Especially considering the fleeting nature of high-major basketball, playing 49 games for the Arizona Wildcats qualifies center Chance Comanche as a veteran.
He looks like one, too.
“He’s a more experienced, seasoned player this year and you can see that,” coach Sean Miller says.
There’s no doubt that contrasts with the Beverly Hills (California) High School grad who showed up at UA in June 2015 with just 187 pounds on his 6-foot-11 frame, a four-star recruit with a long way to go.
The only question is: Who gets the credit?
Is it strength coach Chris Rounds, who slapped 15 pounds on Comanche’s rail-thin frame before he played a single game as a freshman — and now has him at a Pac-12-ready 215, up nearly 30 pounds since he arrived?
Is it Miller and his coaching staff, who have guided the once-raw big man with the ins and outs of offensive and defensive post play on a daily basis?
Or is it his other “coaches,” guys such as Kaleb Tarczewski, Dusan Ristic and now freshman Lauri Markkanen?
Of course, it’s probably a little bit of everything, including the efforts of Comanche himself. But the three 7-footers Comanche has faced on the court have offered an education that simply isn’t offered in too many places.
Take his first experiences trading elbows with Tarczewski as a freshman last season.
Comanche was maybe 200 pounds, athletic and promising but green. Tarczewski was a 245-pound senior who had been starting since his freshman season.
Zeus had his way with the new guy.
“He had a physical mind-set and he just knew the game,” Comanche said. “He knew how to set you up so if you did one thing he had you the other way.”
It was tough in the beginning. Well, actually, maybe all year. But it helped prepare Comanche for a sophomore year in which his minutes have tripled to 18 per game as the Wildcats’ top post reserve player.
“I think playing against Kaleb last year helped me change my mind-set and it showed me how much I have to grow and develop to play this game, showing how physical guys can be,” Comanche said. “It helped me grow as a player and mentally so this year it’s become easier. It’s still a battle every day with Dusan and Lauri, but it made it easier up to this point.”
Yes, of course, even with Tarczewski off to the NBA D-League this season, practice life is still tough for Comanche.
For one thing, Ristic is still around, able to hoist his sometimes unguardable hook shot over Comanche or slipping craftily around him.
“He’s a real finesse player,” Comanche said. “He has a great touch around the rim so you have to figure out when to go for a shot block or attempt, or when to wall up against him.”
Then there’s Markkanen, whose game extends from the basket to beyond the 3-point arc.
“He can play inside and out, so you have to realize you just can’t sag off because then he’ll just shoot a 3, which he’s really capable of,” Comanche said. “And if you’re inside, you can really expect that he might catch you off guard and get easy post-ups on you.”
All that learning is paying off for the Wildcats this season.
Not only is Comanche averaging 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in Pac-12 play, but he’s also become a more trustworthy reserve to turn to when Markkanen has been in foul trouble or off on his shooting, two problems the Finnish freshman has had lately.
Last week against Stanford and Cal, while Markkanen averaged just 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds, Comanche averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over just 19.5 average minutes.
“Chance has improved everything,” Miller said. “He scores, he shoots the highest percentage on our team from the field (64.0 percent in Pac-12 games), and he’s improved his free-throw shooting. He’s made clutch free throws. He’s very consistent defensively.
“Game experience does that and Chance has played a lot of minutes.”
He’s been through so much, in fact, that Comanche now can actually teach a little bit himself.
Even with Markkanen. While the freshman 7-footer may be a projected NBA lottery pick, his four-game shooting slump is something Comanche can relate to.
“I just talk to him and make sure his head’s in the right place, make sure he stays locked in and focused,” Comanche said. “I tell him, ‘Every game’s not gonna be your game. Do the best you can while you’re in the moment.’”
As Comanche knows by now, that works for him.
