Koa Peat started, and Jaden Bradley finished.
And the story they told was an opening night takedown by Arizona of the defending national champion Florida Gators.
It didn’t look like it was going that way early on. Florida opened up a fast double-digit lead in the first half.
That’s when Peat showed why he was the No. 9 recruit in his class.
The 6-foot-8 forward, whose six other siblings all played Division I sports, including NFL Pro Bowl lineman Andrus Peat, looked mature beyond his years.
He had a game reminiscent of former Duke star Paolo Banchero, mixed in with former Vermont star Anthony Lamb.
Inside, outside, offense, defense, passing, scoring — he did it all.
Arizona took a lead to the half despite that early deficit.
Florida, even with a lot of new faces, wasn’t going away. This is a team with a championship pedigree and championship goals.
Bradley wouldn’t let the Gators win on this night, though.
In the final five minutes, Bradley went on a run of 11 consecutive points scored for the Wildcats.
That included multiple pick-and-roll attacks of the basket, along with a smooth pull-up 3 and some free throws.
Together, he had joined with Peat to make sure Arizona would fire the first major salvo of this college basketball season.
They’re at different points in their basketball journeys.
Peat is the youngster from Arizona who stayed home to shine bright.
Bradley is the transplant, growing up in Rochester, N.Y., then finishing high school in North Carolina, then starting college at Alabama.
By last March, Bradley was a key contributor in the NCAA Tournament for Arizona, and he carried that momentum into this season.
On this night, the freshman guard Brayden Burries was in foul trouble the whole evening. If he was meant to split ball-handling duties with Bradley, he didn’t have the chance in the opener.
That was fine with Bradley. He took over himself, showing why he’d been such a highly regarded recruit so long ago.
It’s a long season. It’s just opening night. But Arizona looks like a team that could be really tough to beat.
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