SEATTLE – Kadeem Allen looked every bit the decoy before Saturday’s UA-Washington game -- warming up, wearing full game gear and sporting a splint-and-bandage over his dislocated right pinkie that did not appear to affect his dribbling and shooting.
But he did not play at all. He will instead this week against USC and UCLA, UA coach Sean Miller said, the payoff for all that resting.
“Having him go through warmups is more about the future,” Miller said. “It’s good for him to go through warmups because we anticipate him making a full return next week.”
Miller has described Allen’s injury as a “one-week injury” and Allen dislocated his pinky on Feb. 14, so he’ll be nine days removed by the time the Wildcats host the Trojans on Thursday.
UA athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie discussed Allen’s situation in more detail in our seen-and-heard notes.
Dusan Ristic, however, isn’t a sure thing to come back next week. Miller continues to describe his left ankle sprain as a first-time injury that has thrown things off (maybe mentally as much if not more than physically).
“He has a mild ankle sprain. He had a little bit of swelling. The X-rays were negative,” Miller said. “He hasn’t really dealt with it. It’s the first time he’s had an injury like this and it kind of knocked him back. I hope over the next few days he starts to see he’s going to be OK and we can get him back. I don’t have a good feel for him.”
Lauri Markkanen spent a second straight game mostly around the basket instead of out on the wing where his 3-pointers had become much less accurate in recent weeks.
That’s by Miller’s design, not because of Ristic’s absence.
“Not really,” Markkanen said. “On Thursday we did the same thing.”
Saying he had been using Markkanen too long as a “one-dimensional” player, Miller said the Wildcats went into the Washington trip emphasizing and doing a few things differently so as to create opportunities for Markkanen inside.
“He played the same way against Washington State,” Miller said. “He’s using his size better. We’re starting to get him the ball a little bit easier and we have to continue that because he’s a lot harder to deal with when he’s able to score close to the basket, which he’s done the last two games.”
Allonzo Trier had the best shooting game of his nine-game season so far, making 6 of 10 field goals that included 4 of 5 3-pointers.
He entered Saturday’s game shooting 39.5 percent overall from the field and 30.3 percent from 3-point range, and Miller said it wasn’t the shot itself that was necessarily the problem.
“The thing about Allonzo is he missed 19 games so he’s at that point where a player generally is in early December, but everybody around him and who plays against him is further along,” Miller said. “So sometimes one of the reasons his shot percentage isn’t as high is he hasn’t always taken great shots.
“Every once in a while he makes a decision to take one maybe he shouldn’t. Maybe he has a drive and for whatever reason he takes a contested shot so I think we’ve tried to just get him to think about slowing the game down, taking what the defense gives. Because if he’s open and gets quality shots there’s nothing wrong with his shot.”
Not surprisingly, Miller raved about Markelle Fultz after the game, specifically his combination of size and speed.
“Usually when a guy is as big as he is, they act like they’re point guards when they really aren’t,” Miller said. “But he’s so fast and fluid with his dribble that it amazes me. He really is a point guard. As a matter of fact, he punishes smaller point guards because he’s so big and their (smaller) size doesn’t negate him …
“Him and Lonzo Ball, man, it’s like its an honor to be in a conference with those two guys because I have a funny feeling into the future of a decade we’re all gonna look at them as two of the great guards in the NBA. I really believe that. He’s a special talent, special player and very difficult to deal with.”
Our game story and notes are attached to this post, as are PDFs of the box score and updated stats.
