Ira Lee says Wildcats' postseason ban hurts, but he's determined to make the best of it

All but one of Arizona’s 13 scholarship players signed up after the FBI and the NCAA started investigating the Wildcats, so they had reason to be aware that a postseason ban was at least a possibility.

But when Ira Lee committed to the Wildcats in October 2016 and signed a month later, there were no NCAA storm clouds. Just sunny skies.

Arizona was just a year removed from a second straight Elite Eight appearance. Lee was joining the third-ranked recruiting class along with No. 1 prospect Deandre Ayton and fellow four-star prospects Brandon Randolph, Emmanuel Akot and Alex Barcello. There was plenty of reason to think there might be more good times to come.

It didn’t really work out that way.

Over his first three seasons, Lee has only been able to play in one NCAA Tournament game, appearing for just a minute in UA’s first-round upset loss to Buffalo in 2017-18.

And after Arizona decided last week to self-impose a tournament ban this season, Lee won’t have a chance to play in another one unless he decides to return as a fifth-year senior (and the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process hearing panel does not hand UA another year or more).

That means just one minute of NCAA Tournament action in four years.

“Not gonna lie to you, it did hurt,” Lee said of the postseason ban decision Wednesday on UA’s weekly media Zoom conference. “Because when I went to the tournament my freshman year, we lost first round to Buffalo. Second year, it was a rough year for us. My third year, corona(virus), and now this situation. So it was hard.”

All that dampened what has been an increased role since Lee’s sophomore season. Lee averaged just 10.2 minutes per game as a freshman, then started five of 31 games as a sophomore in 2018-19, averaging 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. The UA went 17-15 and did not make the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

As a junior last season, Lee started two of 32 games and averaged 13.0 minutes per game for a team led up front by eventual first-round pick Zeke Nnaji and grad transfer Stone Gettings.

The Wildcats appeared headed to the NCAA Tournament, especially after beating Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, but the virus shut down college basketball entirely.

Lee has the option to return next season and try again, since the NCAA is giving all winter sports athletes participating this season an extra year of eligibility if they want it.

But it’s not for sure Lee will want it.

“I’ll be quite honest with you, I haven’t really put too much thought into that yet,” Lee said. “But (later) I’ll sit down with my family and the coaching staff and see what’s best for me.”

As it is now, Lee is filling a senior-type leadership role as the player most experienced in the system of UA coach Sean Miller. Mature and comfortable speaking out when needed, Lee also took a big-picture team approach when asked Wednesday about how the Wildcats’ rotation is shaping up.

The Wildcats have demonstrated a strength and depth in their two post spots, especially during their 80-53 New Year’s Eve romp at Washington.

But Lee trails Jordan Brown (20.7), Azuolas Tubelis (20.3) and Christian Koloko (16.9) in minutes played in the post rotation with 14.2.

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“It just comes from within, having confidence in yourself, knowing who you are,” Lee said, when asked about not starting and not knowing when he’d enter games. “You can’t let little things like not starting or playing as many minutes as somebody else really affect you. And I feel like I’ve kind of perfected that.

“At the same time like with Benn (Mathurin) — he had 24 (points) and 11 (rebounds, at WSU) the other day and that’s big-time for him. I’m always rooting my guys on. Even Azuolas, when he got in the starting lineup, I said ‘Hey, give me a double-double tonight,’ stuff like that. That’s just the type of person that I am. I’m an encouraging person. I care about my teammates.”

Lee has also been vocal demonstrating how much he cares about issues off the court. Last June, he wrote a Black Lives Matter-related song entitled “It’s Time,” and posted it to social media.

On Wednesday, as protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Lee retweeted GIFs about the scene and posted a tweet himself that said: “an absolute joke.”

Lee’s Zoom appearance happened as the Capitol scene was still unfolding Wednesday. Not surprisingly, he didn’t shy away when asked about his Twitter feed and how he balances off-court issues with his work on it.

“Basketball is the game that I love, and I’ve got a job to do every day,” Lee said. “But when it comes to the outside stuff, I can’t ignore it. I’m just gonna brush it to the side.”

So when Arizona told its players last week that they would not be participating in the postseason, maybe it was no surprise that Lee spoke up.

No matter how much it may have hurt him inside.

“Just like I told the guys, ‘We might as well come out with a bang, so let’s try to win every dang conference game,’” Lee said. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”

Rim shots

• Despite Mathurin’s emergence, which helped him earn the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award Monday, Miller indicated he’s still committed to his current lineup and playing rotation. Miller has been starting freshman Dalen Terry at small forward over Mathurin, but Mathurin has become Arizona’s third-leading scorer (10.2 points per game) and its fourth-leading rebounder (4.9 rebounds per game).

“We start a starting lineup for a reason — we feel that gives us the best chance to be the best team we can be at the beginning of each half,” Miller said. “For right now I like the way our rotation is. Benn, with his scoring punch, really complements the guys that don’t start.

At “first, it’s let’s give him more opportunity and then if it’s in our best interest to start him, we can eventually go that direction. But he has a big role right now and I think he’s headed in the right direction.”

Miller has seen first-hand how good USC freshman center Evan Mobley is — not just on the recruiting circuit but also as a member of USA Basketball’s Junior National Team committee in 2019. That year, Mobley made USA Basketball’s U19 team as a rising high school senior while Nnaji was among the final cuts as an incoming UA freshman.

“He has a unique ability of just being incredibly quick, almost like a wing player who’s a great athlete,” Miller said of Mobley. “He’s light on his feet, quick to the ball, explosive, can run and move — but yet he’s 7 feet tall and he’s very, very long.”