3 Wildcats make 2023-24 preseason Pac-12 men’s basketball teams
Oct 10, 2023, 12:01 PM
Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo #11 dunks the ball during the first half of a basketball game between the USC Trojans and the Arizona Wildcats on January 19, 2023 at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo was named to the 10-member preseason Pac-12 first team for men’s basketball, the conference announced Tuesday.
Fellow Wildcats Kylan Boswell and Caleb Love were listed on the second team consisting of five players, while wing Pelle Larsson was an honorable mention who earned five or more votes from Pac-12 media members.
Colorado (Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson) and USC (Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis) each placed two players on the Pac-12 first team for the preseason. USC’s Kobe Johnson also made second-team.
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For the Wildcats, Ballo averaged 14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last season, shooting 65% from the field.
Boswell played a reserve role, averaging 4.6 points and 1.6 assists in 15.2 minutes last year as a true freshman. He is expected to take a leap after playing a significant role with USA Basketball’s Under-19 squad this offseason.
Boswell will be joined in the backcourt by impact transfers in Love, a North Carolina transfer, and Jaden Bradley, who last year played for Alabama.
Love averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists last year for the Tar Heels.
Preseason Pac-12 men’s basketball team
FIRST TEAM
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Oumar Ballo* | R-Sr. | C | Arizona |
| Adem Bona* | So. | F/C | UCLA |
| Keion Brooks Jr.* | Gr. | F | Washington |
| Branden Carlson* | Gr. | C | Utah |
| Isaiah Collier | Fr. | G | USC |
| N’Faly Dante* | Sr. | C | Oregon |
| Tristan da Silva* | Sr. | F | Colorado |
| Boogie Ellis* | 5th | G | USC |
| Spencer Jones* | 5th | F | Stanford |
| KJ Simpson* | Jr. | G | Colorado |
SECOND TEAM
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Fardaws Aimaq | 6th | F | California |
| Kylan Boswell | So. | G | Arizona |
| Kobe Johnson* | Jr. | G | USC |
| Caleb Love | Sr. | G | Arizona |
| Jordan Pope* | So. | G | Oregon State |
HONORABLE MENTION (received votes from five-or-more members of the media): Kwame Evans Jr. (Fr., ORE), Pelle Larsson* (Sr., ARIZ), Aday Mara (Fr., UCLA), Cody Williams (Fr., COLO).
