LOS ANGELES — Just three minutes into his first college basketball game, Kobi Simmons set the tone for the Arizona Wildcats’ season so far.
That is, as a true freshman, he came off the bench to score seven quick points and help dig UA out of an early 17-2 hole against Michigan State, allowing the Wildcats to come back for a 65-63 win in Honolulu. He finished with 18 points in that game.
That sort of freshman production is one of the few things the Wildcats have been able to rely on during an initial four weeks marred by Allonzo Trier’s ongoing eligibility issue, injuries to three scholarship players and a number of on-court issues affecting both sides of the court.
After Arizona dropped to 6-2 after losing to Gonzaga 69-62 on Saturday at the Staples Center, the Wildcats’ three top scorers remained their three freshmen.
One of those freshmen, forward Lauri Markkanen, is also the team’s leading rebounder, leading three-point shooter, and leading free-throw shooter.
Another, wing Rawle Alkins, is leading the team in turnovers (20) but also shooting 59.6 percent when he gets within two-point range.
Simmons, meanwhile, has provided shooting in spurts as expected, but also more defense than expected.
“Some teams suffer adversity but you look at the calendar and it’s February or January,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “But for us we’ve really been hit with these things at the beginning. I think the good news for us is that it’s allowing these types of guys to have a lot on their plates, a big role, a lot of experience.”
That also includes the Wildcats’ other newcomer, junior college transfer Keanu Pinder, who was deployed in a defensive role Saturday that Miller wasn’t comfortable with.
“It was the first time that Keanu Pinder has ever guarded a perimeter player, and it just so happened that he guarded a perimeter player against Gonzaga,” Miller said. “That’s not in our best interests. But these are the circumstances.”
The most notable circumstance at the moment is that UA has only three active players who can naturally play at the three perimeter positions. That happened Wednesday, when Jackson-Cartwright was lost for probably at least a month with a high ankle sprain, coming on top of Trier’s never-ending NCAA issue.
As a result, among other things, Miller has had to force Kadeem Allen back to point guard fulltime while making Pinder and Markkanen defend smaller and quicker opponents.
No question, (Jackson-Cartwright’s absence) really affects everything,” Miller said. “Rawle, for example, has played mostly the three.
“We’ve given him some reps at the two and he played as many minutes (Saturday) at two as three. Lauri — God bless him — I’ve never seen a freshman play three positions like he has. He played mostly the small forward, which is very difficult if you’re 7-foot.
“It affects everything and everybody. Our zone offense, our underneath out-of-bounds offense. Defensively it really affects you.”
Nobody probably has it worse than Markkanen, who not only has to defend small forwards but also found Gonzaga’s defense tailored to shut him down. He went 4 of 14 from the field, though some of his shots were off good looks he didn’t make.
“I’m still very confident in my shot,” he said.
Miller didn’t appear worried about it. It was just another day of on-the-job training for his new guys.
“I think all of our freshman have done a good job adjusting,” Miller said. “Certainly, Lauri has done everything. That’s usually what you ask a senior to do, like Kadeem Allen. And, really, ditto for Rawle. Rawle has done a lot of great things.”
