Monday saw a new crop of Arizona Wildcats make their regular season debuts, each making their own first impression on the McKale Center crowd. The same goes for several ex-UA players who have ended up elsewhere in college basketball.
All told, there are seven former Wildcats currently active in Division I, and each is expected to play a key role for their new teams. Six of them starting their schools’ 2024-25 openers with the seventh playing valuable minutes off the bench, and each were on the winning end of those games.
They may no longer be on the UA roster, but each will remain a Wildcat forever. Here’s a look at how these ex-UA players did in their season debuts:
Dylan Anderson, Boise State
Anderson redshirted last season after playing in 15 games for Arizona as a freshman in 2022-23, leaving him with three years of eligibility when he entered the transfer portal this past spring. Boise State scooped up the 7-foot center, giving some size to a team that made the NCAA Tournament last year despite no one in the rotation over 6-9.
So far, so good for Anderson and the Broncos. In Wednesday’s 87-43 home win over Oakland—the former team of UA wing Trey Townsend—Anderson had a career-high 13 points along with four rebounds, an assist and a block in just 20 minutes. He was 6 of 7 from the field, making his only 3-point attempt after going 1 for 3 from outside with Arizona.
Boise, which was picked to win the Mountain West Conference, has a much tougher test Saturday at San Francisco.
Adama Bal, Santa Clara
A lightly used reserve at Arizona during Tommy Lloyd’s first two seasons, Bal is now in his second year with the Broncos and this one got off to a great start. The 6-foot-6 wing had 24 points to lead Santa Clara to an 85-78 win Monday over Saint Louis at the Field of 68 Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D.
It was the 10th career 20-point game for Bal, who in 2023-24 averaged 14.4 points to lead Santa Clara to a 20-win season. His career best is 28, in January at Pepperdine, and he also dropped 25 against Oregon last November.
Santa Clara, seeking its first NCAA bid since 1996, faces ASU on Friday in Henderson, Nev. That game will pit ex-ASU coach Herb Sendek against Bobby Hurley, the man who replaced him in Tempe in 2015.
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Following three very productive seasons with Arizona, which saw him join the 1,000-point club and also finish in the top 10 in school history in double-doubles, rebounds and blocks, Ballo opted to play his sixth year of college basketball—he spent two with Lloyd at Gonzaga before both came to Tucson—with a school that was willing to pay big money for an experienced big man.
The 7-foot Ballo reportedly received seven figures to play for Indiana, which also added ex-Washington State guard Myles Rice and former Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle, in its quest to get back to the NCAA tourney after missing it in 2023-24.
Ballo’s debut with the Hoosiers came Wednesday in an 80-61 home win over SIU-Edwardsville. He started and played 28 minutes, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds but also four turnovers.
Indiana has a cakewalk of a nonconference schedule compared to Arizona, with eight of its 11 games at home and only one against a top-100 KenPom opponent. The only challenges will come at the Battle4Atlantis, where the Hoosiers and Wildcats could meet on the final day of competition.
Filip Borovicanin, New Mexico
In two seasons with Arizona, the 6-foot-9 Serbian got into 34 games but averaged less than five minutes and never played more than 15 in a single contest. His debut with New Mexico, as a starter, saw Borovicanin play 19 minutes in a 91-84 home win over Nicholls on Monday night.
Borovicanin finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting, making 1 of 4 from 3, and added seven rebounds with two assists. The seven boards matched a career high.
New Mexico, which made the NCAA tourney last season for the first time since 2014, faces UCLA on Friday in Henderson, Nev. The Lobos also face ASU in Palm Springs, Calif., later this month.
Kylan Boswell, Illinois
The highest-rated signee of the Lloyd era until 5-star prospect Carter Bryant came on board this offseason, Boswell had a mercurial two seasons with Arizona that saw him play a big role off the bench as a 17-year-old freshman and then run extremely hot and cold as a starter his sophomore year. A native of Champaign, Ill., he opted to play for his hometown school after looking for a fresh start.
Boswell started for the Fighting Illini in Monday’s 112-67 blowout home win over Eastern Illinois, but it wasn’t a particularly efficient night for the 6-foot-2 guard. In 26 minutes he had five points, his only field goal a 3 on three attempts, but he also turned it over a career-high five times.
Illinois, coming off a trip to the Elite Eight last March, doesn’t get its first challenge until Nov. 20 when it faces Alabama in Birmingham.
Kerr Kriisa, Kentucky
The much-loved, but also much-hated Kriisa started 70 games in three seasons at Arizona before leaving for West Virginia after the 2022-23 campaign that ended with a shocking first round loss to Princeton. The one year with the Mountaineers didn’t go so well, with Kriisa having to sit out the first nine games due to an NCAA suspension stemming from an impermissible benefit (he sold his complimentary season tickets) while at Arizona and his team finishing 9-23 overall.
Following multiple coaching changes at that school, Kriisa went back into the portal and ended up with college basketball blue blood Kentucky, which was entering a new era with ex-BYU coach Mark Pope taking over for John Calipari.
The 6-foot-3 Kriisa did not start the Wildcats’ opener, a 103-62 home win over Wright State on Monday night, instead playing 14 minutes off the bench. He did not score, missing both of his 3-point attempts, but did chip in five assists and record a steal.
Kentucky has several high-profile games on its pre-SEC slate, including against Duke in Atlanta on Tuesday and against Gonzaga in Seattle in early December.
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary’s
The 6-foot-8 Lithuanian appeared in 23 games for Arizona as a freshman last season, averaging five minutes per contest but almost all of his action came in mop-up duty. When Murauskas was in there he showed flashes of great promise, hitting 14 of 27 3s, but he wasn’t willing to stick around Tucson another year in hopes of cracking the rotation.
Saint Mary’s was more than willing to give Murauskas a chance to shine, and in his debut with the Gaels he showed just what he can do. He started and played 36 minutes in Monday’s 76-69 home win over Towson, going for 14 points and 13 rebounds. Both stats were career highs.
Projected to finish second once again to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary’s has made three straight NCAA tourneys and has put together a solid nonconference schedule to help its resume. The Gaels have neutral-site games against Nebraska, USC and Boise State and also visit Utah.