Seen and heard in Chicago: On Lloyd's view of Peat, Saunders' injury and a hello to Africa

It wasn't clear if he'd be able to bring one of them back home with him.

One of the bigger buzz items at the NBA Combine was whether forward Koa Peat might withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to Arizona, with speculation heating up especially after he struggled in shooting drills early in the week.

One national NBA reporter, Clutch Points’ Brett Siegel, posted that he’s hearing more from NBA executives that Peat should return, while Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor said “he’ll make more money at Arizona and better position himself for the draft a year from now” if he returned to the Wildcats, since the 2027 Draft is not expected to be as strong as this year's.

Another NBA analyst speculated that people around Peat are possibly trying to drive his NIL number higher, which could make his decision easier. As of now, NIL and draft projections suggest Peat would earn about $3 million next year in either college or the NBA.

But whatever the case, Lloyd indicated he’s steering clear while Peat goes through the predraft process.

“The first thing is, they have to be fully focused and running this race, because this is a lot and this isn't something you can half-step into,” Lloyd said. “The second thing is that the plan all along was for him to come, have a great year, and us have a great year as a team, and then try to go to the NBA.

“I think everyone's willing to see that through.”

Since Peat declared for the draft last month, Lloyd has added Nebraska transfer Lithuanian center Ugnius Jarusevicius and Dutch big man Endurance "Endi" Aiyamenkhue. Jarusevicius is expected to at least play a backup role behind Krivas if he can shake off the back issues that limited him to one game in 2025-26.

There’s still a hole at power forward, though Jarusevicius and small forward Ivan Kharchenkov can fill it if absolutely needed. UA is also reportedly targeting former Idaho State shot blocker Evan Otten.

“You're always looking (for players) until you’re not,” Lloyd said. “Definitely, I'm going to give ourselves some options down the stretch here on things we can do.”

On the move

Lloyd was only one of several UA staffers who took in the Combine, and then used it as a jumping-off point for elsewhere.

Lloyd and GM Matt King were scheduled to drive to a recruiting event in Northern Indiana over the weekend, while assistant coach TJ Benson said he would meet them there after a stop in Indianapolis.

Roomies

Meanwhile, incoming freshmen Caleb Holt and Cameron Holmes were scheduled to visit Tucson over the weekend to take care of some introductory duties.

Holt and Holmes have already struck up a friendship during numerous USA Basketball camps and trials, and are expected to room together next season. They were together under Lloyd for the U19 training camp in Colorado last summer, though only Holt made that team. 

JB numbers

Over his two NBA Combine scrimmages, departing Arizona point guard Jaden Bradley put on a typical show at point guard.

Bradley averaged 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 turnovers while shooting 42.9% from the field, sometimes playing off the ball on Thursday. His “Team Carpenter” went 1-1, winning on Wednesday and losing on Thursday.

Mandatory opt-out

Nobody was more limited during the NBA Combine than former BYU guard Richie Saunders, who tore his ACL in mid-February and mostly spent the Combine just talking to people.

“I would rather not be recovering from an ACL, but that's life,” Saunders said during his media interview session. “Everything's going better than I can hope for in in this journey. I'm happy with my progress and excited to get back on the floor in October or so. And it has been fun to be able to do my interviews, all this stuff, and contribute to this.”

Saunders said he’s found NBA executives understanding of his plight.

“Luckily, people understand what it is,” Saunders said. “I was surprised there wasn’t more (talk) about it. It’s a little bit about the journey and mentality through it.”

And though he didn’t get a chance to play in scrimmages or test in drills, Saunders still has a readable resume.

“They've got four years of film on me,” Saunders said. “So watching me play more basketball doesn’t do as much for them as for a lot of these guys who have only one year” in college.

Hello, Africa

As the son of parents who both immigrated from Nigeria, Arizona’s Tobe Awaka is effectively carrying another flag into his NBA journey.

That much became apparent when he was approached during his media interview session and asked to read off cue cards for promos that will be distributed to media partners in Africa.

“Hey, Africa. This is Tobe Awaka. Catch the NBA on NBA TV Africa,” Awaka said, reading off one sheet.

Then another.

“Hey Africa. This is Tobe Awaka. Catch the NBA on ESPN."

And: “Hey Africa, this is Tobe Awaka. Catch the NBA on Zap TV.”

The big number 

11: Assists (but seven turnovers) by Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr., in a game against Bradley and Team Carpenter on Thursday. 

Quotable

"We're excited. We're excited for all the guys. It's a great opportunity to take the next step in their career." — Lloyd, on having four players from his 2025-26 team in the NBA Combine (plus former Wildcats Henri Veesaar and Kylan Boswell).