Back in the glass house

The way Allonzo Trier described it last season, not being able to play for 19 games as a sophomore was only part of the penalty he had to pay for a positive PED test.

There was also that matter of just sitting there while everyone watched, something he went back to doing Thursday after the NCAA suspended him again for another positive PED test.

“A lot of people don’t know what it’s like,” Trier said during last season’s Pac-12 Tournament, when he was named MVP. “Everybody was so worried about what the issue is and why I’m out. Nobody really takes a look at what I’m actually going through, what it feels like to be me. I’m hounded every single day. You become so magnified in the media and you’re not really a normal person because you’re a high-level college basketball athlete. But at that point, I was living in a glass house. Everyone was looking at me.

“You try to stay strong and sometimes, when you’re alone, you break down and cry. It’s a tough feeling, but you have to stay strong. You have to stay mentally tough. It’s something that made me mature a whole lot and it’s something you can’t prepare for, but I guess it happened for a reason. I’m here now and put it behind me.”

Trier played the final 18 games last season and played in all 27 of the Wildcats’ games prior to Thursday night. UA has said it is appealing the decision to suspend Trier again for what it said was a trace reappearance of the same substance that kept him out last season, and that it hopes he will regain his eligibility soon.

When it rains

Turns out, the Wildcats knew they’d already be a player down Thursday even before Trier was suspended.

Freshman forward Ira Lee suffered a concussion during practice Tuesday and did not make the trip to Oregon, meaning he’s also out Saturday against the Ducks. Concussion protocol typically means players are out at least a week.

Freshman wing Brandon Randolph missed UA’s first regular-season game against NAU due to a concussion and returned briefly against UMBC two days later.

Lee, a freshman from Los Angeles, averages only 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game but plays an average of 10.6 minutes off the bench.

But on Thursday he was forced to watch from the couch as a fan, even chiming in on Twitter as the Wildcats inched closer to the win.

Yes Rawl!

— Ira Lee (@iramandoesit) February 23, 2018

Dagger.

— Ira Lee (@iramandoesit) February 23, 2018

When it snows

In a literal sense, it didn’t rain as usual this week in Portland and the Willamette Valley as much as it snowed.

In a photo gallery entitled “Portlanders wake up to second day of snowy wonder,” The Oregonian noted that nearly two inches of white stuff stuck on the ground early Thursday morning, though it quickly washed away in the streets during the morning rush hour.

In Corvallis, the top trending story in the Gazette-Times as of Thursday evening was a list of “Weather closures and delays for Thursday.”

While the snow was minimal in town, several areas just to the east were affected. The Gazette-Times said two school districts were closed in Benton County, which contains Corvallis, while neighboring Linn County had three school districts closed and another two delayed by two hours.

The weather was partly sunny and around 40 degrees in Corvallis by Thursday afternoon, melting any trace of snow.

Twitterless Stevie

Oregon State starters presented by @hellocountry:G - #TwitterlessStevieG - @_ethanthompson5F - @tres_tinkle3 F - @sethberger32 F - @DrewEubanks12 #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/yEKHhHty67

— Oregon State Hoops (@BeaverMBB) February 23, 2018

OSU likes to announce its starting lineup on Twitter by listing their Twitter handles, but that created a problem with Stephen Thompson Jr. — because he doesn’t have one.

So OSU instead started listing its starting junior guard as “#Twitterless Stevie.” The hashtag took off after highlights appeared of Thompson hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win a double-overtime game against Washington on Feb. 10 at Gill Coliseum.

Thursday marked OSU’s first home game since that dramatic win, and the school celebrated by giving out 500 orange T-shirts with Thompson’s face on them.

Underneath Thompson’s face was one word: #Twitterless

Thompson twins (sort of)

So what’s the difference between Stephen and little brother Ethan Thompson? Both are combo guards with good scoring and playmaking skills, along with similar statures and long hair.

OSU forward Tres Tinkle tried to break down the difference.

“They do have a bunch of similarities,” Tinkle said. “Ethan might be a little more aggressive attacking the hoop and going through contact. Stevie’s a more fluid scorer but he’s a guy who will mix it up, go crash the boards and get physical. They both can score at all three levels (3-point, midrange and inside).”

It’s still Gill

Oregon State considered renaming historic Gill Coliseum last fall because former Beavers coach Slats Gill was accused of not integrating his teams during a 36-year tenure from 1928-64. But a 14-page OSU report released in October found that Gill “did not deliberately keep OSU’s basketball team segregated.” It concluded that evidence is “incomplete and ambiguous.”

OSU president Ed Ray announced in November that there would be no name change.

“I find that the scholars’ report and naming review process offers no evidence that Gill deliberately sought to keep the Oregon State men’s basketball team from becoming integrated,” Ray said in a statement, according to The Oregonian. “I also find no evidence that he held or expressed discriminatory views about African-Americans.

“It appears Gill was a product of his time regarding the style of play of his teams, which he perfected. He coached at Oregon State during an era in which few African-Americans attended this institution, and those who did faced frequent discrimination. This was a troubled era in the university’s history, but I do not find that Gill supported such a lack of inclusivity.”

The big number

20

Games Trier has missed because of positive PED tests since the beginning of his sophomore season in 2016-17. Arizona is 18-2 without the star guard, dating back to the start of last season.

Quotable

Arizona players write “Free Zo” on shoes ahead of game at Oregon State pic.twitter.com/7CX0MNRDgR

— Alec White (@AlecWhite_UA) February 23, 2018

“FREE ZO” — Handwriting on the left shoe of UA walk-on Matt Weyand