Banged-up Arizona men's hoops uses extra time in Texas to recover from late-season grind

HOUSTON — Stuck away from home for the first time this season between games, with two full days to make the short hop from Houston to Waco, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd had a plan.

“Probably take a nap,” he said.

He was joking, of course, but there’s no doubt his guys needed some extra rest.

When shorthanded Arizona beat No. 2 Houston 73-66 on Saturday, forward Ivan Kharchenkov played all but one minute and often at power forward, wing Anthony Dell’Orso played 34 off the bench, and guard Brayden Burries slogged through 31 as he continued to suffer from an illness.

Burries had just seven points while shooting 1 for 5 from the field and 5 of 8 from the free throw line, numbers well off his season averages.

“He's obviously been really sick,” Lloyd said. “He's still on the mend. But for him to be out there means a lot to us, and we know he's gonna turn the corner here soon.”

While Dell’Orso has taken advantage of the extra time and shots that were afforded by the losses of Koa Peat (leg injury) and Dwayne Aristode (illness), scoring 22 points in each of UA's last two games, even he walked out of the Wildcats’ locker room Saturday with a protective boot over his left foot.

Dell'Orso appeared to have rolled his left ankle while guarding Houston's Milos Uzan with just over a minute left Saturday. He left the game after UA athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie examined him, but returned after 18 seconds ticked off the clock, indicating the injury was probably not serious.

Still, the bottom line is this: The Wildcats are banged up, some worse than others, after 27 games. It’s that time of year, and probably even more so for them this season.

So after staying over in Houston on Saturday night, the Wildcats went through only a light, almost walk-through type of workout Sunday afternoon before taking a 38-minute charter flight to Waco.

There, they had another day and a half to practice, prepare and rest before facing Baylor on Tuesday evening at Foster Pavilion.

“You're at the point of the season where you're managing,” Lloyd told the Star before the Wildcats headed to Waco. “You've practiced a lot all year, and now it's about just preparing for games, watching film, learning from film and meetings. There’s just a little bit of practice here and there to keep your rhythm, but a a lot of your preparation will be done off the court.”

The Wildcats may be closer to getting everyone back, but it won't happen in time for Tuesday's game. Peat accompanied the Wildcats to Texas but isn’t expected to be formally re-evaluated until after he returns home, while Aristode didn’t even make the trip because of his (also undisclosed, but presumably contagious) illness.

“We're hoping he's close,” Lloyd said of Aristode. “We’ll see what we get back. We've kind of just kept it moving with this group here. My focus has been looking forward, now and next.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

While Peat could have stayed in Tucson to rehab the injury to his lower leg, Lloyd said there was enough medical staff on the trip to start the process in Texas. Peat initially had only been resting, but Lloyd said he had begun to rehabilitate the injury. 

“I think it’s going the right direction. I definitely do,” Lloyd said. “We have no plans for this being a season-ending type of thing.”

As much as Peat has been central to Arizona's success this season, the Wildcats have beaten two ranked teams without him — and with big men Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka combining for just 11 points and 11 rebounds at Houston.

UA survived in part because Dell'Orso, Kharchenkov and point guard Jaden Bradley all scored 16 points or more against the Cougars, while Kharchenkov slid into the power forward spot so comfortably that Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said that the Wildcats had their best lineup with him there.

In two games the Wildcats have played fully without Peat, Kharchenkov averaged 17 points, shot 12 of 23 from the field and made 7 of 8 free throws — while also keying a defense that held Houston under 36% shooting.

“He’s a freshman, too, and he's growing,” Lloyd said. “He’s a freshman from Europe who’s figuring out how the game works over here. He's really talented like those other guys, and just as our team kind of formed early, he settled into a role that was really important for our team — but maybe statistically, wasn't what he could do.

“So now you're seeing him outgrow his previous role, and he's handling it with care. That's what I told him to do. For him to play 39 minutes (against Houston) in a knock-down, drag-out game was pretty big time.”

Meanwhile, with Houston doubling the post on Saturday, Krivas took only four shots against while Awaka played just 17 minutes before he fouled out.

“Tobe is awesome. He's just got to quit running guys over at the end of the play,” Lloyd said. “Three of his fouls (at Houston) were literally running guys over, hustling. So I don't know if I tell him to play a little less hard or jump stop. Maybe he should practice jump stopping without the ball so he doesn't run somebody over.”

It’s possible, considering Awaka’s irrepressible motor, that he boiled over, knowing even more was needed without Peat.

“Yeah, but he has to temper that a little bit,” Lloyd said. “Listen, Tobe is an effort monster, so that's why having depth is so important alongside Tobe, because it allows him to play as hard as he can without having to worry about fouling.

“Hopefully we'll get back to that.”