EUGENE, Ore. — Chase Jeter walked out of Arizona’s 12th-floor lunch buffet Friday without a limp.
Whether that will translate to him playing without restriction Saturday still isn’t clear.
UA coach Sean Miller told the Star on Friday that he won’t know about Jeter’s availability for Arizona’s game with Oregon on Saturday until he tests his bruised knee during practice Friday and shootaround before the game.
However, Miller said Jeter did not suffer anything other than the bruise to his left knee on Thursday at Oregon State, when he came back in the game but left for good shortly afterward because Miller said he wasn’t running normally.
“It's kind of like his last injury, you really just kind of go on what you're being told by him,” Miller said. “But I think the good news is that it's a bruised knee. There’s no injury per se, more than that.”
Miller said Jeter’s knee bruise compares to the one Alex Barcello suffered at Colorado on Feb. 17. Barcello also was not effective when returning to the game afterward, although he appeared to play without issue on Feb. 21 against California.
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As much as Miller keeps discussing how much Brandon Williams’ return means to the Wildcats, deepening the rotation and taking pressure off scorers such as Brandon Randolph, he said he’ll probably keep his current starting lineup with Dylan Smith and Randolph on the wing.
Williams has now played two games after missing six after his old right knee injury appeared to cause pain.
“I don't think we’ll change our lineup right now,” Miller said. “That could happen before the end of the year, but you know I think for Brandon it's just making sure that he's OK. He seems to be fine after last night.”
Oregon has been starting a lineup with 6-foot-2 Payton Pritchard and four 6-9 guys: Louis King, Paul White, Kenny Wooten and Francis Okoro.
But in reality, the Ducks still turn heavily to guards Ehab Amin, Victor Bailey, Jr., and Will Richardson.
“I think they’re doing that at the beginning of both halves in the last two games and when they do that they try to get the ball inside and emphasize rebounding and physical basketball,” Miller said. “But once they sub, they get into more of I think the personnel groups that they've had throughout the year.
“Paul White is a really difficult matchup. He can play in the (big) lineup and I would call him the two. Most of the time he plays the four, but there is oftentimes during the course of the game and they play real small and they bring him into five and Louis King into four, so I think part of it is just being ready for the versatility of their lineups.
“But no matter who they play they're going to press, they're going to play a matchup zone and offensively they do a great job in isolations, getting the ball to White in a position where he can create a mismatch.”
White had only five points on 2 for 10 shooting against ASU, but the Ducks still ran over the Sun Devils. Louis King had 19 points while Pritchard had 18.
