Arizona Freshmen to Make Immediate Impact

There's no question that Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd knows how to recruit top-level talent for his team, its what he had been doing since he was an assistant at Gonzaga before taking over at Arizona.

This year is no different as the three five-star recruits that he brought over to Tucson make this one the first-ranked recruiting class in the country. Safe to say, Lloyd knows how to pick his players.

The three players that have headed the 2025 recruiting class are Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Dwayne Aristode.

Peat had the privilege of playing under Lloyd in this year's U19 FIBA World Cup for Team USA, where it went a perfect 7-0 and brought home gold to the country.

The three-time Gatorade player of the year and McDonald's All-American averaged 12.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one steal in the dominant run where each team that played USA was beaten by at lest 39 points.

"Yeah, I actually tuned in some of the games we were on break," Jaden Bradley said. "You know, Koa was dominating over there with the best of the best. And I mean, I don't expect anything less for Koa."

Peat's work ethic was put on notice by veterans of the team. He was praised for being in the gym and working on his craft for the upcoming season.

"Yeah, you know, he's always in the gym," Bradley said. "Hats off to him. He always wants to get better. You know, (he's) very strong, physical. He has some crazy dunks already, athletic on the defensive end. You know, big presence, and excited to see what he can really do. And you know, you really get up and down versus other opponents."

Aristode

is a player who has seemed to be overlooked amongst the list of players in the recruiting class. Aristode has tons of experience overseas, playing for Joventut Badalona in Spain, as well as the Netherlands senior national team in 2024.

"Yeah, he's a great player," Senior Anthony Dell'Orso said. "I mean, you know, this ranking system is a pretty big deal in America, and he obviously got those for a reason. You know, you earned them, and he's just as good as anyone can be."

Aristode should be 100 percent when the 2025 season rolls around in November. Until then, Aristode has focusedd on building his game up and making sure his skills are sharpened.

"You got to trust that the coaches have the right path," Dell'Orso said. "And then as the season comes, it'll be exciting to see once these guys, like JB said, once the coaches really get a hold of them and rounds, and they really get inside the program, and it's like, we can actually see, like, what they can really do."

Burries has big shoes to fill after the departure of Caleb Love to the NBA draft. Despite the high expectations, he could very much be the next guy up as he is considered one of the best shooting guards in the country.

He averaged 29.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.5 steals a game for Roosevelt High School. The ball will most likely still go through Bradley, but once Burries develops a little bit more throughout the season, fans could expect the offense to flow through him sometimes.

Of the seven Arizona commits, three of them are coming internationally. Acclimating to USA style basketball might be different, but if theres anybody who knows how to adjust, it's Dell'orso.

The 6-foot-6 guard out of Melbourne, Australia, is there to help the young players adapt and even offer advice. Forward Sidi Gueye, and wings Ivan Kharchenkov and Aristode have a good role model during the season.

"Yeah, I would just say, you know, keep working hard," Dell'Orso said. "Obviously, you know, just there's going to be times when you don't want to keep playing. You want to kind of go home, or you want to kind of give in a little bit, and you can't. You just got to keep kind of pushing. You got to trust that the people you chose to, you know, come play for that they have your best interest, and that when you practice, you're really, like, going 100% wanting to get better."

Three-star recruit Bryce James will bring tons of media attention to Arizona, given his upbringing.but that shouldnt overshadow what he can do on the court.

"He's got really good potential, but he's 17," Lloyd said. "He's just moved away from home and he's running his own race. Let's give him some space and let him kind of develop into his own man. We treat Bryce just like we treat every other guy. He shows up every day with a smile on his face.”

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