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Arizona announced earlier this week that both center Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov have re-signed with the Wildcats, while neither player was included on the early draft entry list that the NBA released Monday. Both were considered potential prospects to at least test the draft, as guard Jaden Bradley did a year ago after he re-signed with Arizona.

By returning to college basketball, Krivas and Kharchenkov are likely to be preseason honors candidates and anchor a defense that ranked second overall in defensive efficiency in 2025-26.

As a freshman from Germany, Kharchenkov often took on the best perimeter players that UA faced����� including a range of NBA prospects that included 6-4 Houston guard Kingston Flemings and 6-8 Iowa State shooter Milan Momcilovic����� while the 7-2 Krivas made opposing drivers think twice about going to the basket.

Coming off a sophomore season of 2024-25 in which he played only the first eight games because of a foot/ankle injury, Krivas averaged 1.9 blocks a game and was ranked 60th nationally with a block percentage of 6.5.

According to CBB Analytics, UA opponents shot just 37% from the field when Krivas was on the floor, the lowest percentage tied to any player in Division I.

ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla,��replying to an X post Monday saying former Kansas center Flory Bidunga was a better defender than Krivas, cited plenty of anecdotal evidence from Big 12 games he has covered.

"I've seen both and I don't care about analytics," Fraschilla said. "What makes Krivas unique is the amount of times opponents drove into the paint and back out without challenging him. Hence, no blocked shot."

While ranking Krivas at No. 21 in ESPN���s pre-NCAA Tournament Mock Draft, ESPN���s Jeremy Woo said the Lithuanian center was "on the short list of the most impactful defenders in college basketball" by using his size to deter opponents and collect rebounds.

"He has good feet and hands, finishes effectively around the rim, has made 79.7% of his free throws and looks like a future NBA rotation player," Woo wrote. "Krivas doesn't have flashy upside, but he is a good bet to return value later in the draft."

In the days before the NBA���s early draft entry deadline last Friday, Krivas was projected to land anywhere from No. 22 to 28 in the major mock NBA Drafts.

The Ringer���s Kyle Mann said��he once wondered if Krivas would become an NBA-level player, looking��stiff and struggling to assert himself inside, but that he showed "amazing growth" during the 2025-26 season.

Krivas "was unquestionably one of the most dominant rim protectors in all of college basketball," Mann wrote. "Every defensive catchall metric had Krivas at or very close to the top of Division I and I���ve come to think that he���s on track to be a capable rotation big for a long time at the next level."

Kharchenkov ranked No. 52 in Woo���s "big board" ranking of 100 top NBA prospects on Nov. 10, a week after the German freshman had a double-double to help the Wildcats beat defending national champion Florida in his first college game.

In March, with Krivas, guard Brayden Burries and forward Koa Peat having attracted most of the NBA Draft buzz, Quinn Fishburne of No Ceilings NBA called Kharchenkov "one of college basketball���s most undervalued prospects for the 2026 NBA Draft," saying his combination of size, cognition, defense and production should not be overlooked.

Notably, Fishburne said Kharchenkov has "great entry passes and lobs to Krivas," and found that when Kharchenkov was out of the game, Krivas shot 11.9% worse from mid-range and 8.5% worse overall from two-point range.

Both Krivas and Kharchenkov averaged exactly 10.4 points in 2025-26, with Krivas shooting 56.9% and Kharchenkov shooting 49.2%. Kharchenkov also made the third-most 3-pointers among UA players (33) but hit them at a 31.7% rate. Krivas hit four of just 13 3-pointers but is expected to step behind the line more often next season.

With Krivas and Kharchenkov in hand, the Wildcats had eight total scholarship players and four potential starters lined up for 2026-27 as of Monday, with still more holes to fill up front.

While Krivas is expected to return to center and Kharchenkov to small forward in the Wildcats' 2026-27 lineup, Peat declared for the NBA Draft and backup center/forward Tobe Awaka is out of eligibility, leaving a need for the Wildcats to add at least one or two additional frontcourt players.

UA has already rebuilt its backcourt; meanwhile, with five-star incoming freshman Caleb Holt expected to start at shooting guard alongside transfers Derek Dixon (North Carolina) or JJ Mandaquit (Washington) at point guard.

The Wildcats are also bringing in wing forward Cameron Holmes from Goodyear Millennium, while forward Mabil Mawut and guard Bryce James are both returning from redshirt seasons. Both Mawut and James have been considered developmental players.

Meanwhile, with NCAA rules now allowing teams to take foreign exhibition tours every year, the Wildcats have also been considering a summertime trip that could get their Europeans closer to home.