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Tobe Awaka is the unsung hero of Arizona basketball's storybook season
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- Tobe Awaka is the unsung hero of Arizona basketball's storybook season
SAN JOSE, CA — It's getting harder and harder to find unselfish players in college basketball. The current landscape is all about playing time and money.
Don't get enough playing time? Enter the transfer portal. Think you can get more money playing elsewhere? Hit the transfer portal. Your team didn't win enough? Go see if the grass is greener somewhere else.
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Arizona's Tobe Awaka is a different breed. And he's a major reason the No. 1-seeded Arizona Wildcats (35-2) are heading to Indianapolis and the Final Four., two wins away from their first national championship since 1997.
Awaka, 22, started 36 games for the Wildcats during the 2024-25 season, which ended with a Sweet 16 loss to Duke. That's all but one game. This season, he has started only three of 37. He was supplanted in the starting lineup by highly touted freshman Koa Peat. But you won't find the native of Hyde Park, New York, complaining. It's the opposite.
"You can take it one of two ways," he said. "You can sulk and get mad at the staff, or you can see it as an opportunity to affect the game and the team. So for me, I saw it as another opportunity to take on a certain leadership role and make it work from that standpoint, knowing that I can still come to the game and make an impact. Rebounding. Finishing. Setting good screens. Playing hard defense. Things like that."
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Awaka has a lot of fans. And Lloyd is one of the biggest.
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"I have more people come up to me and tell me Tobe Awaka's their favorite player," Lloyd said. "I think that's so cool. He's so thoughtful, so mature. He's about the right things. He's been a real asset to our culture. I felt we've always had a pretty good culture. He's a key component for taking it to another level, on and off the court. I wish I could coach him forever."
Awaka's numbers are actually better this season than they were last, even though he has been coming off the bench. At 6 feet, 8 inches, 250 pounds, he is averaging a near double-double of 9.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, an improvement over the eight points and 7.8 rebounds he averaged a year ago, after transferring in from Tennessee.
While he isn't starting, his minutes per game are actually up too, from 19.5 to 20.9.
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He has 19 career double-doubles, 17 of those coming in his two seasons in Tucson. He has eight this season, the most recent being a 10-point, 10-rebound showing in the Big 12 tournament semifinal win against Iowa State.
While Awaka may not rake in some of the accolades, others have seen the value in what he contributes. He was named Sixth Man of the Year in the Big 12, an honor that comes from a ballot of the conference coaches.
Ask anyone on the team, and they'll tell you Awaka is one of the more grounded and well-rounded players on the team.
He is a deep thinker, evidenced by his selection of reading material. He just finished Living Fearless by Jamie Winship.
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"It's a book about faith in God. We can live in this life, how we can grow and mature, as followers of Christ," he said.
Now he's reading The Way of Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 MPH by former Los Angeles Dodger Shawn Green, who talked to the team last week in San Diego when the Wildcats were there for their first two tournament games.
Lloyd recommended the book.
Awaka says his favorite topics are theology, psychology and philosophy. He also mixes in some sports as well as business and finance.
"Whatever my heart says at the time," he said.
He also enjoys movies. His favorites there are wide-ranging as well.
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Among his favorites are Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to the 1982 film, as well as La La Land. Some are movies that came out long before he was born, like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.
While he can squeeze in some reading during down times at the team hotel, the focus right now is on the next opponent. There is a team camaraderie with this group of players that makes sharing the spotlight seemingly easy.
"We have a bunch of selfless guys on the team," he said. "From the perspective of the coaching staff, they're just trying to mix and match the right pieces together to start games, to finish games. I know the coaching staff has everyone's best interest in mind, and they're trying to put us in a position to be the most successful team we can be.
"I'm not really seeing it as a demotion or anything like that. It's about learning to grow as a player, but also to impact the game."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tobe Awaka a vital player for Tommy Lloyd, Arizona basketball
