UA coach Sean Miller said today that Allonzo Trier traveled to Los Angeles last weekend because the NCAA permitted him to, although the NCAA had not allowed him to go to Honolulu or Las Vegas earlier this month.
I asked Miller if that was a good sign for the Wildcats.
"No," he said. "The only good sign is when he walks out there and plays."
Normally, players ineligible under NCAA standards are unable to travel unless they pay their own way but some situations are handled in a case-by-case manner (and it's pretty obvious that this case is unusual.)
UA athletic director Greg Byrne confirmed earlier today via that Trier "is able to travel."
Maybe he was taking a worst-case scenario, but Miller said today he'd guess that Parker Jackson-Cartwright will be out eight weeks with his high ankle sprain.
High ankle sprains are typically estimated to take in the 4-8 week range, but can vary widely depending on the severity. UA's Salim Stoudamire missed about a month when he suffered one in 2002-03, though he wasn't at his best for about eight weeks.
I asked Miller if that estimate changed anything about how he'll prepare for Pac-12 Conference play ahead.
He shook his head and grinned.
"It's like putting an ATM card in and if thereβs nothing in there... it's just 'here we go,' " Miller said. "We're gonna make the best of it and figure it out. Weβre making the best of it and we have a lot of players who came to Arizona to have big, big roles, and believe me, every one of them does right now."
Although UA signee DeAndre Ayton had a visa issue in his native Bahamas that kept him out of a basketball event last weekend, according to 24/7's Jerry Meyer, Miller said Ayton is "fine."
One of the replies to Meyer's tweet asked Meyer what Ayton's chances of playing for the Wildcats were next season, and Meyer said "I have serious doubts."
Asked about that exchange by telephone earlier today, Meyer said:
"Iβm just answering the question and stating the obvious," Meyer said. "The NCAA has investigated his school (Hillcrest Prep) and DeAndre Ayton would have great earning power overseas. So there's doubts. But in no way am I saying he won't play at Arizona."
Miller said, as he has before, that he fully expects Ayton to play for the Wildcats next season.
"Heβs fine, all set, doing well academically and trying to finish his senior year of high school," Miller said of Ayton. "When you're a talented high school player, an all American, your senior year is tricky. You think about what practice is like for those guys. If youβre a Division I player and you walk in a gym for a high school practice, depending on your high school, you're the best. Sometimes youβre not even challenged -- and somebody of his size as well.
"So being able to finish his senior year in a positive way and have a great year, Iβll have no doubts heβll do that. He's doing a great job in school and weβre excited to have him as part of what we're doing in the future."
