One-on-one with Arizona high school basketball star Koa Peat
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It was one of the most anticipated sports stories of the college basketball season. Perry High School senior and four-time state champion Koa Peat chose to play college basketball at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Peat decided on March 27 on the Pat Mcafee Show. That day, he left for the McDonald’s All-American Game in Brooklyn and sat down with Arizona’s Family when he returned to Perry High School after a whirlwind week.
“I just thought Coach Lloyd and what they’re doing over there in the right fit for me,” said Peat in a sitdown interview at Perry. “It happens to be in my backyard. It really worked very well. I just like the coaches over there and what they’ve been doing. They’re a winning program. I’m just excited to go down there and play.”
Peat led Perry to its fourth straight state title in March and won his final high school game with a broken hand. After his hand surgery, he was unable to play at the McDonald’s All-American game but hopes to get cleared to play this summer.
“It was a sigh of relief,” said Peat when asked about his time at the All-American game. “Going through this process was pretty stressful. As one of the best players in the country everybody wants to know where you’re going, everybody is asking you and stuff like that. It was a sense of relief that everyone was telling me they’re proud of me and congratulating me but I’m not really satisfied yet . I want to go to Arizona and do good things there too.”
Peat is projected to be a top-15 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Perry Head Coach Sam Duane Jr. has coached multiple NBA players, like Cody Williams and Marvin Bagley Jr., and believes Peat will be the next to join the list.
“The willingness to be coached, the willingness to be a great teammate, what really starts to separate him is his passion to win,” said Duane. “He’s a no brainer NBA player. He will represent Perry High and Arizona in a tremendous way and I think he’ll give back to the community. Hopefully he’s a Sun and that would be just icing on the cake.”
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