Sometimes, like in the case of my flight back from the Final Four where I was assigned a middle seat on a full flight but got to take advantage of an open window seat, things that seemed like they would not go well end up working out.
Other times, like in the case of Arizona’s trip to the Final Four where the Cats were expected to compete for a national championship, things that seemed like they would go well end up, well, not.
Such is life in air travel. And in sports.
It’s fair to say Arizona’s loss
to Michigan was one of the most disappointing results in program history. Losing to the Wolverines, who just two nights later would claim the national championship, is not itself the issue.
Never even being in the game was.
A lopsided defeat that few – if anyone – saw coming in which Arizona never led or even tied the score left was all anyone got to see. The Wildcats played arguably their worst half of the season over the first 20 minutes of the game, and by the time they appeared to right the ship in the second half Michigan decided to channel their inner 2015 Wisconsin and assure no comeback would be possible.
Was it the moment that was too big for Arizona or was it Michigan? Whatever the case, it was a miserable way for an incredible season to end and an unfortunate way for this year’s team to be remembered. We know Arizona was better than what it showed, but unfortunately we will never again get to see that version of the Wildcats again.
There is no next game. Only next season.
A next season that will for sure not include Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka and Anthony Dell’Orso, as they are out of eligibility. And it’s unlikely Brayden Burries or Koa Peat will return, either, as they are projected to be taken in the top half of the NBA Draft. Sidi Gueye and Dwayne Aristode have since entered the portal and as of writing this it’s entirely possible more players will depart, most likely for the NBA.
Even if we didn’t think about it during the season we all knew this was kind of a one-shot deal. Not that Arizona would not be able to have similar success again, but that it will have to do so with an entirely new group of players leading the way. Such is the nature of college basketball these days, and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
That Michigan squad that destroyed Arizona? Just one member of its starting lineup played in Ann Arbor the previous season.
Part of what made this past season’s Wildcats so enjoyable was the familiarity we all had with much of the roster. Of the main eight-man rotation, five began their careers at Arizona and the other three – Bradley, Awaka and Dell’Orso – spent multiple seasons in Tucson. This was a group of Wildcats, not mercenaries, which made the roster that much more special.
Creating a similar squad again would be nice, but it is not imperative if Arizona is to continue competing at the highest level of the sport. No, it comes down to resources, and given what transpired just before the Michigan massacre we should all feel comfortable that there won’t be any issues there.
Remember how Tommy Lloyd maybe, probably, likely, almost went to North Carolina? The smoke surrounding his rumored candidacy didn’t come from nowhere, and looking back it’s easy to see a world where he would have departed for Chapel Hill in the days that followed the Final Four.
Instead of losing their popular and successful head coach the university was able to put together a package and promise that led to Lloyd signing an extension. Now, given what we know about the coach and the game’s landscape, do you think he would have agreed to stay if he was not confident in Arizona’s ability keep winning? Do you think he would have spurned North Carolina, with all its resources and love for basketball, if he thought his current job would be unable to sustain a winner now and into the future?
I don’t.
While I don’t expect to see Arizona spending like some schools I also harbor no concerns that finances will hold the program back. Further, while having money to spend and buy a roster is great it does little to guarantee success. Talent identification, roster building, coaching and development matter, and in those areas Lloyd and his staff have proven to be adept.
So as we put one season to bed and look forward to the next one, we should take comfort in the fact that not only is the Final Four drought over, but it seems as though Arizona will have every opportunity to get back and hopefully stick around a little bit longer.
