5/9/2021 basketball Edit

Transfer news: Arizona adds commitment from Utah guard Pelle Larsson

Matt Moreno • GOAZCATS

Senior Editor

Matt Moreno is the senior editor at GOAZCATS.com. He joined the staff in August of 2011 and began as senior recruiting editor with the site before becoming senior editor in June of 2014.

Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd has added his second transfer of the offseason and it is another player with international roots. Utah guard Pelle Larsson is staying in the Pac-12 to continue his career with the Wildcats under their new head coach. Larrson, who is from Sweden, picked UA over opportunities at Kansas, Stanford and Creighton.

The 6-foot-5 guard was one of the top shooters in the conference last season as he connection on 46.3% of his 3-pointers as a freshman with the Utes. He was also second in free-throw percentage in the league as well making 88.3% of his shots from the line.

He finished his first season averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists with 18 starts in 25 games. Larsson is a 6-foot-5 guard with some versatility on both ends of the floor because of his ability to defend multiple positions while also being a strong passer on the offensive end of the floor.

He shined in Utah's lone matchup against the Wildcats last season as he scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and stole the ball four times in a with for the Utes in Salt Lake City.

Larsson joins Gonzaga center transfer Oumar Ballo as the second player to join the Wildcats this offseason after leaving another college. Ballo, who is from Mali, was with Lloyd at Gonzaga.

The new UA head coach stressed during his introductory press conference that he is not solely focused on recruiting international players, but he certainly has built his profile as a coach who targets prospects from overseas. So there is some familiarity with a player such as Larsson.

His addition to the roster puts the Wildcats back at nine scholarship players for the upcoming season. UA remains on the list for four-star point guard Tyty Washington, who is set to make his decision next weekend, in addition to four-star power forward and former UNLV commit Arthur Kaluma.

Draft Express' Jonathan Givony was the first to report the news of Larsson's decision.

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