Though many could head separate ways, Arizona players avoid discussing future plans

But in the immediate aftermath of the Wildcats’ season-ending 91-73 loss to Michigan, several Arizona players really wanted to do was hang on to the last moments with themselves.

“Right now, I just want to go home, spend so much time with these guys, as much as possible, go to class with them,” freshman forward Ivan Kharchenkov said. “Whenever the time comes, opportunity, a chance to talk about it, I'll decide.”

Kharchenkov was actually under contract to spend this season and next with Bayern Munich, but that contract was bought out so he could sign with Arizona. Like many potential NBA prospects with eligibility remaining, he could jump into the draft pool or sign a guaranteed NIL/revenue-sharing deal to stay in college with Arizona or another school.

Freshmen Brayden Burries and Koa Peat are both projected first-round picks this summer, yet Burries wasn’t about to discuss that possibility on Saturday.

“I don't even know where I'm going, honestly,” Burries said. “As of right now, just gonna be in Tucson.”

Center Motiejus Krivas, meanwhile, has two years of college eligibility remaining but also declined to dig into what might be next.

“All focus was on this game and just the Final Four,” Krivas said.

Freshman Dwayne Aristode also said he “honestly didn’t know” what he’ll do and had not been thinking about it.

For seniors Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Jaden Bradley, there is no decision to be made: All are out of eligibility, though even Awaka said he hadn’t considered exactly how he’ll be preparing to move forward this spring.

It was too early.

“I’ll probably just take a few days to reflect and just see where life is pointing, where life is leading,” Awaka said, “and then take the proper steps necessary, whether it's basketball, whether it's something academic, whatever it may be.”

Boswell says Arizona fans harassed him

During an emotional postgame interview after his Illinois team lost to UConn in the other national semifinal game Saturday, former UA guard Kylan Boswell said Arizona fans harassed him as he left the court.

"I had to deal with a lot of s--- leaving Arizona and, man, they're still f-ing out there talking s--- (while I was) leaving the court," Boswell said. "I'm sorry. Excuse my language. I just had to deal with a lot of different stuff. That's why I needed a fresh start."

Boswell spent two seasons with the Wildcats and started regularly as an 18-year-old sophomore in 2023-24 but was scrutinized for off-court behavior toward the end of that season, with a photo of him playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino surfacing during the Pac-12 Tournament.

Boswell then transferred to Illinois, in the Champaign-Urbana area where he grew up, and spent the past two seasons with the Illini.

"I needed to surround myself in a different group of people, put myself in a more disciplined situation where I knew I'd become the best version of myself on and off the court," Boswell told the Star before Saturday's games. "I think this was a great move for me."

After Saturday's game, Boswell told reporters he was happy to be surrounded by people who didn't judge him, wanted to help him improve as a player and loved him.

When Tucson's 1290-AM asked him how long he had been carrying that emotion, Boswell continued to choke up while answering.

"For f-ing three years," he said. "It's just hard. I go on f-ing Twitter, just the s--- people say about me and this s--- just sticks with you for a long time, bro. I'm just so sad I couldn't help my team get there. It just sucks to end my career this way, with our team not performing the way we could have, (at) our best."

No Wildcats named to Naismith team

No Arizona players were named to the Naismith’s “Starting Five,” essentially another first-team all-American group.

That five-player team included Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr., Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame said the picks came from a selection committee and fan voting.

Baker optimistic about Trump executive order

During a pregame media group interview before Saturday’s semifinal games, NCAA executive director Charlie Baker expressed optimism that President Donald Trump’s executive order to “save college sports” will result in bipartisan Congressional solutions.

The NCAA has been besieged by legal orders setting different precedents for eligibility, but the executive order calls for one transfer per college career and a hard cap of a five-year eligibility window.

Meanwhile, Baker said he was enjoying “awesome basketball,” with the Division I, II and III all being played in Indianapolis this weekend, as well as the NIT championships.

“This is a really good city to have a multi-sport event,” Baker said. “And my anecdotal information from just talking to some of the kids that I crashed into over the course of the day is they’re pretty fired up to be here.”