The Arizona Wildcats took a hit to their 2024-25 campaign as former 5 star guard, sophomore Kylan Boswell 9.6 PPG) has just put his name in the transfer portal.
This is another portal loss for Arizona, as big man Oumar Ballo (12.9 PPG) also put him name in the portal last week. Now, let’s unpack this all and what it means.
Why the move from Boswell?
Arizona guard and former five-star Kylan Boswell has entered the transfer portal. pic.twitter.com/8ICvBvB4Dz
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) April 9, 2024
Seeing Ballo and now Boswell, 2 of Arizona’s best players, enter the portal was very surprising to see. Especially with Arizona being one of the top programs in the country. Boswell had a good sophomore season. He increased his point total from freshman year from 4.6 PPG to 9.6 PPG, started just about every game as a year ago he was strictly coming off the bench, and saw his minutes increase from 15 to 27 per game. Why would he want to leave after this significant improvement?
It’s possible that Boswell transferring means Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (18 PPG) is coming back for a 5th year. If that’s the case, it does make sense because of the high usage rate of Love. Boswell will be going into his 3rd year after being a highly touted recruit so he wants the keys to the offense. That is not possible if a ball dominant player such as Love is still on the team. Furthermore, Boswell has the talent to lead a team, so look for him to get a lot of attention from big time schools across the country.
What’s next for the Arizona Wildcats?
If Love is indeed coming back, the Arizona Wildcats need to bolster up the team around him. Watching Arizona games this year, they felt too Love dependent. Numerous times in games, the whole team would be standing around while Love would be driving into double teams and forcing wild shots. That’s part of the reason the Wildcats got bounced by Clemson in the Sweet 16.
Arizona is in a bit of limbo since they truly don’t know who all is coming back. Senior guard Pelle Larsson has another year of eligibility, but could be getting looks from the NBA. Arizona needs to be proactive. A couple players currently in the portal I would have my eyes are former Oregon State guard Dexter Akanno and North Texas guard CJ Nolan. If Larsson and Love both end up leaving and Arizona doesn’t have a back up plan, trouble could be brewing for the Arizona Wildcats as they move to the Big 12.