Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd is coming off his first Final Four run and Arizona’s first since 2001. Lloyd lost some key pieces from the 2025-26 season in NBA first rounders Brayden Burries and Koa Peat as well as Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell’Orso and Tobe Awaka. Arizona also lost depth pieces like Dwayne Aristode and Sidi Gueye to the transfer portal.

The Wildcats replenished the roster with Derek Dixon, JJ Mandaquit, Ugnius Jaruševicius, Maksim Brnovic, Evan Otten, Endurance Aiyamenkhue and top recruit Caleb Holt.

Arizona’s roster is nearly finalized, but the starting power forward role is still a mystery, and Lloyd is acutely aware of how important that position will be on the roster and indicated during an appearance on Inside College Basketball with Jon Rothstein that another move or potentially two could be coming for Arizona.

More Moves coming?

“Obviously we’re still maybe trying to add a piece or two,” Lloyd said when asked about his 2026-27 roster. This is no surprise to Arizona fans that have been following along this summer. Lloyd has been open that the Wildcats are trying to add another piece to the puzzle.

A huge reason why the sky is not falling right now in Tucson is that the roster outside of the power forward spot is title contender quality.

Lloyd added that Arizona has “good continuity in a lot of important spots,” which is true. Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas are two of the best returning players in college basketball next season and will help anchor the Wildcats on both defense and offense.

If Arizona adds that piece Lloyd is talking about it will almost certainly be a starting power forward, but who will it be?

Arizona’s power forward options

At this point in the recruiting cycle it’s surprising to see Arizona, a team that was just in the Final Four, be without a starting power forward.

There are a variety of contextual reasons why Lloyd and company have been unable to secure said player. NCAA rule changes, international recruiting rule changes and other programs having more NIL money are the main pain points. Not to mention, it feels like Arizona was holding out hope (and a substantial “bag”) for a Koa Peat sophomore season.

This leaves Arizona with a few primary power forward options.

Ivan Kharchenkov

Kharchenkov is a defensive ace that can certainly defend multiple positions and can even hold his own when switched on to bigs. He is a player that can play the power forward position effectively and did so at times with Koa Peat out with injury last season.

On Kharchenkov being the solution to Arizona’s power forward questions Lloyd told Rothstein, “We went into Houston last year and Ivan was the starting four and we found a way to get a win. So, I think it could be a successful style for us.”

Despite how good Kharchenkov is, he will still be undersized for the position and would be better suited playing the small forward position. Lloyd acknowledged as much as he made it clear that he would still like to have a “big lineup plan,” which would likely not include Kharchenkov at the four.

Ugnius Jaruševicius

Ugnius Jaruševicius, or “Oogy” as his teammates call him, was a standout at Central Michigan but struggled with back injuries last season at Nebraska. Now at Arizona, Jaruševicius hopes to get some good playing time while contributing to winning basketball.

Jaruševicius is a player that Nebraska had very high hopes for after last season despite the injury.

The main reasons why Jaruševicius is not the likely answer to the power forward issues are the injury concerns, the idea that he was brought in with the plan of him coming off the bench and the fact that we have not seen him at the Big 12 level yet.

Maksim Brnovic

Maksim Brnovic is a very interesting variable in this power forward problem. Brnovic most recently played for Lithuanian pro club Žalgiris’ developmental team. Žalgiris is the same team Motiejus Krivas and Ugnius Jaruševicius played for prior to joining the Wildcats.

Brnovic is a versatile playmaker that stands at 6-foot-10 and is consistently ranked as one of the top 2008-born European talents.

His size is legit it seems too. He recently linked up with Orlando Magic center Nikola Vučević who is listed at 6-foot-9.

Brnovic has the skillset to earn the starting gig, but it will likely be next season or at the tail end of this one as the early reports indicated that he is being brought in to help the front-court depth and develop into an NBA talent in Tucson.

Despite the early indication that his role will not be huge, his skillset is unique for his size and his pedigree is quite impressive. Brnovic could be a sleeper pick for the power forward solution.

Cameron Holmes

Jon Rothstein’s most recent top-45 gave Arizona a projected starting lineup that featured freshman wing, Cameron Holmes, as the starting power forward.

This is likely not going to be the ultimate solution. Holmes does not have the requisite size or experience necessary to step in and play power forward to the level Arizona will need him to in the Big 12.

Holmes is a talented wing prospect who will have two-way impact for the Wildcats next season and would likely be eager to attack this challenge, but his game does not appear to be catered toward playing in the front-court.

International Big Man

The final and most likely option is one Lloyd is very familiar with: the international options. Arizona has been linked to several bigs from across the world but it is still unclear which direction they will go in.

The latest rumor that was circulating the social media streets was that Arizona was interested in Pavle Bačko of Serbia.

Whether it ends up being Bačko or another player, Arizona will always be involved overseas and will always be threatening to sign an international hooper.

For more on Arizona’s power forward options and general Wildcats coverage, tune into the AZ Wildcats Podcast!