Arizona freshman Cameron Holmes making his mark wherever Wildcats need him

Freshman wing Cameron Holmes is finding his footing with the Arizona Wildcats, and he is doing it by lining up virtually everywhere on the floor.

During 5-on-5 portions of practice, the four-star recruit out of Goodyear Millennium High School has seen reps across multiple positions as head coach Tommy Lloyd tinkers with configurations ahead of the Wildcats’ upcoming summer trip to Lithuania.

“I start off probably at the small forward position. I think we have a great, great squad of players,” Holmes told reporters on Tuesday. “Just coming in playing defense, doing everything I have to do. But I see time, playing time everywhere.”

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound freshman arrived in Tucson as part of Arizona’s 2026 high school recruiting class with high expectations, but his role remains flexible, especially following the addition of veteran Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey earlier this month, who is expected to be the Wildcats’ starting power forward.

With Godfrey being the long-awaited starting four-man, Ivan Kharchenkov returning as the starting small forward and Caleb Holt, the No. 2 recruit in the country, coming in as the starting shooting guard, Holmes is expected to come off the bench during his first season in Tucson.

But rather than seeing Godfrey’s arrival as a roadblock to potential minutes or a starting spot, Holmes views the senior’s presence as a valuable opportunity to absorb what it takes to compete at the collegiate level.

“Not at all. RJ’s going to come in and just be a great piece for us,” Holmes said. “He’s a great guy on and off the court. Just seeing how seriously he takes the game, I can learn from it. Whether that’s starting, whether that’s coming off the bench, my main focus is just to come in and impact the game as much as possible.”

For Holmes, the younger brother of Denver Nuggets forward DaRon Holmes II, the transition from local prep star to college basketball has provided an immediate adjustment in terms of pacing and physical demands.

“The biggest difference I would probably say is the physicality,” Holmes said. “Everybody’s stronger now. Everybody’s in the weight room just as much as everybody else. The speed of the game is definitely faster. But I’d probably just say those two things — the physicality and the speed.”

Those adjustment hurdles are a standard tax for any freshman, but Holmes’ talent and approach have long resonated with Lloyd.

Even after Holmes was cut from the USA Basketball U19 roster during tryouts for the squad that Lloyd coached to a 2025 FIBA World Cup win in Switzerland, he left a lasting impression on the Wildcats head coach, who was observing the team.

“He comes with great spirit, great energy and it’s infectious, and the settings where I’ve been with Cam on the court and some USA Basketball tryouts, I was just really impressed,” Lloyd told Arizona Sports in May. “And everyone walks away loving him as a person and loving playing with him. So, I think (Holt and Holmes) are going to be a really important part of our season this coming year.”

That dynamic with Lloyd played a central role in keeping the highly ranked in-state prospect home over offers from North Carolina and Dayton.

“Having Tommy as the head coach, knowing how smart he is, knowing what he could do with the program, seeing how far they got last year, just took all that and thought that this would be the right place for me,” Holmes said.

“Just seeing how seriously he takes the game, seeing how much he helped this program, leading them to the Final Four. Just seeing how much the developmental piece is, it helped the players in the past. It really tied in everything in my decision and my commitment. And also just Tommy being a great person, on and off the court, a great coach, a great leader, it made me realize that this is home for me.”

Under NCAA rules, Arizona received an extra 10 practices, in addition to normal off-season workouts, because of the Lithuania trip. With summer practices underway, the immediate priority for Holmes and the roster is getting live reps before taking the floor in Europe.

“Yeah, I definitely feel like these practices have helped,” Holmes said. “The main thing is just building chemistry with each other, with one another. We scrimmage a lot, just learning the feel of the game of college. For me as a freshman, these actual practices really help.”

The Wildcats will leave for Lithuania on Friday and will play a series of three exhibition games against the national teams from Lithuania and Ukraine next week.

Potential Arizona men’s basketball lineup

PG: Derek Dixon (North Carolina transfer)

SG: Caleb Holt (five-star freshman)

SF: Ivan Kharchenkov (returnee)

PF: RJ Godfrey (Clemson transfer)

C: Motiejus Krivas (returnee)

Bench:

G: Cameron Holmes (four-star freshman), JJ Mandaquit (Washington transfer), Bryce James (returnee)

F: Maksim Brnović (Montenegro), Ugnius Jarusevicius (Nebraska transfer), Endurance Aiyamenkhue (Netherlands)

C: Evan Otten (Idaho State transfer), Mabil Mawut (returnee)

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