Among the many questions still remaining about Allonzo Trier is whether his PED-related suspension will affect his NBA stock.
Trier wasn’t a surefire NBA first-round pick last spring when he opted to return as a sophomore, and he’s now sitting at No. 57 in Draft Express’ latest mock 2017 draft. That isn’t upward momentum.
What if Trier was the Wildcats’ leading scorer? Half of a 1-2 punch with projected lottery pick Lauri Markkanen? What if Trier hit a game-winner to beat Butler at the buzzer, and the Wildcats were now 17-1 and ranked in the Top 5?
“I think the fact that he isn’t playing affects him,” Draft Express president Jonathan Givony said Thursday. “Anytime he’s on sidelines and not helping his team it’s not going to improve his stock. … He never was considered a lottery-level prospect so anytime you sit out more than half a season it isn’t going to help you.”
While some NBA scouts have indicated to the Star they aren’t overly concerned about the use of a PED itself by Trier — in part because he isn't on the lottery radar at this point — Givony said it’s not possible to tell exactly if it will affect him because there isn’t enough information.
“I think the details really matter of what he took, who gave it to him, and what were the circumstances,” Givony said.
So who did give it to him? How did he get that injury in the offseason? And what drug did he take that’s still lurking in his system some four months after he first tested positive?
There has been considerable speculation over every one of those questions, of course. And they are all questions Trier will have to answer before he gets to an NBA Draft, whether publicly or in interviews with NBA teams.
One common question now is why didn’t Trier say anything already? Wouldn’t have his story about trying to recover from an offseason injury have at least partially quashed notions that he was trying to gain a competitive edge in games?
Trier’s story about PED use was already pretty well known in college basketball and NBA circles by November, and he was conditionally cleared to return pending a clean test. He also made it clear he was not administered the drug by a UA staffer, though that in and of itself is no excuse.
Theoretically, Trier has had the right to address all that and more at any point. After all, student privacy rules only bind those around the student, not the actual student.
Trier could have spoken at any time, though Arizona has not made him available for interviews since September, subbed him out of Pac-12 media day in October and did not respond to the Star's request for an interview.
UA and the NCAA steadfastly declined comment while Trier remained unavailable, creating a storm of rumors and speculation that grew as the season went on (similar to the way the Elliott Pitts situation did last season, except that Trier is even more high profile). We have published numerous stories detailing as much as possible about Trier's situation within our policy of avoiding unnamed sources in print, and the story has gained considerable local and national attention.
An ESPN roundtable pegged Trier as the No. 1 disappointment in college basketball, in large part because of Arizona's lack of transparency. Finally, on Wednesday night, Jeff Goodman’s ESPN.com story detailing Trier's use of a PED and need to test clean prompted Trier to make a statement through the school.
Trier’s statement (attached to this post as a photo, if you click on the arrow in the Trier-Markkanen photo) said he won’t comment further at this point, and that he has asked the UA athletic department not to release any more information, which means there will still be rumors swirling.
And while Trier said he is unsure of whether he’ll test clean and be able to play, there also is no mention of how often he is tested… so, in many ways, no telling when or if he comes back this season.
He's in largely the same place. And so is everybody else.
BTW, the NCAA says it does not publish a comprehensive list of all banned drugs, but posts examples here. That list and the NCAA's drug-testing guide are attached as PDFs.
Stories in the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register detailed how USC found its four-overtime win against Arizona last season something of a tide-turning event. Certainly, it appeared to be a big one for the Andy Enfield era.
However, Elijah Stewart's remark of Arizona that "by tradition they just come in here and wreck shop" hasn't really been true lately.
Arizona has only won two of six games at USC under Miller. Historically, USC has been troublesome for the Wildcats in the same way that Oregon State has been – perceived as the easier opponent of a two-game swing, usually with a smaller crowd and duller atmosphere … yet fully capable of winning.
Maybe it will help the Wildcats this time that UA coach Sean Miller has been reminding them of how tough USC is, while the memory of last season’s thriller is no doubt still in the heads of the returning UA players.
Plus, Miller said his players know on their own why they should be motivated.
“College players know when other college players are good,” Miller said. “They know who’s on USC’s roster. Our players respect them a ton, and they should.”
Miller said Chimezie Metu’s first-half play and USC’s poise struck him in reviewing how the Trojans beat Colorado 71-68 last Saturday,
“Metu took over, him having 21 in one (first) half that’s all you have to say,” Miller said. “They weathered Colorado’s lead in the first half because of him, and they’re a poised team. They’re in their third year (with guys who have) had big roles in their first two years.
“I love Jordan McLaughlin’s game as a point guard. He probably has as much meaning to his team as anyone we’ve faced. He makes great decisions. He can score. When he’s going well, it just seems like his team is going well. Elijah Stewart is in his third year and he hurt us badly last year, and they have one of the best freshmen in the conference in (De’Anthony) Melson. You add Bennie Boatwright to their team and they’re even better.”
Boatwright won’t be playing tonight with a knee sprain, however. Enfield told the Times he's hoping Boatwright can return to practice soon.
Bob Elliott will be Arizona's inductee this year into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
Miller and assistant Mark Phelps went to see 2018 target David Singleton after arriving Wednesday.
Our full advance coverage is attached to this post.
