Returnees Kharchenkov, Krivas carry Red team over Blue during preseason party at McKale

Sophomore forward Ivan Kharchenkov had 13 points and four assists to lead the Red team over the Blue 42-32 in the intrasquad scrimmage of the Red-Blue Showcase.

Another returnee, center Motiejus Krivas, added 10 points and five rebounds for the Red team, while transfer point guard JJ Mandaquit had six points and two assists in his first appearance since being fully cleared a week ago.

For the Blue, transfer forward RJ Godfrey had 11 points and five rebounds for the Blue before fouling out after 17 minutes, while point guard Derek Dixon had eight points and three assists and freshman Caleb Holt had seven points and six rebounds.

The Wildcats' annual preseason showcase also mixed in appearances from the 1997 national championship team and a few recently departed members of their Final Four team last season. Several recruiting targets and their families were on hand to watch, including high-priority in-state targets Adan Diggs and Darius Wabbington, both of the Phoenix area.

In the first half of the scrimmage, Krivas, Kharchenkov and Maksim Brnovic all had eight points to lead the Red team to a 29-11 halftime lead while the Blue team hit just 4 of 15 field goals. Holt led the Blue with five points but shot just 2 for 7.

"I was excited to just go out there and play in front of McKale again," said Kharchenkov, who is expected to start again at small forward this season. "It's been too many days since I played last time in McKale."

Although UA coach Tommy Lloyd said the Wildcats had all been practicing as of Wednesday, recent injuries pulled two of his big men out of the scrimmage. UA announced before the game that centers Evan Otten and Endi Aiyamenkhue did not play because of "lower body injuries," and said there was no timetable for their return, though neither injury is believed to be potentially season-ending.

Their absences left just 11 scholarship players available. The Blue team started Derek Dixon, Cameron Holmes, Godfrey, Ugnius Jarusevicius and Holt, while the Red team went with JJ Mandaquit, Brnovic, Krivas, Bryce James and Kharchenkov.

Forward Mabil Mawut came off the bench for the Red team along with walk-on Addison Arnold, while walk-ons Jackson Cook and Joaquin Rigdon also played for the Blue.

The events Saturday began with an Arizona Adaptive Athletics wheelchair exhibition, before the Wildcats were introduced one-by-one, with Krivas, Lloyd,  Kharchenkov and James receiving the loudest cheers.

“We’re not making any crazy predictions,” Lloyd told the crowd when he took the mic after the introductions. “But let’s put it this way: I like what we got.”

Three departed members of UA’s Final Four team last season – Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Tobe Awaka --- were introduced along with Dalen Terry, who played two seasons for the Wildcats before becoming a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

After Dixon beat UA women’s basketball guard Sumayah Sugapong in the 3-point contest, Terry tried somewhat unsuccessfully to outdo the entire dunk contest.

Freshman wing Cameron Holmes won the dunk contest by getting perfect 10s after an explosive windmill dunk, beating out Maksim Brnovic, but Terry grabbed the microphone after and asked fans, “Y’all want to see me?”

Terry then recruited the 1997 backcourt of Miles Simon and Mike Bibby to line up under the hoop to dunk over. Terry managed to dunk the ball but didn’t elevate quite enough, and his legs became tangled around Bibby’s head and neck.

For Bibby and Simon, and the rest of Arizona’s 1997 national championship team, the Red-Blue Showcase weekend actually started Thursday night when many began their reunion.

Simon said their weekend started with a gathering Thursday night at the Arizona Inn, while Simon and A.J. Bramlett golfed together on Friday, as did several other players.

On Friday evening, the 1997 players and staff enjoyed a happy hour and dinner at La Paloma for an evening that kept going on and on … and on. Managers and support staff were included, too.

“They just let us have a room together where we could just do whatever we wanted, talk stuff, share stories,” Simon said. “Some of it got emotional. A lot of it was really funny.”

Simon said many of the players brought families, including UNLV coach Josh Pastner, who turned 49 on Saturday.

“There was tremendous, I'll say, banter between Mike Bibby, and Josh, and that goes back 30 some years when they were living in the same dorm together,” Simon said.

Players who were on hand for formal introductions at halftime of the Red-Blue scrimmage included Quynn Tebbs, John Ash, Josh Pastner, Jason Stewart, Jason Lee, Eugene Edgerson, Donnell Harris, AJ Bramlett, Bennett Davison, Bibby and Simon.

UA also held a moment to honor coach Lute Olson, who died in 2020.

“I love this group with all my heat,” Simon told the crowd. “It was a special group and the greatest coach ever was coach Olson. Without Lute Olson, none of this is possible. … It’s continued to be one of the greatest programs in college basketball.”