Tommy Lloyd is no stranger to international recruiting, and he is again leaning on his connections overseas to build his next roster at Arizona. Wednesday, the Wildcats announced the signing of their next 2022 addition as Estonian big man Henri Veesaar made his commitment to the program official.
"I want to thank everybody who has supported and helped me," Veesaar wrote in a post made to Instagram announcing his decision. "Im grateful for Real madrid for giving me a chance to develop as a person and as a player. Its time for me to take the next step in my career. With that said I am happy to announce my commitment to the University of Arizona."
The 7-footer recently wrapped up his season with Real Madrid where he has been part of the junior team for the storied European franchise. Veesaar is accustomed to high-level basketball as he prepares to begin his college career.
He has spent time with the Estonian national team and will do so again this summer giving him even more FIBA experience.
“Henri is a skilled player that can play inside and outside and gives us length and a presence around the basket on the defensive end,” Lloyd said in a statement provided by the program. “He has been very well coached with the Real Madrid youth program the last few years and played against some of the top teams in Europe.
"We are excited for Henri and his outstanding family to join our program and we can’t wait for him to arrive on campus later this summer.”
Veesaar will help fill a need in the front court for the Wildcats with the departure of starting center Christian Koloko, who is expected to be a first-round draft pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
A natural scorer, Veesaar epitomizes the new-age big man in basketball with his length and ability to play around the basket combined with his ability to step out on the perimeter and hit outside shots.
Veesaar is the second international prospect the Wildcats have added to the roster this spring after versatile 6-foot-8 Serbian forward Filip Borovicanin joined UA's 2022 class last month.
That duo will join in-state 7-footer Dylan Anderson as the other member of the program's 2022 class providing the Wildcats with an influx of length across the board.
Arizona will return two key players in the front court this season as power forward Azuolas Tubelis returns for his junior season while center Oumar Ballo is expected to take on a bigger role at the center position in his second year with the Wildcats after transferring from Gonzaga.
UA has continued to build its international connections under Lloyd, who pioneered the international recruiting trend over the last two decades at Gonzaga. Wildcats' associated head coach Jack Murphy started to build an international pipeline prior to Lloyd's arrival in Tucson, and the staff has expanded on that connection over the last year.
Veesaar is now one of several international players that will make up Arizona's roster in the upcoming season joining Ballo (Mali), Tubelis (Lithuania) and Borovicanin. Kerr Kriisa (Estonia), Tauvilas Tubelis (Lithuania), Pelle Larsson (Sweden) and Adama Bal (France) are all part of the roster again as well.
UA has three players currently going through the NBA draft process with Koloko, Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry all deciding to leave school early in favor of a shot at the professional game. Mathurin and Koloko are set to remain in the draft while Terry has yet to officially make a decision about his future.
He could return to Arizona for his junior season, and he will have until the end of the week to make that determination.
As it stands now, the Wildcats have nine scholarship players for the upcoming season with teams able to field a 13-man group each year.
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