After taking a hiatus last season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Red-Blue game made its return to McKale Center with new basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd at the helm.
"It's fun for our guys to get in front of the people, one of the things that makes this program so great is the fan base, and to get out there in front of them to show these guys. I think it's a team, their really going to like and hopefully it was a good first impression," said Lloyd.
The Wildcats got the crowd going with a dunk contest before the game with player Dalen Terry, Benn Mathurin, Azuolas Tubelis, and Christian Koloko competing against each other.
After nailing two incredible dunks with some help from a pass by Justin Kier, Terry was the one to emerge triumphant
The game itself was broken down into two 10-minute halves, with the teams getting rearranged after halftime. After a competitive first half with the Blue team leading 28-25, the Blue team kept its offensive rhythm and walked away with a 53-39 win.
With everyone rotating in and out of the game, there were two players that stood out from the rest, Tubelis and transfer forward Kim Aiken Jr., with the two combining for 30 coming all in the first half.
Wildcats fans are familiar with the shooting ability of Azuolas, who went 7-7 from the field but, Lloyd has been challenging him to unlock "the beast" that is inside.
"I've been talking to him about dominating the paint, running the floor and rebounding with two hands. I keep saying, You're talented, you're good, you're productive," said Lloyd. "Now how do you become a beast, like we're there's no gimmicks, it's just toe to toe, combat, and you're just better than the other guy and kicking butt. Those are the conversations I've been having with him."
All of Tubelis' shots came within the three point line, and he was able to grab four rebounds in his 10 minutes of play.
As for Aiken, well, he introduced himself to the fans by dropping 16 points and going 6-8 from the field. However, the most impressive stat was his three-point shooting, going a perfect 4-4 from the arc.
"I've been working out with one of Tommy Lloyd's old guys Corey Kispert, before he took off to D.C. for Washington Wizards. And we just put a lot of hours into the gym when he was in Spokane. So I think that three point shooting is gonna be huge for the team this year and something I couldn't keep building on," Aiken said.
From the start of the game, there seemed to be a fast pace of play that Arizona hasn't had to its offense in quite some time, with the team taking 23 three-point attempts and collecting 11 fast break points.
"I don't usually check pace by possessions or KenPom I mean, I'll look at efficiency stats and stuff like that but you know for me it's definitely much more of a gut feel, and I felt pretty good," said Lloyd. "I mean what I'm looking for is, are we going north, south, are we throwing the ball ahead for not throwing ahead are we getting the ball to the middle of the court is our big going down there engaging in transition, and then are we flowing into our actions and overall I thought it was pretty good. I know this. It was better today than it was Wednesday, and we scrimmage Wednesday with rest, and it wasn't as good as it could be. Today we took a step forward. Now we can clean some things up and hopefully next Saturday, it's better than it was today."
Arizona will take on Eastern New Mexico in an exhibition game on Nov. 1, before starting the season in McKale Center against NAU on Nov. 9, to start the 2021-22 season.
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