TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona men's basketball has announced that three former players will have their official Ring of Honor induction ceremonies at various home games during the 2023-24 season. The induction dates and games are as follows:

Jan. 20 vs. UCLA - Bennedict Mathurin
Feb. 17 vs. Arizona State - Christian Koloko
March 2 vs. Oregon - Kenny Lofton
 
Mathurin was the Pac-12 Player of the Year following his sophomore season in 2021-22, where he led Arizona to a 33-4 overall record and the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships. He was a consensus Second Team All-American, a Wooden Award All-American, a finalist for the Wooden Award and the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-12 Tournament. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and shot 36% from the 3-point line his sophomore year. In two seasons as a Wildcat, Mathurin amassed 935 points and shot 38.3% from the 3-point line. He was the sixth overall selection by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team following his first professional season.
 
 
In Koloko's three seasons as a Wildcat from 2020-22, he developed into one of the best defensive players in the country and was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. He tied the Arizona single-season record for blocked shots with 102 in 2022 and finished his career ranked fifth in school history with 162 career blocks. The native of Cameroon was a semi-finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and became the first player in Pac-12 history to be named Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year in the same season as Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season and Pac-12 Tournament titles. He averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game as a junior while shooting 63.5% from the floor. The Toronto Raptors selected Koloko with the 33^rd pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.
 

Before going on to a 17-year career in Major League Baseball that included six All-Star game selections and four Gold Gloves as a center fielder, Lofton was a four-year standout on the hardwood for the Wildcats from 1986-89. He finished his career at Arizona as the program's career leader in steals (200) after recording 67 steals his senior year to set a single-season program record that stood until 1997. Playing in 128 games in his career, including a then-program record 38 as a junior to help Arizona advance to its first Final Four, Lofton finished with 618 points and 329 assists while shooting 37% from the 3-point line. The native of East Chicago, Ind. helped the Wildcats win three Pac-12 regular season championships in 1986, 1988 and 1989 and back-to-back Pac-12 Tournament titles in 1988 and 1989.
 
The qualifications to be inducted into the Ring of Honor are as follows:

• First Team All-America recognition by one or more of the major national organizations or media
• Major national "player of distinction", e.g. Wooden Award, etc.; and/or national championship Most Valuable or Outstanding Player distinction
• Pac-10/12 Player of the Year or Pac-10/12 Freshman of the Year
• Arizona Career leader in 3 or more major positive "career" categories at the conclusion of their collegiate career, must hold the career record for a minimum of 5 years (e.g., does not include single game record(s), minutes played, etc.)
• 10+ years in the United States Major Professional Leagues of the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB and/or been selected as an All-Star/All Pro by the official league
• Olympic Medalist

 
Arizona Athletics regularly reviews and evaluates the criteria and candidacies for all departmental awards, inductions and recognitions based on new information, updated resources, and reflections on historical context. A Heritage Committee, formed in 2017 and made up of current and former longtime athletics department staff, conducts these thorough reviews and makes recommendations based on all available information and considerations.
 
Arizona Men's Basketball Ring of Honor Inductees
Here are the 33 players listed in order of enshrinement:
 

1. Bob Elliott, C, 1974-77
2. Steve Kerr, G, 1984-88
3. Sean Elliott, G/F, 1986-89
4. Jud Buechler, F, 1987-90
5. Sean Rooks, C, 1989-92
6. Chris Mills, F/G, 1991-93
7. Khalid Reeves, G, 1991-94
8. Damon Stoudamire, G, 1992-95
9. Miles Simon, G, 1995-98
10. Jason Terry, G, 1996-99
11. Mike Bibby, G, 1997-98
12. Michael Wright, F, 1999-2001
13. Richard Jefferson, F, 1999-2001
14. Jason Gardner. G, 2000-03
15. Luke Walton, F, 2000-03
16. Salim Stoudamire, G, 2002-05
17. Gilbert Arenas, G, 2000-01
18. Channing Frye, C, 2002-05
19. Chase Budinger, F, 2007-09
20. Derrick Williams, F, 2010-11
21. Andre Iguodala, F, 2003-04
22. Aaron Gordon, F, 2014
23. Nick Johnson, G, 2012-14
24. Stanley Johnson, G, 2015
25. Jerryd Bayless, G, 2008
26. Deandre Ayton, F, 2018
27. Al Fleming Jr., F, 1972-76
28. Ernie McCray, C, 1956-60
29. Zeke Nnaji, F, 2020
30. Josh Green, G, 2020
31. Bennedict Mathurin, G, 2021-22
32. Christian Koloko, C, 2020-22
33. Kenny Lofton, G, 1986-89

 
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