SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Koa Peat has been a winner throughout his basketball career.
He won four state titles in high school in Arizona and became the first player to win four international gold medals at the junior level. So when Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was trying to entice Peat to play for the Wildcats, he pitched him on helping the school end a 25-year Final Four drought.
“That was my recruiting pitch,” Lloyd said. “Four, four, and four. Let’s
do it. The dude, he’s amazing. His ability to perform the way he did in these moments, you know, he’s been in a lot of them.”
Peat fulfilled the wish in his first season with Arizona, leading the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 2001 with a memorable performance in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona will take on Michigan in the national semifinals on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Peat scored 21 points in a Sweet 16 victory over Arkansas and added 20 more in the Elite Eight against Purdue to win the Most Outstanding Player of the region and become just the sixth freshman ever to score at least 20 points in wins in those two rounds, according to Sportradar. Peat joined a list with Kon Knueppel, Derrick Rose, Joseph Forte, Jalen Rose and Kenny Anderson.
Now Peat will try to do what those precocious stars couldn't and win Arizona's second national title to go with the one from 1997 when Mike Bibby was the star freshman on coach Lute Olson's squad.
“I saw a lot of the past legends that played for Arizona, and Mike Bibby, he was a big mentor to me,” Peat said. “He went to the Final Four, won the championship. When you put on the Arizona jersey, you know you’re playing for people that played before you. So it’s bigger than yourself; it’s the program.”
Peat arrived at Arizona last fall as a five-star recruit and has delivered on all the high expectations that come with it.
He scored 30 points in the opener in a win against defending-champion Florida, had 16 points and 12 rebounds in a nonconference win over Connecticut and returned after missing three games in February to score 21 points in the Big 12 title win against Houston.
“Just going out there, playing my game, trusting my teammates, them finding me in open spots, and staying the course,” he said. “Just keep playing. That’s really it.”
Peat hadn't followed the March struggles of Arizona's basketball program closely despite growing up in the state. He spent more time watching his four older brothers play football and two older sisters play basketball.
Peat could have followed the family path in football with his father, Todd, having played nine seasons in the NFL and his brother, Andrus, having just finished his 10th season in the NFL.
“I played a lot of sports growing up, baseball, football and basketball. So from a young age I was playing a lot of sports, around a lot of athletes in my family,” Koa said. “But honestly, I just truthfully fell in love with basketball. Especially during quarantine, all I was doing was training and just working out and really working on my body. I slimmed down a little bit, and I just thought basketball was like the best choice for me. Especially now you could play a long time playing basketball. Football’s a different story. I had great support from my family members in my choice in playing basketball, and I think I’ve made the right choice, for sure.”
The Wildcats sure think so, and now they wouldn't still be playing without him.
“They call him Mr. Arizona,” Lloyd said. “Koa is special.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
