Big Expectations For Wildcats' Anthony Dell'orso

Senior shooting guard Anthony Dell’Orso, who announced that he will be staying at Arizona via social media on April 14, is expected to play a big role on the Wildcats’ roster this upcoming 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-6 guard began his collegiate career at Campbell, where he was an elite player for that team.

As a freshman, Dell’Orso averaged 12.5 points on 48.7% field goal percentage, 32.2% from deep, while playing 29 minutes per game.

It was that kind of play that earned him Big South Freshman of the Year honors. Dell’Orso only got better in his sophomore with the Fightin’ Camels, as his point average went up to 19.5 on 49.2% shooting from the field, 38% from long range, while playing 33.3 minutes per game.

It was his high scoring style of basketball that got him All-CAA second team honors that year. Dell’Orso transferred to Arizona in the 2023 offseason and made an impact on the court, starting 28 of the 37 games played, providing clutch shot opportunities.

 The Melbourne native’s minutes and points had dipped when he got to the more rotation heavy Arizona basketball team, going down to 18 minutes per game and 7.2 points.

Despite the dip in production, his sharp shooting skills were still displayed with 41.3% shooting from beyond the 3-point line, making him one of the more dangerous shooters in the country.

Dell’Orso displayed his impressive accuracy in a game against Colorado, where he scored 20 points and nailed six threes in the 78-63 win.

His best postseason performance came in the NCAA Tournament against Oregon where he scored 12 points on 6-12 shooting.

The game before that was a nine point, 50% 3-point shooting effort from Dell’Orso, in a post season where head coach Tommy Lloyd encouraged him to “Shoot more and ask questions later.”

Dell’Orso will most likely be coming off the bench this season, with Jaden Bradley handling duties at the point guard position and highly touted recruits like Brayden Burries and Koa Peat joining the roster.

His skills as a sharpshooter would make him an excellent sixth man as he will fill a huge scoring boost role in a deep guard rotation.

The talented senior could also fulfill more of a catch-and-shoot role in the deep lineup. In the 2024 season, Dell’Orso nailed 21-of-52 (40.4%) shots in that category.

During the last season where perimeter shooting was a struggle for Arizona, no other player on that team had shot over 35%.

Given his size, Dell’Orso could fill in some minutes at the 3 spot in a small ball rotation. He may even be able to start at that spot now that Carter Bryant was taken in the 2025 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs with the 14th pick.

There is no question that Dell’Orso is beyond talented when shooting from deep, but he may need to work on his decision-making if he wants to elevate his game as a complete guard, as his assist to turnover ratio took a small dip when he got to Arizona from 0.8 to 0.7.

Nonetheless, Dell’Orso provides clutch 3-point shooting and a veteran presence to a talented young roster that is built to potentially make a deep run in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Let us know what you thoughts of this article on our social media page. Click this link right here to visit.