More than half of Arizona’s scholarship players on its Final Four team were true freshmen, with three starting all season and two redshirting. Then there were the two in the middle, who are both headed elsewhere for their sophomore seasons.
UA wing Dwayne Aristode is headed to the NCAA transfer portal, the second freshman to opt for a transfer along with forward Sidi Gueye.
The 6-foot-8 Aristode played in 35 of 39 games for Arizona, averaging 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game. He scored in double figures three times during nonconference play, including 18 against NAU when he hit six 3-pointers to tie the school freshman record, and for the season shot 46.2 percent from 3 and 49 percent overall.
Advertisement
Aristode was firmly a part of Arizona’s 8-man rotation but an illness in mid-February caused him to miss four games, and after returning averaged just 8.8 minutes.
The transfers of Aristode and Gueye, alongwith the graduation of seniors Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell’Orso and Evan Nelson, currently leave Arizona with six scholarship players. At least two of those—freshmen Brayden Burries and Koa Peat—are expected to declare for the 2026 NBA Draft, as could junior Motiejus Krivas and freshman Ivan Kharchenkov.
