeter game in addition to penetrating the lane and distributing.

“I could develop my game and kind of fine-tune my game to the point where I feel like I’m ready when my time comes,” Love said of his decision to return to Arizona. “Mainly moving off the ball, a lot of catch-and-shoots and playing off the catch.

“I’ve been watching a lot of Steph Curry this summer, especially when he was in the Olympics, using the shot-fake, things like that to create offense not only for himself but for his teammates as well.”

Arizona is another traditionally strong team added to the loaded Big 12. The Wildcats, in their first season in the conference, are a preseason pick to finish fifth behind Kansas, Houston, Iowa State and Baylor.

Arizona returns point guard Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis alongside Love on the perimeter.

Second-year big man Motiejus Krivas is expected to start at center after Oumar Ballo transferred to Indiana. Henri Veesaar, a post player returning from a medical redshirt, will back up Krivas.

Tennessee transfer Tobe Awaka, a power forward, and Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, a wing, will also start or figure prominently in the rotation.

“We have total respect (for where) we’re stepping into (with the Big 12) and who we’re playing against,” Lloyd said. “We understand there’s going to be a lot of people out there that want to see us prove it — from fans to other schools to media to officials.”

Canisius lost its top six scorers from last season.

Cam Palesse, a redshirt sophomore guard, is the top returner. He started 16 games last season and averaged 6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists overall.

–Field Level Media

Subscribe to get Latest News Updates

Latest News

You may like more
more

NCAAF News: Big 12: Games not compromised by unsecure helmet radio comms

After Texas Tech raised concerns about the encryption of...

Patrick Mahomes eyeing WNBA franchise for Kansas City

Patrick Mahomes said he wants to see a WNBA...

Unrivaled up to 36 players after beating financial expectations

Unrivaled, the upcoming three-on-three women's basketball league, added its...

No. 1 Kansas, loaded with experience and newcomers, opens vs. Howard

No. 1 Kansas looks to shake off a disappointing...