HONOLULU — If there was one thing Arizona figured to miss the most without Allonzo Trier in the lineup, it was pure scoring.
Outside jumpers that he often created on his own, drives to the basket, and tons and tons of free throws, which Trier made at a 79.3-percent rate last season.
There wasn’t supposed to be anybody else on the roster with that exact same skillset. But then, in UA’s season-opening 65-63 win over Michigan State on Friday, Kobi Simmons scooped a lot of it all up.
The slender, athletic freshman guard from Atlanta had 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting, plus 5 of 6 free throws — in just 13 minutes of the first half in UA’s win, pulling UA almost singlehandedly out of an early 17-2 deficit.
So … maybe there was a silver lining in Trier’s situation? That a guy like Simmons had a chance to grow quickly with all that opportunity?
“There is no silver lining without Allonzo Trier,” UA coach Sean Miller said.
Maybe not. But as the length of Trier’s ineligibility remains uncertain — UA hasn’t even categorized his status for nearly a month now — the Wildcats at least have another scoring threat they can look to.
“Kobi Simmons, for a freshman, showed a lot of confidence and a lot of ability,” Miller said. “He had 15 of our 34 (points) at halftime and that’s a big reason we got back in the game. He was outstanding.
“He has a lot of talent. We watch him every day and I think the best is yet to come for him, too.”
The only current UA player to have participated in a McDonalds All-American Game, Simmons said he feels like he has to enter a game with confidence. The difference was Simmons did it off the bench, a different role for just about any UA freshmen, especially a high-profile one.
Simmons says he’s OK with that.
“I just want to win,” Simmons said. “At the end of the day, if coach thinks this was best, well that’s what’s best and that’s what I want to do.”
Miller said it’s too early to determine if Simmons fits a sixth-man role in part because he may not always be a sixth man.
“Who starts two weeks from now and who starts today could be different,” Miller said. “But whether he starts or not he’s certainly one of our biggest players, one of our most important players. We’re only playing eight guys so all of our guys are very important.”
Miller said the Wildcats learned plenty from playing Michigan State, and Simmons’ emergence on a big stage was one of them.
