CHICAGO â The better his stats became at Arizona, the more Allonzo Trier seemed to fall on the NBA mock drafts during his career.
Yet Trier said at the NBA Combine that he doesnât regret his three-year career at Arizona. Even if all three of his years were met with some sort of adversity â a broken hand as a freshman, and PED suspensions as a sophomore and junior.
âI do well with adapting and being out of my comfort zone,â Trier said. âI didnât have to go to a school thatâs going to preach defense so hard and where coach (Sean) Miller is going to coach me so hard. And I know if you ask him he probably coached me as hard as any guys who walked through that building.
âWe had our battles but it wasnât because we didnât get along. Itâs more because weâre every similar in the way we think and the way we approach the game and thatâs one thing I love about him is his preparation is very much the same as mine as far as how I attack and prepare. Weâre very similar in that area.
âI could have taken the easy route. I could have gone to a smaller school. I could have gone to Washington. I could have (been told) `Hey, go shoot a lot of balls, score a lot of points and get out of there.â I already was a great scorer. I wanted to go to a school that was going to push me to become a better defender, and where I could learn more about the game and be part of a culture of winning. We didnât win a national championship, but we were able to win a lot of games and have a successful time when I was there.â
So Luka Doncic says he isnât sure heâll be done playing Euroleague ball, words that suggested to some that heâs trying to leverage himself out of playing for the Sacramento Kings (or maybe even the Suns) by staying in Europe next season.
But Suns GM Ryan McDonough said he didnât see it that way.
âI know a lot about that situation,â McDonough said. âI think heâs in a little bit of a tricky spot as far as how he answers those questions. You have to put yourself in his shoes or in Real Madridâs shoes. Theyâre preparing for whatâs the biggest basketball event outside of the U.S. Theyâre playing in the semifinals and for him to answer NBA questions probably wouldnât be the best optically for him. So I donât take anything from that. I have no concerns that if we drafted him no 1 heâd be on our roster next year.â
While thereâs been speculation the relationship between new Suns coach Igor Kokoskov and Doncic could push Phoenix toward picking the Slovenian over Deandre Ayton, McDonough said there are ties just as strong with Ayton and even Dukeâs Marvin Bagley, who once played at Tempe Corona Del Sol.
âNo team will have a better feel for Lukaâs strength and weaknesses than we will on and off the court,â McDonough said. âHis skills, the personality, the competitiveness, weâll have all that information. But for us there are a lot of natural connections. You say nobodyâs seen Deandre Ayton more than the Suns, which is probably true, and the owner (Robert Sarver) went to the University of Arizona.
âBut Marvin Bagley is also from Phoenix and is one of the best prep school players of all time. And Luka, the connection with the coach, that is all true. But at the same time youâve got to get the best players. And for me itâs close. Itâs not just two guys. For me personally thereâs also Marvin Bagley and Mohamed Bamba. Weâre gonna work out between 5-10 guys and say, 'Look weâre wide open,' which we are.â
Trier tied for first overall in the âshuttle runâ with a time of 2.96 seconds, while Rawle Alkins was 11th among guards at 3.09.
Alkins, meanwhile, was seventh in standing vertical leap (32.5) and maximum vertical (40.5) among guards.
All of the stats and measurements can be found and sorted through here, as well as the box scores (Alkins played in Game 1, Trier played in Game 2 and both are scheduled to play in Game 4 on Friday afternoon).
Known sometimes as âBunniesâ during his UA playing days, Nick Johnson posted the highest max vertical (39.5) during a G League Elite mini camp earlier this week. Chance Comanche was first in the âreaction shuttle.â
Comancheâs coach with the G Leagueâs Memphis Hustle last season, Glynn Cyprien, said Comanche improved despite jumping into a tough situation.
âHe was really professional in that early on he didnât have an opportunity to play a lot of minutes but he continued to work on his game and get stronger,â Cyprien said. âAnd as the season went on, the minutes increased because we needed that position. He got stronger, he got more confident and I think heâs got tremendous upside.â
The G League Elite stats can be found here.
Sarver attended Doncic's Euroleague semifinal, FWIW.
Dusan Ristic is now a proud UA alum.
Marquette associate head coach Stan Johnson had high praise for (reportedly) new UA assistant coach Justin Gainey.
