Arizona's Jaden Bradley Looking to Find More Consistency

Despite putting his name in the 2025 NBA Draft Pool, Jaden Bradley was fully committed to returning to Arizona for his senior season. 

“My name was in there, but I talked to some of the people and I didn’t do any of the workouts,” he said. “Once I talked to coach (Tommy) Lloyd and everybody and was fully committed to coming back, I pulled my name out of it and I was just working to get better within the offense in the summer.”

It was not the way the Wildcats wanted to finish their season, once again not reaching past the Sweet Sixteen after running into Duke. Bradley took a step forward in his personal role that expanded, but he is still working on improving his game heading into his senior year. He mentioned the defensive side of the ball and consistency specifically in what he learned from his performance individually last season as well as what the team learned as a whole. 

“Personally, I just got to be more consistent with my game,” Bradley said. “As a team, with these summer workouts, we’ve been harping on defense and good offense. I feel like throughout the year last year, we had our ups and downs shooting wise and defensive wise so kind of staying consistent the whole year. It’s not going to be perfect, but the defense is something that can be consistent throughout the year.”

The biggest knock on the team last year in non-conference play revolved around the shooting struggles. In those five losses, the Wildcats shot just 24 percent from deep. The Wildcats also had their inconsistencies at times on the defensive side of the floor, but everything seemed to turn a corner for much of conference play when Arizona went on to win 13 of 14 games. 

It was a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule for the Wildcats last season, but it helped prepare them for conference play in the Big 12. It is no different this year with an opening game against the national defending champions in Florida. UA will also take on UCLA, UConn, Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State before they even get into the latter part of the schedule against the tough Big 12 opponents. 

As Bradley puts it, “that’s what we’re here for.”

“To play the best of the best right away,” he added. “We’ve got a tough game out of the gate. That’s what we’re preparing for, but it starts in practice. We’ll keep building and we’re working on ourselves first. When it gets closer to that date, we’ll start preparing, getting that scouting report and getting all of that together. Right now, we’re working on finding each other, finding how we can play with each other and connecting with that bond.”

It will be a mix of returners and newcomers on this year’s team for the Wildcats. One of the top freshman coming in is Brayden Burries, a five-star guard who’ll look to form the same connection in the back court that Bradley previously had with Caleb Love. 

“First of all, learning who he is off the court and building that connection so it is genuine,” Bradley said on forming a rapport with Burries. “... Just learning his game, getting in the gym with him and he’s definitely going to be a vital piece for us. I’m excited to see what he can bring to the table and things I can learn from him.”

It is a “physical” freshman class as Bradley puts it led by Burries, Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode who’ll look to form that connection with all of the returners. The expectations remain high for Arizona basketball.