Arizona Wildcats men's basketball: Motiejus Krivas is questionable for the start of the season, Emmanuel Stephen could get a redshirt

Arizona may have a full roster of scholarship players for Monday's season opener against Canisius, which was not the case for its exhibition games or the Red-Blue Showcase in early October.

However, a decision has yet to be made as to whether the Wildcats want to use all 11 players.

UA coach Tommy Lloyd said the sophomore center Motiejus Krivaswho missed both preseason games due to an ankle injury, trained this week and could be available for the opening game. The 7-foot-2 Estonian was expected to be in Arizona's starting lineup this season and in his absence, the 6-foot-8 Tennessee native would move on Tobe Awaka started on the 5th.

“I’m not going to rush this,” Lloyd said Thursday of Krivas, who averaged 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game last season. “When he’s ready, we’re ready for him. If (coach) Justin (Kokoskie) tells me he could play 25 minutes on Monday, I would like to have him for 25 minutes. I want him back as soon as we can get him back. As long as Justin and the doctors feel like he’s ready for the long haul, that’s the most important thing I’m interested in.”

With Krivas out, Awaka has started his redshirt sophomore year Henri Veesaar come off the bench first in the middle. Veesaar averaged 15.5 points in the two exhibition games, while Awaka averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds, albeit against significantly undersized competition.

Participation in the exhibitions was also important for first-year students Emmanuel Stephenwho demonstrated both his strengths and his rawness in a total of 21 minutes. It's that latter trait that made him a redshirt candidate for the 2024-25 season, a decision that hasn't been made yet, according to Lloyd.

“Like everything here, the player will contribute,” Lloyd said. “We let him make the choice.”

The use of red shirts is something that Lloyd has made no secret of and that both Veesaar and Veesaar are exposed to Dylan Anderson However, Veesaar's redshirt last season was largely due to a preseason elbow injury. Anderson has since transferred to Boise State, where he is expected to start.

“I’m glad Dylan Anderson redshirted last year, I really am,” Lloyd said. “I'm so happy for him. He has three good years left in Boise to make a big impact. I would have felt terrible if he had played and only played limited minutes and then burned through a year and now only had two years left to play.

“I wish we would have redshirted Filip (Borovicanin), I wish we would have redshirted Adama (Bal), and those guys would have had another year. Anything you can do to extend these guys’ careers is a good thing.”

In order for Stephen to be redshirted, he will not be allowed to play in any regular-season or postseason games, unlike in football, where players can appear in up to four regular-season games and still retain one year of eligibility.

“I think it would be great if they could come up with something in basketball,” Lloyd said. “I think at some point they have to do it. I mean, football obviously did it and it made sense. I only think about health and safety, personal development. We come from a time when boys were entitled to it for five years. What’s wrong with giving guys whatever, whatever you want to call it, four years plus nine games, no matter what the ratio is?”