STANFORD, Calif. — With 6:04 left in Arizona’s 91-52 win at Stanford on Sunday, Lauri Markannen checked in for Dusan Ristic, with Chance Comanche at the free-throw line.
Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins took their respective places, and that left Parker Jackson-Cartwright as the lone upperclassmen on the floor.
Arizona was already up big, but this was no mop-up time.
Such is the state of the Wildcats program: Reliant on youthful exuberance, dependent on diaper dandies, counting on the kiddos.
And they delivered: Of Arizona’s 91 points against the Cardinal, 67 were delivered by those who were either not on the team or not in the rotation last season.
“They’re getting more comfortable in all of the team thing — team defense, playing with other talented players, playing a zone versus a man,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “Lauri, Kobi and Rawle are three really talented freshmen.”
They weren’t perfect, but what kids are?
Soon after Comanche’s free-throw attempt went sour, Miller took Jackson-Cartwright out and subbed in Keanu Pinder, leaving Comanche the only player on the floor with returning experience from last season. And he got all of 139 minutes in 2015-16.
On Sunday, he looked like a seasoned veteran.
Comanche had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, just 12 days after scoring a career-high 14 points in a 31-point win over New Mexico.
Late in the first half, Comanche unleashed a sensational spin move and lay-in, followed by another layup. A few minutes later, he dropped in an alley-oop from Jackson-Cartwright.
“I feel like my game has come along more and more as time goes on,” Comanche said. “My teammates are giving me the ball when I’m open, giving me the confidence to shoot the ball more.”
Added Miller: “We see him every day, and I think he first thing that happens is you establish playing really well in practice, which he’s done. Then all of a sudden, it leads to a game, and some of that is confidence. He’s got I think the most confidence he’s ever had. … We talk to Chance a lot about growing his role, establishing that we can count on you to do this all the time.”
Comanche wasn’t the only young Wildcat to emerge on Sunday.
Alkins had a team-high 19 points, tying his career high set earlier this year against Missouri, and Markkanen had 15. Simmons added 11 and Pinder had two points, but added three rebounds and two steals.
This one wasn’t all for the kiddos, though. Ristic still had 16 points — his seventh double-figure scoring performance in his last eight games, and his eighth in 10 — and Kadeem Allen had eight points, including two 3-pointers, as the Wildcats shot 63 percent from the field, 71 percent from behind the arc and 91 percent on free throws.
But it was a day for the wunderkinds, as Arizona’s new rotational players had 36 of the team’s 49 points at the half.
For Miller, this is about what he expected to see as his freshmen have grown into bigger roles this season in the absence of Allonzo Trier and Ray Smith. Right around the New Year is when he expects the youngsters to have caught up, if not physically, then at least mentally.
“All of a us have a lot of confidence in our abilities,” Alkins said. “We trust each other. This is a great class.”
