ARIZONA WILDCATS BASKETBALL

‘He’s a pro:’ Center Henri Veesaar emerges as Arizona finds its defensive footing

Jan 15, 2025, 11:56 AM | Updated: 12:21 pm

Henri Veesaar #13 of the Arizona Wildcats...

Henri Veesaar #13 of the Arizona Wildcats sits on the bench during the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Footprint Center on December 14, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

It took a convoluted path for the Arizona Wildcats to get here with redshirt sophomore center Henri Veesaar.

Here is a seven-game winning streak for the basketball team with a 5-0 start in their Big 12 initiation. It’s a significant improvement after a 4-5 start to the season. An 81-70 win by playing bully ball against a perennially physical Baylor Bears team was led by a 19-point effort on Veesaar’s part off the bench.

“He gives us real advantages out there,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd told reporters. “I mean, he can make a 3, he can pass and he’s a big target on some of your passes — whether it’s in the zone, trying to get in the middle of the zone, a lob, a tip-dunk on a rebound.”

Veesaar added seven boards, two steals and two blocks, one of which came by way of erasing a ball from the TV camera’s view via his wrist.

“He’s a pro,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Veesaar. “First time I saw him on film, I was like, ‘He’s a pro.’ I don’t know how Tommy (Lloyd) does it year in and year out, he finds them dudes, develops them, does a great job.”

Henri Veesaar’s development is what ‘college basketball’s all about’

Going further down the path that leads us here, let’s direct the attention to Arizona’s roster changes this offseason.

The Wildcats lost two-year starting center Oumar Ballo, who followed current Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Koloko as a Lloyd developmental success. It should not go unnoticed that Ballo, who reportedly accepted a massive NIL deal to transfer to Indiana, spent his Tuesday putting together a nationally panned effort and getting ejected in a blowout against Illinois.

Arizona responded to losing the veteran by adding Tennessee transfer Tobe Awaka, giving it plenty of options heading into 2024-25.

So Veesaar entered 2024-25 as the third-string option, someone who could slide in at the 4 spot if the Wildcats went big. He missed all of last season with an elbow injury, which he credited with giving him time to improve after he fell out of the mix as a true freshman.

“I’ve always tried to keep a positive mindset about last year,” he said. “I really think it helped me a lot, having kind of a double offseason, being able to work on my body, work on my game.”

The Wildcats expected Motiejus Krivas would follow in Ballo’s path and grab hold of the starting role this year. Instead, Krivas got off to an injury-impacted start and is now done for the season with a foot and ankle issue.

Awaka has remained in the starting lineup as a physical tone-setter, but Veesaar has eaten up more and more minutes, flashing a 3-point shot and using his bouncy length to defend the rim and crash the glass.

“I’ve been telling him, ‘Hey Henri, you’re turning into a real player, so what you can’t do now is relax,'” Lloyd said. ” You gotta keep going for it. You’re on the scouting report now and you’re not a surprise.

“Henri’s what’s college basketball’s all about. Everyone wants things to happen so fast. Here’s a kid in his third year. His first year, you know, I thought he was going to be part of the rotation. He was a high-level recruit. And he struggled, and we got to the point where we didn’t play him much because it just wasn’t right for that team. Last year, he had made progress. He had an unfortunate injury in the preseason and continued to work and changes his body and matures.”

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