Tennessee forward Tobe Awaka transferring to Arizona Wildcats

Awaka, who was seen visiting Arizona last weekend, reposted an On3 graphic with him in a blue Wildcat uniform.

A 6-8, 250-pound rising junior from Hyde Park, N.Y., Awaka became the New York Gatorade Player of the Year at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 2021-22, then began playing a key reserve role for the Volunteers.

Last season, Awaka averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench while shooting 59.1% and proving an especially effective rebounder. He had an eye-opening offensive rebounding percentage of 17.9 and a defensive rebounding percentage of 20.0, collecting a fifth of opponents' missed shots when he was on the floor.

Awaka's style also generated plenty of whistles. He averaged 4.5 fouls drawn per 40 minutes and shot 74.2% from the line but he committed an average of 7.6 per 40.

Upon announcing he was entering the transfer portal on April 9, Awaka thanked Tennessee players and coaches while saying his decision was "extremely difficult to make."

"The past two years have been some of the most influential of my life," Awaka posted. "The relationships I've gained and the experiences I've had will be forever life-changing."

Awaka has experience in McKale Center, collecting four points and two rebounds during a seven-minute appearance in the Wildcats' 75-70 win over Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2022.

Awaka's commitment gives the Wildcats at least 10 players expected for next season, while guards Caleb Love and KJ Lewis testing the NBA Draft. Teams are allowed a maximum of 13 scholarship players, and the Wildcats have been expected to pursue at least one guard especially if Love and/or Lewis leave for good.

Here's how Arizona's roster looks as of now:

Player, Class, Pos., Ht., Wt., Hometown

Tobe Awaka, Jr., 6-8, 250, Hyde Park, N.Y.

Jaden Bradley, Jr., G, 6-3, 200, Rochester, N.Y.

Carter Bryant, Fr,. F, 6-8, 225, Riverside, Calif.

Motiejus Krivas, So., C, 7-2, 260, Siauliai, Lithuania

*KJ Lewis, So., G, 6-4, 205, El Paso

*Caleb Love, Sr,. 6-4, 205, St. Louis

Conrad Martinez, So., G, 6-0, 165, Granollers, Spain

Jamari Phillips, Fr,. G, 6-3, 190, Stockton, Calif.

**Joson Sanon, Fr., G, 6-5, 190, Fall River, Mass.

Emmanuel Stephen, Fr,. C, 7-0, 215, Lagos, Nigeria

Trey Townsend, Sr., F, 6-6, 228 Oxford, Mich.

Henri Veesaar, Jr., F, 7-0, 225, Tallinn, Estonia

* Entered NBA Draft with option to return

** Member of high school class of 2025 but has expressed intention to reclassify and join Wildcats next season.

Former Arizona wing Filip Borovicanin has chosen New Mexico for his next stop.

Borovicanin announced April 1 he was entering the transfer portal after playing only occasional minutes over two seasons with the Wildcats.

"Nothing in life is easy, neither is my basketball journey," Borovicanin posted. "When I came to Arizona, I thought it was a stepping stone to some of my biggest dreams, but not everything is always as you imagine.

"I am grateful for this experience and the wonderful two years in Arizona where I made many friends and came out stronger from it all. I open the transfer portal and promise that one day I will get what I came to America for."

Borovicanin will try to follow the same path as former UA wing Adama Bal of France, who played only sparingly for Arizona as a freshman and sophomore, then transferred to Santa Clara and became a standout for the Broncos this season.

As Bal did toward the end of his freshman season with the Wildcats, Borovicanin looked in August like he could turn into a sophomore who made the playing rotation. While starting for Arizona against Israel Select in Tel Aviv, Borovicanin had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes to lead UA to 124-77 exhibition win.

Borovicanin wound up getting in just 20 games last season, four more than as a freshman in 2022-23, while averaging 5.5 minutes in them. He rarely played when a game was in question, though Lloyd played both Borovicanin and Murauskas briefly when the Wildcats appeared lackluster in a 78-76 loss at USC on March 9.

Still, before the NCAA Tournament began, Borovicanin said he was staying ready in case the opportunity arose.

“You don't know what's gonna happen in the game,” Borovicanin said. “Players is going to get fifth foul or whatever. Anything can happen in the game, so you need to be ready always to jump in and do your best to help the team win the game.”

UA coach Tommy Lloyd last played Borovicanin significantly in UA’s 100-81 win at Cal on Dec. 29, while playing reserve forward Paulius Murauskas six minutes two days later at Stanford. Murauskas has since planned a transfer to Saint Mary's.

“I want to play them all, and they’ve all earned an opportunity,” Lloyd said after the game at Cal. “But I don’t want to disrupt our team’s rhythm totally. … Also, this is high-level basketball and things have got to be earned.”