SEATTLE β Kadeem Allen looked every bit the decoy before Saturdayβs 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.
βHaving him go through warmups is more about the future,β Miller said. βItβs good for him to go through warmups because we anticipate him making a full return next week.β
Miller has described Allenβs injury as a βone-week injuryβ and Allen dislocated his pinky on Feb. 14, so heβll be nine days removed by the time the Wildcats host the Trojans on Thursday.
UA athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie discussed Allenβs situation in more detail in our seen-and-heard notes.
Dusan Ristic, however, isnβt 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).
βHe has a mild ankle sprain. He had a little bit of swelling. The X-rays were negative,β Miller said. βHe hasnβt really dealt with it. Itβs the first time heβs had an injury like this and it kind of knocked him back. I hope over the next few days he starts to see heβs going to be OK and we can get him back. I donβt have a good feel for him.β
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.
Thatβs by Millerβs design, not because of Risticβs absence.
βNot really,β Markkanen said. βOn Thursday we did the same thing.β
Saying he had been using Markkanen too long as a βone-dimensionalβ 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.
βHe played the same way against Washington State,β Miller said. βHeβs using his size better. Weβre starting to get him the ball a little bit easier and we have to continue that because heβs a lot harder to deal with when heβs able to score close to the basket, which heβs done the last two games.β
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 Saturdayβs game shooting 39.5 percent overall from the field and 30.3 percent from 3-point range, and Miller said it wasnβt the shot itself that was necessarily the problem.
βThe thing about Allonzo is he missed 19 games so heβs at that point where a player generally is in early December, but everybody around him and who plays against him is further along,β Miller said. βSo sometimes one of the reasons his shot percentage isnβt as high is he hasnβt always taken great shots.
βEvery once in a while he makes a decision to take one maybe he shouldnβt. Maybe he has a drive and for whatever reason he takes a contested shot so I think weβve tried to just get him to think about slowing the game down, taking what the defense gives. Because if heβs open and gets quality shots thereβs nothing wrong with his shot.β
Not surprisingly, Miller raved about Markelle Fultz after the game, specifically his combination of size and speed.
βUsually when a guy is as big as he is, they act like theyβre point guards when they really arenβt,β Miller said. βBut heβs 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 heβs so big and their (smaller) size doesnβt negate him β¦
βHim and Lonzo Ball, man, itβs 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 weβre all gonna look at them as two of the great guards in the NBA. I really believe that. Heβs a special talent, special player and very difficult to deal with.β
Our game story and notes are attached to this post, as are PDFs of the box score and updated stats.
