Christian Koloko is ready to make the move to the NBA. Monday, the Arizona junior center announced his plans to enter the 2022 NBA Draft after three seasons with the Wildcats. Koloko reached a new level in his development during the 2021-22 season leading to him earning the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-12 Most Improved Player awards at the end of the regular season.
He helped the Wildcats reach 33 wins and an appearance in the Sweet 16 before coming to his decision to leave UA with eligibility remaining.
"I have been blessed in my years at Arizona to have learned from two great coaches in coach Miller and coach Lloyd and blessed to have been surrounded by teammates that I consider my brothers for life," Koloko wrote in a post on Twitter announcing his decision. "... To the best fans in the country, I can't thank you enough for embracing me as a skinny kid from Cameroon and making me the man I am today. I can't finish this without thanking my family especially my sister, Stephanie, for always being here for me whenever I need them.
"After much prayer and deliberation with my family I have decided to make myself available for the 2022 NBA Draft. I can't wait to see what the next chapter of my journey will be but one this for sure, I put my faith in God."
Koloko made a big leap as a junior under new head coach Tommy Lloyd and the current UA coaches. The 7-foot-1 became one of the top defensive players in the country under Lloyd and was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award after tying the single-season program record for blocks in a season with 102.
He also raised his stats across the board from the 2020-21 season by averaging 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds this season improving on his average of 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds a year ago.
Koloko scored at least 15 points in 13 games for the Wildcats and reached his career high of 28 points in Arizona's NCAA Tournament win over TCU last month. He closed the season with 10 double doubles.
Lloyd met with reporters last week and indicated that Koloko had not yet decided whether or not he would forgo the remainder of his career with the Wildcats in favor of playing in the NBA.
However, he made it clear that he believes the junior big man would be drafted this summer if he made that move.
"I'm sure he'll get drafted," Lloyd said. "He had a great year, and he's a great young man. Just choose wisely. These are big decisions that will impact the rest of your life. Then, ultimately whatever decision you make, it's your responsibility to make it the right decision. That's basically my message."
College early entry players have until April 24 to officially declare for the NBA Draft with June 1 being the NCAA cutoff date for those players to return to school. Koloko is the second Arizona underclassman to enter his name into the NBA Draft pool after leading scorer Benn Mathurin did the same last week.
Mathurin is a likely lottery pick while there is a more broad range for Koloko when examining the various mock drafts available. Generally, Koloko is being viewed as someone who could squeeze into the first round but more likely will be selected in the second round of the draft.
The NBA combine is set to begin May 16 while the NBA Draft will take place on June 23 in New York.
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