Arizona All-Stars: Jaden Bradley, Azuolas Tubelis represent best of Tommy Lloyd era

Time flies when you’re winning more games than any head coach in NCAA history over that time span.

With Lloyd surpassing the five-year threshold — and Saturday’s Red-Blue Showcase marking the soft launch of the 2026-27 season — it’s the perfect time to make the All-Tommy Lloyd Team at Arizona.

It’s the fourth and final version of our “Arizona All-Stars,” following the All-Fred Snowden Team, the All-Lute Olson Team and the All-Sean Miller Team.

With Lloyd having the shortest stint of the four, it was in some ways easier to make this 10-man squad; there aren’t nearly as many players to choose from.

But it was still a tricky assignment given the crossover between the Miller and Lloyd eras, the preponderance of one-and-dones and the advent of the transfer portal.

Here’s what we came up with:

Starters

G Jaden Bradley (2023-24 to 2025-26)

Bradley spent his freshman season at Alabama before transferring to Arizona and eventually becoming the undisputed on-court leader of the program.

With Bradley running the point, the Wildcats quickly climbed to the top of the rugged Big 12, winning the regular-season and conference-tournament titles in 2025-26. Bradley’s buzzer-beater knocked out Iowa State in the tourney semifinals.

Although none of his numbers jumped off the page, Bradley was named the 2026 Big 12 Player of the Year. That was a nod to his leadership and knack for coming through in the clutch.

The ’26 Wildcats became the first UA squad to reach the Final Four in 25 years. Bradley averaged 13.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Over three seasons, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals.

Bradley was selected in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, who recently signed him to a four-year contract.

G Caleb Love (2023-24 to 2024-25)

Maddeningly inconsistent but uber-talented, Love was a prolific bucket-getter during his two seasons at Arizona after transferring from North Carolina.

As a senior in 2023-24, Love was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and made multiple All-American teams after averaging a team-high 18.0 points per game while also contributing 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals.

Love helped Arizona reach the Sweet 16 that season, tested the NBA Draft waters and returned for a fifth year of college basketball. He didn’t earn as many accolades but made first-team All-Big 12 while averaging 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals. The Wildcats reached the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

Love provided one of the most iconic moments in the history of McKale Center in January 2025 when he hit a tying 3-pointer from well past half-court to force overtime against Iowa State. Arizona would go on to win the game, and Love would call it the “best moment of my life.”

Love did not get picked in the 2025 NBA Draft but signed with Portland and averaged 10.4 points in 49 games as a rookie. He’s currently on the roster of the Philadelphia 76ers.

G Bennedict Mathurin (2020-21 to 2021-22)

Mathurin played on Miller’s last team and Lloyd’s first team. He blossomed under the rookie head coach.

Mathurin was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and a consensus second-team All-American for a UA squad that went 33-4 and reached the Sweet 16. Mathurin led the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game while chipping in 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

A high-flying 6-foot-6 wing from Montreal, Mathurin became an excellent 3-point shooter. He averaged 2.2 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.9% from beyond the arc that season.

Mathurin did some of his best work in the postseason, scoring 27 points in Arizona’s win over UCLA in the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament title game and dropping 30 against TCU in an overtime victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mathurin was the sixth overall pick in the ’22 NBA Draft. He spent his first three-plus seasons with the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the L.A. Clippers. He signed with the New Orleans Pelicans in August.

F Azuolas Tubelis (2020-21 to 2022-23)

Like Mathurin, Tubelis began his UA career under Miller and finished it under Lloyd. “Zu” proved to be a perfect fit in Lloyd’s two-big, ball-sharing system.

Often operating out of the high post, Tubelis became an offensive force. As a junior in 2022-23, he led the Pac-12 in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg) while earning first-team all-conference honors and consensus second-team All-American accolades. He was just the seventh player in Pac-12 history to lead the league in scoring and rebounding.

Tubelis was named the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in wins over Stanford, Arizona State and UCLA.

Tubelis shot 57.0% from the field as a junior and 54.4% for his career.

Tubelis spent time with the 76ers organization after going undrafted. He currently plays for Zalgiris Kaunas in his native Lithuania. Playing for Neptunas Klaipeda in 2023-24, Tubelis was named the Lithuanian Basketball League MVP after averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

C Oumar Ballo (2021-22 to 2023-24)

Ballo has a unique distinction: He’s the only player among our Arizona All-Stars who did not finish his college career in Tucson.

After two seasons at Gonzaga — which included a redshirt year and where Lloyd was the top assistant — and three at the UA, Ballo spent his final season at Indiana. He had Lloyd’s blessing to pursue that money-making opportunity. We don’t consider it disqualifying for the Arizona All-Stars, especially in the current era.

Ballo played in 108 games for the Wildcats, including 71 starts, and was a constant presence in the paint. Listed at 7 feet, 260 pounds, the big man from Mali posted career averages of 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 64.6% from the floor — the best mark in UA history.

As a redshirt senior in 2023-24, Ballo averaged a double-double — 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and made the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Ballo currently plays for Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketball Super League.

Reserves

G Brayden Burries (2025-26)

The first of two one-and-done players on Team Tommy, Burries had a spectacular freshman season.

A five-star recruit from San Bernardino, California, Burries started his UA career slowly before becoming an all-conference player and go-to guy for a Final Four team. He made first-team All-Big 12, earned a spot on the Big 12 Tournament Team and even garnered some honorable-mention All-American recognition.

Burries averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 49.1% from the field, 39.1% from the 3-point range and 80.5% from the foul line.

Burries scored 21 points in Arizona’s win over Houston in the 2026 Big 12 Tournament championship game and averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 boards across five NCAA Tournament contests.

The Milwaukee Bucks selected Burries with the 10th pick in this year’s NBA Draft, and he was arguably the best player in the Las Vegas Summer League.

G Pelle Larsson (2021-22 to 2023-24)

Larsson merited strong consideration for the starting lineup, but we figured he’d be great off the bench after thriving in that role over the latter half of the 2022-23 season.

A versatile, unselfish wing, Larsson got better every year as a Wildcat after spending his first season at Utah. He concluded his college career with a supremely efficient senior season, averaging 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 42.6% from 3-point range.

Most of those marks were career highs. Larsson also recorded a team-best plus-412 plus/minus rating. He was named second-team All-Pac-12.

A second-round pick in the ’24 NBA Draft, Larsson was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Miami Heat, where he has carved out a sizable role. Larsson averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season, earning a four-year, $60 million contract extension.

F Tobe Awaka (2024-25 to 2025-26)

Another transfer, Awaka spent his first two seasons at Tennessee and his final two at Arizona, where he established himself as one of the nation’s premier rebounders.

The 6-8, 250-pound Awaka averaged 8.7 points and 8.4 boards as a Wildcat while playing just 20.1 minutes per game. As a senior in 2025-26, Awaka ranked second nationally in total rebound percentage (23.5%) and first in offensive rebound percentage (20.2%).

Awaka did most of that work off the bench. After starting 36 of 37 games as a junior, Awaka started just three times as a senior. He put the team’s needs ahead of his own, serving as the primary backup to frontcourt starters Motiejus Krivas and Koa Peat.

Awaka was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year before helping the Wildcats advance to the Final Four.

After going undrafted, Awaka signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls.

F Koa Peat (2025-26)

Possibly the most decorated boys basketball player in Arizona high school history and a top-10 national recruit, Peat decided to play for the in-state Wildcats and lived up to the considerable hype that preceded his arrival.

Peat earned third-team All-Big 12 honors and started 36 games for a Final Four team. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 52.8% from the field.

Peat made a splash in his college debut, putting up 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals against defending national champion Florida. He scored 21 points in the Big 12 Tournament title game, notched 21 again in the Sweet 16 vs. Arkansas and had 20 points and seven rebounds in the Elite Eight against Purdue.

Peat entered the 2026 NBA Draft despite mixed reviews about his pro prospects. It appeared Peat would fall out of the first round until the Phoenix Suns traded for the 30th pick and snatched him. It was the perfect landing spot for “Mr. Arizona,” who won four state championships at Perry High School in Gilbert.

C Christian Koloko (2019-20 to 2021-22)

Similar to Mathurin, Koloko took off under Lloyd’s tutelage.

After a promising sophomore season under Miller, Koloko became a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the league’s Most Improved Player as a junior in 2021-22.

The 7-1 center from Cameroon tied the UA single-season record with 102 blocked shots. He averaged 2.8 blocks per game, most in the Pac-12.

Koloko wasn’t just a shot-blocker. He averaged 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 63.5% from the field in 2021-22.

Arizona wouldn’t have advanced to the Sweet 16 without Koloko, who had 28 points — on 12-of-13 shooting — 12 rebounds and three blocks in the OT win over TCU.

The 33rd pick in the ’22 draft, Koloko has played parts of three seasons in the NBA. He missed the 2023-24 campaign due to blood clots.

Koloko signed with the Pelicans in late July. About a month later, he would reunite in New Orleans with former UA teammate and fellow Arizona All-Star Mathurin.