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The fourth-year player who started and finished his career at one school, saying goodbye in an emotional Senior Day ceremony with his parents during a final home game, is practically extinct.

A senior now can be somebody like Charles Bediako, who played three seasons in the G League before a judge temporarily allowed him to play earlier as a senior this season at Alabama — before that ruling was struck down … and is being subsequently challenged again.

In 2028-29, a senior might be 24-year-old James Nnaji, who became eligible as a Baylor freshman this season at age 21, despite being taken in the 2023 NBA Draft and playing three seasons of Spanish pro ball.

These days, a senior is often a fourth-year player who started his career somewhere else, and is going out the door at his latest home. That’s the case for three Arizona seniors who will be saying goodbye to McKale Center this weekend: Jaden Bradley (who began his college career at Alabama), Anthony Dell’Orso (Campbell) and Tobe Awaka (Tennessee).

Or a senior could be a fifth- or even sixth-year player who graduated somewhere else already but still has extra bonus years remaining as a result of redshirting or playing during the 2020-21 "COVID" season. Arizona guard Evan Nelson, a graduate of Salpointe and Harvard who actually left Salpointe after the 2019-20 season, holds both of those credentials.

“I'm telling guys on our team that I graduated in 2020, and Bryce James is like, you’re a six-year? COVID? What?’" Nelson said in September. “They all feel bad for me. They’re like ‘You’re really old.’"

In Arizona’s case, a “senior� could also be someone like 20-year-old freshman Brayden Burries, who stopped playing like a freshman sometime in December and could leave the Wildcats this spring as a projected first-round NBA Draft pick.

Same goes for Koa Peat, who had 30 points on the defending national champions in his first college game last November (though he just turned 19 last month).

Then there’s Ivan Kharchenkov, another “freshman� who arrived at Arizona after his three-year contract with a top-level German club was bought out. He doesn’t project as a guy who will ever be a senior, even if his consistent play this season has made him look like one at times.

After Bradley and Burries led the No. 2-ranked Wildcats to an 87-80 win at Baylor on Tuesday, UA coach Tommy Lloyd pretty much lumped them all in together.

“The toughness you get from a senior leader like Bradley, the toughness you get from a freshman guard like Burries, was incredibly special,� Lloyd said after Tuesday’s game. “I though those two guys were awesome. And Ivan, the game might not have come easily to him but he made some really key plays … that was inspiring to see.�

So basically, maybe the best way to define a senior is a guy who won’t be able to play any more college basketball after the current season ends (barring successful legal action, of course).

In Arizona’s case, the Wildcats will be sending four players in that category off this weekend in the most fitting of settings: Against two of the Big 12’s best teams, Kansas and Iowa State, and with a chance to wrap up the conference title.

The Wildcats (26-2 overall, 13-2 in the Big 12) can clinch a share of the conference title if they avenge their 82-78 loss at Kansas on Feb. 9. (Though they can’t clinch it until at least Monday against Iowa State because two of the teams tied for second at 11-4, the Cyclones and Texas Tech, will play each other on Saturday).

All four Arizona seniors enter the weekend having played bigger roles because a wave of adversity hit their freshmen, too: Peat has missed UA's past three games with a lower-leg injury, reserve forward Dwayne Aristode has missed four with an illness, while guard Burries was limited with bronchitis for two games.

Nelson was summoned out off the bench to play spot minutes in UA's wins over BYU, Houston and Baylor. In those three games, he attempted only one shot, which missed, but collected two rebounds, grabbed a steal and, most important, averaged 6.3 minutes to help Bradley and Burries get some rest.

"Evan was really steady," Lloyd said after the BYU game.

Dell’Orso filled the biggest gap created by the Wildcats’ absent players, scoring 22 points each in UA’s wins over BYU and Houston, then nearly became one of them himself. But after spraining his left ankle and straining a muscle tendon in his left foot last Saturday at Houston, Dell’Orso worked with trainer Justin Kokoskie over the next three days before the Wildcats beat Baylor on Tuesday.

Dell’Orso had just nine points against the Bears but hit 2 of 5 3-pointers and soaked up 30 minutes.

"Delly, he's a stud," Lloyd said after the Baylor game.

A starter at center — and all-Big 12 honorable mention pick — last season when center Motiejus Krivas missed most of the season with a foot injury, Awaka accepted a reserve role for Arizona's first 25 games. Then he moved back in the starting lineup when Peat sat out, joining Krivas in the starting lineup this time.

While BYU’s defense emphasized the inside, limiting Awaka to just three points and six rebounds in that game, Awaka had a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds at Baylor on Tuesday.

In between, the high-motor Awaka also may have tried too hard to make up for the Wildcats’ temporarity shortcomings Saturday at Houston: He fouled out in just 17 minutes.

“Tobe is awesome. He’s just got to quit running guys over at the end of the play,� Lloyd said after the Houston game. “Three of his fouls today were literally running guys over.�

Bradley already has been the Wildcats’ floor leader and most clutch players all season, but even his role has increased over UA's last four games, when he's averaged 37.5 minutes. He struggled offensively in UA’s losses to Kansas and Texas Tech, combining for 6 of 20 shooting in them, but rebounded with a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists in the Wildcats’ Feb. 18 win over BYU.

Then Bradley led the Wildcats to a two-game sweep over a long weekend in Texas, with 17 points against Houston and 25 points, with six rebounds and six assists, on Tuesday at Baylor.

While he uncharacteristically missed 5 of 10 free throws against Houston, that could be a sign of fatigue, Bradley said UA staffers have helped him and his other heavily used teammates recover.

“They do a great job making sure we take care of our bodies and hydrating,� Bradley said at Houston. “It's only for the better. We're gonna get all our guys back. We'll get healthy, and it's gonna be scary when we get everybody.�