Chance Comancheโs indefinite academic suspension probably will cost him only two exhibition games.
After UA held off Chico State 78-70 in its second exhibition game on Sunday, UA coach Sean Miller said he expected the sophomore big man will make the teamโs trip to Honolulu and play against Michigan State on Friday.
Asked if Comanche turned a corner in his academic situation, Miller said:
โIโm anticipating Chance making the trip to Hawaii,โ Miller said, โand as long as everything holds steady through tonight and tomorrow, I see him being able to play against Michigan State.โ
Miller said every game was going to be hard for Arizona this season โ the Wildcats will max out at eight players unless Allonzo Trier becomes active -- but that having Comanche makes a big difference.
โWith Chance, weโre a much different team,โ Miller said. โYou canโt underestimate six-foot-11, offensive rebounder, defensive rebounder, the ability to give us great size and depth up front and somebody who can score as well.
โPlaying without him, any team would miss that. But weโre anxious to get him back and I think against Michigan State, as long as everything checks out in the next couple of days, he should be back with us.โ
Arizona will fly to Honolulu on Tuesday to spend time with military and prepare for an Armed Forces Classic game with Michigan State on Friday.
Arizona may have had questions about leadership entering the season, but Miller doesnโt hear any now. Not after Kadeem Allenโs effort and play in two exhibition games.
Allen had 15 points with two rebounds and four assists to one turnover, plus a block and 7-for-8 free-throw shooting, in 33 minutes against Chico State.
โKadeemโs awesome,โ Miller said. โAt a time when everybody cares about leaving Arizona as fast as you can, leaving college basketball as fast as you can, heโs the example of the young guy who has just bought in, has worked, has sacrificed and become a really good player.
โHeโs our heart and soul in many ways and certainly the leader of the team and heโs earned it. He works hard at what he does every day, plays both ends. Is he perfect. No. But heโs a guard that any college coach would love to have. His experience, his leadership, his toughness, those are all things that are going to help his teammates through our long journey.โ
You might say Lauri Markkanen made a pretty big leap between the first and second games heโs played for Arizona. Even between the first and second halves of Sundayโs game, too.
Markkanen had 10 rebounds and eight points on 4-for-8 shooting against the undermanned College of Idaho, then came through with 21 points while making 3 of 4 three-pointers, making all eight free-throws he took and grabbing seven rebounds in 34 minutes against much better competition from Chico State.
Markkanen collected all of seven rebounds Sunday in the second half.
โSome of it is just for him to go through this,โ Miller said. โThis is his second game in the United States. He was very, very tentative in the first half, especially rebounding the ball. Thatโs to be expected. But in the second half, he really put it together. Twenty one points, 8-8 free-throw shooting, and seven rebounds considering he had zero at the half? Thatโs what Iโm really excited about. Heโs obviously a very talented player.โ
Miller said he wanted the Wildcats to make sure to take advantage of his size by getting him the ball in and around the rim, while also making sure Markkanen doesnโt get too unselfish when heโs out on the perimeter.
โIn the first half, you saw he made the extra pass yet he was wide open and at halftime, it was like, `Hey, look, if you get an open opportunity thereโs nobody here who has a better chance to make that three-point shot. So take it.'
โHeโs very unselfish, and heโs young, so every time that he goes out there, every day that we work heโs going to be that much better.โ
UA allowed Chico to shoot 48.2 percent and was outrebounded 30-28 overall despite improvement on the glass in the second half, but Miller saw through some of those transgressions.
For one thing, he said Chico threw out a mix of defenses that was confusing for younger players this early in the season โ saying they particularly werenโt ready for Chicoโs matchup zone โ but Miller took some heart in knowing what kind of inexperience his current team has.
โThatโs the thing -- we played this team a year ago and there were some things we didnโt do real well, especially defensively,โ Miller said, โbut we had a lot of older guys so I donโt know how much upside we had.โ
As it turned out, last yearโs Wildcats slipped considerably on defense from the teams that were among the nationโs best in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
While Miller wonโt say whatโs up with Allonzo Trier or if Trier has been practicing, he said the Wildcats enjoy a much more complete roster in practices.
The only guy for sure the Wildcats have had additionally in practices is redshirt guard Dylan Smith, so maybe thereโs something to be read between these lines:
โThe guys who canโt play in the game can practice,โ Miller said. โWeโre a different team in practice than we are in the game because we have several guys who are good players, guys weโre really counting on that are with us but not really in the structure of the game.โ
Another bummer for Ray Smith: He wonโt get to travel to Hawaii this week while he prepares for surgery.
But Miller, in elaborating considerably on his feelings for the now-retired forward, said Smith will be a big part of his team the rest of the season (and maybe beyond that).
โRay is a phenomenal kid and heโs somebody werโe gonna miss on the court,โ Miller said. โHe may leave us on the court but heโs forever part of our program and the team. Heโs obviously an incredibly intelligent young man.โ
Smithโs third ACL tear and subsequent retirement last week was โOne of the saddest things Iโve seen,โ Miller said. โItโs almost like heโs finishing up his career as a fifth-year senior and weโre gonna wave goodbye to him. Rayโs just starting. Heโs 19. But heโs got a big future. Obviously, you can learn a lot about someone when you see how well you can handle such a tough circumstance and heโs handled it as well as you can ever expect.
โLet me say this: in my opinion... I think he had a really good chance to be picked in the first round. His athletic talent, 6-8, he has the size. Heโs your prototypical NBA small forward. Heโs not just a college player who lost his way or the rest of his career. Heโs somebody who lost a career way beyond Arizona. Itโs a tough hit for him and his family and for all of us. But for us, itโs keeping him with us and making sure he gets to the finish line.โ
Of Smithโs future role, Miller said. โWhen we get back (from Hawaii) weโre gonna really iron out some concrete things that he can do on an everyday basis, (including) certainly on game day. Heโs gonna travel with us and be a part of our season and everything that we do.โ
Finally, Miller said of Smithโs career trajectory:
โHeโs a late bloomer. He came on in ninth, 10th grades. He became one of the best as as a junior in high school. A lot happened to him quickly and a lot was taken away from him quickly.โ
The PDF box score, game story and game notes have been attached to this post.
