College can be an intimidating time for anyone let alone a person newer to the country. Arizona big man Christian Koloko made his way from Cameroon a few years ago to the US eventually setting in Southern California to play high school basketball with the hope of earning a scholarship.

He played at two notable high school programs, Birmingham in Van Nuys and Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, where he was able to gain a good amount of attention. Quickly, he caught the eye of Sean Miller and Arizona made the 7-footer a priority.

Koloko eventually committed to play for Miller and the Wildcats and joined the program this summer with far less attention on him than the other three incoming freshmen. The big man has had to wait for his moments to see the floor while Nico Mannion, Josh Green and Zeke Nnaji were able to all able to begin the season as starters for UA.

As the season has moved along, however, Koloko has become a fan favorite in his limited minutes and has started to carve out a bigger role as of late. When forward Stone Gettings went down with a concussion and facial fracture in late November, Koloko was able to find an opening to more time on the floor.

"My confidence grew just by doing my job and doing what the coaches want me to do like being ready every game," he said. "If I get into the game, even if I play only like two minutes, just be ready and do your job and come out of the game knowing that you did the best you could.

"That's basically how my confidence grew."

Having to battle for minutes is not something Koloko has been used to up to this point in his career, so it was certainly something he had to stay positive about early in the season.

"It was definitely challenging because as a basketball player you always want to play," the freshman big man said. "It was kind of tough for me just to be sitting on the bench everyday looking at the other guys play, but I talked with the coaches plenty of times and they just tell me to be ready every time.

"We never know and I might have my chance and when I get my chance just play and do the best you can to be a good teammate, and that's basically what I'm doing right now."

Koloko put together a strong effort off the bench for the Wildcats last weekend when he scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots in a win over Arizona State.

Oregon will be a tougher matchup Thursday night with some talented bigs on the floor for the Ducks against UA. What that means for Koloko remains to be seen, but the message remains the same from UA's coaches. They simply want the big man to be ready to do when he's needed.

"I think Christian has proven that he's fine," Miller said when asked if the opponent could change the plan with Koloko, who the UA head coach said he wants to get in every game this season moving forward. "Just everyday in our practice we get a pretty good feel for what he can and can't do. The one thing, I think, if Christian was out there for long, long minutes – 30 minutes – I think you'd see him wear down a little bit as a young player, but he's not out there for that.

"In that short burst he's able to give us a lot of the things he does well and he adds to our depth. Oregon is a great example of a team that takes advantage of that depth. ... I think playing Christian right now, that's in our best interest."

The 24th-ranked Wildcats and the ninth-ranked Ducks will square off Thursday night at 7 p.m. MST at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.