Elliott Pitts wore khakis. Allonzo Trier prefers the sweatsuit look.
The UA basketball players’ inability to suit up over long periods of time without an explanation has combined to create a continuing opaque cloud over the Arizona basketball program, adding to an understaffed roster that lost Ray Smith when he tore an ACL for the third time in the preseason.
Pitts, a key reserve last season, played in eight games before sitting out for 18 games for what Miller would only call a “personal issue,” and then he disappeared from the team completely in mid-February.
While Pitts was never charged by police, the Star later found that he was suspended from the school over a finding of sexual misconduct. Pitts is now attending a junior college near his Northern California home.
This season, it was Trier’s turn to sit on the bench. Miller said in mid-October that he would not address “rumors” about Trier’s eligibility status and his stance hasn’t changed even as Trier has now sat out 13 games because of an unexplained suspension.
The NCAA also declined to comment on Trier, though there have been some clues about his situation: Miller said in early December that the NCAA had cleared Trier to travel with the Wildcats when he was not allowed to in November, and Miller said that the academic calendar is not related to Trier’s issue. That could suggest that the case is fully back in the NCAA’s hands and that academics are not an issue.
Since the NCAA usually announces suspensions related to improper benefits, Trier’s case appears to be of another sort and the length of his unexplained absence suggests it is highly unusual or precedent-setting in nature.
Trier’s absence has left the Wildcats with just seven active scholarship players for much of the season, considering Parker Jackson-Cartwright’s high ankle sprain, Talbott Denny’s torn ACL and Smith’s heartbreaking retirement.
Smith, sidelined with ACL tears first before his senior year of high school and second during the 2015-16 preseason, went up for a layup in his first college exhibition game Nov. 1 and suffered another tear.
He fell to the floor and swiped his hand across his neck, perhaps signaling the end. Two days later, he announced his retirement from the game on Twitter.
“In the 25 years I have been a college basketball coach, I have never felt as helpless as I did when I saw him go down on Tuesday night,” Miller said.
“No 19-year-old kid should have to experience three season-ending injuries in a 30-month period of time. I have watched Ray work with our strength and conditioning coach tirelessly for two years. I have seen him in our training room around the clock, doing everything he can to play the game he loves. To witness his extraordinary efforts and see this happen to him once again is beyond disheartening.”
