The program was on display for a packed house as Year 6 begins for Tommy Lloyd and the Cats
Arizona Basketball Red-Blue Showcase
By Troy Hutchison
TUCSON — It’s been 175 days since Arizona ended its 2025-26 season that featured the Wildcats making a run to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years.
Saturday afternoon UA was back in action inside McKale Center at ALKEME Arena for the annual Red-Blue Showcase to start the countdown to the 2026-27 season.
Along with the showcase, the Wildcats honored the 1997 national title team marking 30 years since UA beat Kentucky in the title game to secure the program’s only title.
This upcoming season, head coach Tommy Lloyd enters his sixth year with the program and will be looking to replace the minutes left behind from key players Jaden Bradley, Koa Peat, Brayden Burries, Tobe Awaka and Anthony Dell’Orso
Although in the grand scheme of things, the showcase doesn’t mean much despite a 42-32 win by the Red Team, we at Wildcats Radio 1290 have come up with three Top Takeaways from the game:
A True Point Guard?
One of the biggest question marks going into the season will be, who will be able to take over the point guard role left behind from Bradley?
The Wildcats have two options to run the position in transfers Derek Dixon and JJ Mandaquit with both being young players that haven’t gotten a ton of minutes on the court.
If you are talking about a true passing point guard to run the show, Mandaquit showed off his skills in the game and was able to attack the basket, as well.
Mandaquit clearly has the ability to be a distributing floor-general for a team that has weapons all over the court.
Arizona Postgame Download: Ivan Kharchenkov & Caleb Holt
The Top Dog
Last season, the Wildcats top player was Bradley, who won Big 12 Player of the Year and was the go-to guy in tight games.
Lloyd does have two guys that will be clear leaders in Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas. Both have shown to be vocal when needed and were key players on the Final Four team.
However, Kharchenkov might become the go-to guy for this year’s team with his ability to score anywhere on the floor and his defensive tenacity. He could find himself in the running for major awards by the end of the season.
New Hustle Guy
Not only was Kharchenkov a key player for his defensive abilities last season for Arizona, but also for his toughness and hustle that got the Wildcats extra possessions and turnovers.
The Wildcats might’ve found a “do the little things,” guy once again in forward Maksim Brnovic, who is from Podgorica, Montenegro.
The 6-foot-10 big man was able to score eight points while hauling in three rebounds and an assist during his 16 minutes on the floor.
Brnovic was diving on the floor and making hustle plays, which resulted in points for the Red Team.
The Wildcats’ first exhibition games is on Oct. 13, against San Francisco with the tipoff set for 7 p.m. (MST). It will be the first of three preseason games for Arizona this season.
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