Arizona men's basketball not relying heavily on transfer portal again so far this spring

Some context is required.

The Wildcats experienced a net negative in the transfer portal last spring because rotation players Henri Veesaar (North Carolina) and KJ Lewis (Georgetown) took off, while they brought in only one transfer, Harvard guard Evan Nelson, who wasn’t expected to be a major contributor.

“The Wildcats are clearly banking on the nation's No. 3 ranked high school recruiting class to help fill in the gaps," CBS wrote, "because the portal reinforcements have not arrived.”

They never arrived. UA wasn’t shopping much in the portal because that freshman class produced three starters who all met or exceeded expectations: Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov. Then the Wildcats wrapped them around a core of four veteran rotation players and went on to win the Big 12 and reach the Final Four.

Being a loser, as viewed with a portal lens, worked out OK for the Wildcats.

This spring, by the time the transfer portal closed to entrants earlier this week, the Wildcats had lost the final player in their eight-player rotation, forward Dwayne Aristode, a long-term developmental big man in Sidi Gueye and walk-on guard Sven Djopmo.

Replacements, at least as of Thursday: Two starting-caliber guards in Derek Dixon (North Carolina) and JJ Mandaquit (Washington). The Wildcats are also expected to bring in at least one other big man either via the portal or international recruiting, unless quick implementation of a proposed five-year eligibility rule results in the unexpected return of forward Tobe Awaka.

While Dixon and Mandaquit drew some attention for the way they are expected to fill out a backcourt around five-star freshman Caleb Holt, the Wildcats overall are still not high in the portal rankings.

In On3 team portal rankings that reflect both outgoing and incoming transfers, Arizona ranked 61st nationally and 12th in the Big 12. In rankings that considered only incoming transfers, 247 put Arizona 53rd nationally and 11th in the Big 12.

If that isn't middle-of-the-road enough, consider also that two former Arizona transfers seeking their third college home are drawing more attention to the Wildcats who are leaving or arriving this spring.

Former UA forward Paulius Murauskas, who is following coach Randy Bennett from Saint Mary’s to ASU, was ranked the No. 9 transfer portal player by On3 and No. 10 by 247. Lewis, who is moving from Georgetown to USC, is 16th in On3’s ranking and 36th in 247’s player portal rankings.

On3 also has Gueye (66) and Aristode (73) rated higher than either Dixon (136) or Mandaquit (150), while 247 ranks Dixon at No. 51 and Mandaquit at 156, with Aristode at 89 and Gueye unranked.

In any case, UA coach Tommy Lloyd said he’s thinking holistically and carefully about his spring recruiting, which could continue long into the spring if he pursues an international player or two. Kharchenkov, after all, didn't commit until June last summer.

“We usually don’t make rash decisions,” Lloyd said last week. “I feel good where we’re at. I love those two guards we got. They’re really good players.”

The downside of Lloyd's 2026-27 roster was limited once the transfer portal closed, too. While Peat, Kharchenkov and center Motiejus Krivas were all candidates to at least test the NBA Draft as of Thursday, none of them were known to have also entered the portal, so any return to college would only be to Arizona.

In addition, UA redshirts Mabil Mawut and Bryce James did not enter the portal, indicating the long-term prospects will keep developing with the Wildcats next season.

A 6-11 forward with roots in South Sudan, Mawut said this week he is planning to return, saying practices against established big men Krivas and Awaka helped him improve.

“It was a top five experience in my life,” Mawut said. “Just from the relationships I built, from the practices, from the film sessions, the travels and all these preparations. It was a good thing to be around.”