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Arizona Keeps Bryce James on Bench as Tommy Lloyd Protects Redshirt Option

Arizona is preserving his redshirt option under NCAA rules counting any appearance as a full season.

Overview

  • Bryce James has not played in Arizona’s first three regular-season games as the Wildcats improved to 3–0 with blowout wins including an 84–49 victory over Northern Arizona.
  • Head coach Tommy Lloyd said redshirting James is on the table and emphasized the staff is protecting his opportunity to redshirt, with no final decision yet.
  • Lloyd criticized the NCAA’s basketball eligibility rule that a single game appearance costs a full season, contrasting it with football’s multi-game allowance.
  • Arizona emptied the bench against Utah Tech and Northern Arizona, using 12 and 14 players respectively, yet James did not enter as fans chanted “We want Bryce!” late.
  • James, a consensus three-star guard on a deep roster featuring blue-chip freshmen and an eight-man rotation, is being evaluated alongside fellow freshman Mabil Mawut, with no injury reported.