A year ago at this time, Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis were both preparing for their first game-like experience at McKale Center. Their new teammates tried to give them an idea of what to expect from the atmosphere at what in effect is just a glorified practice but would also serve as a preview of how much Tucson cares about Arizona men’s basketball.
“I heard a lot about the atmosphere and the fans, but you can’t really describe it to somebody,” Bradley said of Arizona’s annual Red-Blue Showcase. “You really just gotta be there to witness that. So we’ve been telling our guys, but they’ll see it tomorrow.”
Added Lewis, who attended a Red-Blue on a recruiting visit but never got to go to one when he lived in Tucson: “It’s just gonna be a small taste of what the year’s gonna look like.”
The Red-Blue Showcase will be hosted by former Wildcats Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson as well as their Road Trippin’ podcast co-host Allie Clifton. Their commentary will serve as the “play-by-play” on the broadcast, which will air on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. MT.
Festivities will include a dunk contest, a 3-point shooting competition and a scrimmage. Rosters for the Red and Blue teams won’t be finalized until before the event, same goes for the skills lineups, though Lewis confirmed Thursday he would be back to defend his dunk title after winning last year’s competition by soaring over Oumar Ballo for a jam.
“I was debating about it the whole summer if I was going to do it,” Lewis said. “I’m really winging it, so whatever y’all see is going to be off the top of my head.”
Who is going to win the 3 point and dunk contest pic.twitter.com/CzCIk0AU0i
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 3, 2024
Bradley and Lewis are two of six returners from the 2023-24 UA team that won the final Pac-12 regular-season title and reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. Also back is conference player of the year Caleb Love, who like Bradley and Lewis went through the NBA Draft process last spring.
The Wildcats have five scholarship newcomers who will get their first real McKale experience including 5-star signee Carter Bryant who is one of two freshmen on the roster. And in attendance will be several recruits including 5-star 2025 prospect Koa Peat.
Don’t expect to see much in terms of set plays or complicated schemes during the scrimmage, though Lewis said he thinks the 2024-25 team could be even better on defense than the one that finished last season 10th in defensive rating per KenPom.com.
“I think one through five can switch everything,” Lewis said. “We’re going to be aggressive on the ball, off the ball. Everybody on the team is taking a step in a positive direction on the defensive side.”
Friday’s Red-Blue was supposed to be the first of two such events, the second scheduled for Oct. 11 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, but earlier this week the Phoenix-area version was postponed to 2025.