When the calendar turns to March, it’s rare to see coaches make any sort of drastic changes to the lineup.
Sean Miller doesn’t believe in that.
The Arizona coach made a lineup switch Saturday, inserting reserve big man Keanu Pinder into the starting group in place of center Dusan Ristic, who has started every game he’s played this season.
The likely reason — Pinder is athletic with a shot-blocking skill set, and Oregon was going to play small-ball after center Chris Boucher suffered a career-ending knee injury Friday.
It was a curious move, as Pinder has played 10 minutes or less in 14 of the last 16 games, and twice not played at all. Pinder played seven minutes in Friday’s semifinal win over UCLA.
Miller has recently praised Pinder, saying he deserves a spot in the rotation.
The bold switch didn’t exactly pay off — the Australian committed three fouls and two turnovers within the first five minutes, though he did score on a layup before he was removed for the remainder of the half.
Miller trotted Pinder back out to start the second half, and things went better — he dunked on Arizona’s first play and grabbed two rebounds before being taken out again.
The Star spoke with Pinder on Friday night about his postseason experience and Arizona making it to the title game, in which he finished with four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
On the title run: “It’s a great feeling because we worked so hard to get here and it’s just one of our goals, and we’re here now so it’s huge. It’s huge for us.”
On the Pac-12 Tournament: “It’s been awesome. The fans are crazy, I love the fans. Arizona fans are unbelievable, always coming and bringing us energy. Just through the games, they make it more fun.”
