The University of Arizona men’s basketball team kicked off its season with its annual Red-Blue showcase on Friday, Oct. 3, in McKale Center. Throughout the night, fans got to watch a variety of activities, including a 3-point competition and dunk contest.
“It felt pretty good, finally playing in front of the fans. I never played in front of that many people before and they just gave me the energy I needed. My teammates had my back and the coaches drew up plays for us to be successful and it was just fun out there honestly competing,” freshman guard Brayden Burries, who scored a game-high 22 points, said.
3-point competition
The first contest included a 3-point competition, which guest-starred the women’s basketball team. Players had 60 seconds to shoot five racks full of basketballs. The first rounds saw graduate guard Mickayla Perdue go up against Mireia Jurado, where Perdue moved on to the next round to face off against the winner of the men’s team. Senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso faced off against Harvard transfer Evan Nelson.
In the final round of the 3-point shooting contest, Dell’Orso went head-to-head against Perdue, where the competition got close as Dell’Orso ultimately won in a 19-18 victory. Arizona women’s basketball begins its season later this month, on Oct. 23, in an exhibition match against West Texas A&M University at 6 p.m. in McKale Center.
Dunk contest
The second event of the night included a dunk contest. Each player competing had 30 seconds to complete their dunk, getting two dunks per round. If the Wildcats moved on to the final round, they only got one chance to dunk. The players that competed in the challenge included Mabil Mawut, Addison Arnold, Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode.
Players were assessed by a panel of judges which included guests like Hanna Fields from “Love Island” season 7, Myles O’Neal, Mix Master Mike, Camille Kostek and Rob Gronkowski. The dunks included flashy windmills, players assisting each other and even Gronkowski joining in on some attempts.
Aristode and Arnold both advanced to the final round, but failed at their dunk attempts. Notably, Arnold made an impressive dunk in which he jumped over Gronkowski and dunked a football in the hoop.
The help from Gronkowski didn’t stop there as Lloyd subbed in the former NFL player and Wildcat to show off his own dunking skills. Gronkowski completed multiple dunks, including jumping over a remote-controlled Land Rover to put the ball in the hoop, in which he successfully made.
By the end, Gronkowski was named the winner of the contest.
Red-Blue scrimmage
The final event of the night showcased the Red and Blue team facing off in a two-period competition to give Wildcat fans a peak at what they can expect this season. The Red team came away with a decisive 45-44 victory over the Blue team.
Five-star combo guard Burries made his impact, finishing the night with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and was 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. Additionally, he had five rebounds, two assists and one steal in the 20 minutes he played. Aristode also entered double-digits, securing 12 points on 4-of-5 of his field goal attempts. Two players on the Blue team saw themselves in double figures, including senior guard Jaden Bradley and Dell’Orso.
Bradley secured 12 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field, four assists and game-high three steals. Dell’Orso put up 10 points himself on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough for the Blue team to come out with a victory.
“It was good to get up and down the floor a little bit, see the ball go in the basket, see who is comfortable under the lights,” head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We practiced really hard […]. You got to be built for it.”
During the second half of the scrimmage, the Blue team subbed in what fans thought was a new transfer player by the name of Rocky Gronkstone. Gronkstone saw 1:33 minutes on the court, putting up 0-of-3 of his field goal attempts, while also gaining two fouls. After arguing the first foul call, Gronkstone was ejected from the game as he couldn’t control his emotions, bouncing the basketball with full force near the referees.
“I think we have a lot of lineup versatility, you know, we can go different looks but obviously I’m not afraid to go out there and play big boy basketball […]. That’s something that I hope we’re able to take advantage of,” Lloyd said.
Looking ahead
With the annual showcase coming to a close, the Wildcats look ahead to their next matchup. Arizona will host an exhibition match on Saturday, Oct. 18, against Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in McKale Center.
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