Freshmen make big impact at Arizona — with veterans’ help

Click here to return to The Tip-Off home page.

Right after the plane touched down in Tucson, Arizona guard Jaden Bradley decided to take teammates Brayden Burries and Koa Peat to dinner. The Wildcats had just returned from a mid-November trip to Storrs, Connecticut, after a 71-67 win over the Huskies to start the season 5-0, but something was slightly off.

Two of Arizona’s star freshmen were having vastly different starts to the season. Peat opened the year with 30 points against Florida, the second-most ever for a Wildcat freshman, was averaging 16.2 points per game and recorded a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double against UConn.

But things hadn’t clicked as easily for Burries. Head coach Tommy Lloyd had him starting at the two, so he wouldn’t need to check right into the game playing point guard, but the shooting hadn’t come yet — Burries was hitting just 29% from 3-point range.

Foul troubles plagued him early, as well. He was racked five in the team’s first game against Florida and played just 19 minutes at UConn after picking up some early whistles and never finding a groove.

Bradley wanted to be there for both players, despite their performances on the court.

“He just told me to keep playing hard, just have fun,” Burries said. “We got off the plane and went out to eat, just me and [Bradley], Koa actually went too. We just went, talked about hoops, school and stuff. That helped me a lot.”

Bradley wasn’t the only person to lend some timely advice to his freshman.

“Coach Lloyd brought me into a meeting, and he told me it’s part of being a freshman. It’s going to happen, you know? I trusted him,” Burries said. “And he just told me the best thing for me was experience. These experiences were going to help me, and by the time Big 12 play, March and April came around, I’d be fine.”

Burries has been better than fine. Since that dinner, he’s blossomed into one of the best freshmen in the country, averaging 16.1 points per game while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from 3. He was named to the all-Big 12 first team and solidified himself as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Peat hasn’t matched that 30-point debut, but he has continued solid play, scoring 14.1 points per game on 54% shooting to earn an all-Big 12 third-team nod. He’s found his best in the NCAA Tournament, being named West Region Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Eight points from Peat in the Final Four would make him and Burries the first Arizona freshmen duo to both score 500 or more points in the same season. But they only make up two-thirds of this stellar group of Wildcat rookies.

German freshman Ivan Kharchenkov is one of the country’s most experienced freshmen, having played for FC Bayern Munich since the age of 12, and on the senior team since he was 16.

“If you’ve played in the EuroLeague, you’re not a freshman,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said.

Although Bayern Munich plays in Bundesliga, Kharchenkov had made 23 appearances in the EuroLeague by the age of 19. That level of play can’t be replicated in the United States at the amateur level.

“What I’ve been saying to people is, playing in the EuroLeague is playing against ex-college players that didn’t make it to the NBA,” Kharchenkov said. “They’re as good, if not better because of their experience. But yeah, there’s just maturity, playing against ex-NBA players, ex-college players, players that are 30, 35 years old that could be my father.”

That experience has helped him become one of the nation’s best wing defenders while averaging 10.4 points per game. Burries, Peat and Kharchenkov are one of two freshmen trios in the country to each average double-digit scoring and have been the driving force to Arizona’s incredible season.

The challenge of trying to win in March with a heavy dependence on freshmen has been well documented, especially since top-seeded Duke lost in dramatic fashion after freshman Cayden Boozer committed a late-game turnover. What makes this group different?

“They’re just very mature, to be freshmen,” Bradley said. “I feel like they stepped up offensively and defensively. Coach Lloyd holds them to a higher standard, and they show it night in and night out. I’m so proud of those guys and the way they’ve stepped up this year.”

If you ask the freshmen themselves, it’s all because of the leaders that have shown them the way.

“It’s a testament to our seniors, who welcomed us with open arms,” Peat said. “They just let us go out there and play freely, especially Coach Lloyd. That really helped us, especially when we’re having our ups and downs throughout the season, not playing as well as we’re supposed to.

“Coach still played us, and he let us play through those moments,” Peat said. “I think that’s really prepared us for moments like these.”

Bradley, the Big 12 Player of the Year, has embraced his role as a leader of this young group. In his third year in Tucson, he’s bided his time, becoming an Arizona legend despite lacking eye-popping numbers. While others have come and gone, he’s stayed rooted, and it’s paying dividends for the whole team.

“I’ve seen a lot,” Bradley said. “I just try to show the guys different stuff, and they’re adding their own twist to it. … Just looking at the lineup, seeing the pieces that we lost, losing some big leaders like Caleb Love, I’m just picking up some of the stuff he did. I can’t be him, but I’ll just add some of that stuff and that leadership.”

This freshmen class is special because of the environment that’s been cultivated at Arizona. Tommy Lloyd and Bradley have embraced the young talent but have still found moments along the way to teach them the lessons every great player needs. There’s a wealth of basketball knowledge in Tucson, and it’s been perfectly married with high-caliber freshmen who have winning experience.

“You’ve just got to find a way to connect and create meaning for them,” Lloyd said. “That’s why I keep telling them. … ‘Let’s just treat this as a state tournament.’ These guys have all won state championships. Why do we have to put the word “national” in front of it and treat it differently?”

Matt St. Charles writes for the Sports Capital Journalism Program at IU Indianapolis.