Arizona Wildcats fans may not be the only ones in the dark about whether Allonzo Trier will ever play for the Wildcats this season.
UA coach Sean Miller indicated he is, too.
During his weekly teleconference Monday, Miller said he doesnβt know when the case might be resolved and appeared to back away slightly from a Pac-12 Networks report saying he believed Trier will play.
Pac-12 Networks sideline reporter Jill Savage said during UAβs game with Colorado on Saturday that Miller βtold me ... that he does believe (Allonzo) Trier will play sometime this season,β but Miller wouldnβt go that far Monday when asked about the report.
βHonestly, Iβve said so many things over the last three or four months, I would just say that I hope that Allonzo has an opportunity to play sometime this year,β Miller said. βIβll leave it at that. If I knew more, l would say. If I would be able to, I would say.
βBut this is far, far higher up the ladder than me. Iβm just soldiering the army, following orders.β
Trier has missed all 17 of UAβs games this season with a suspension, but neither the UA nor the NCAA will comment on it. In fact, the Pac-12 Networksβ report came despite the fact that reporters are routinely told at news conferences that no questions about Trierβs status will be addressed.
While Trier hasnβt played publicly since the Red-Blue intrasquad game on Oct. 14, Miller said heβs been active and a helpful participant in other areas.
With βAllonzo, the one thing I can comment on is he practices with us every day,β Miller said. βHeβs in school. Heβs doing a great job as always. Our practice environment has been really good this year. Iβll knock on wood because I know it can change quickly, but I hope that continues to the finish line because if it does that bodes well.
βThis is a team that loves the game. It stems from a lot of players. Allonzo is one of them. (Redshirting guard) Dylan Smith and Allonzo, they practice every time that we practice. Both are quality players and they make that daily grind a lot more efficient, more highly competitive, and when you watch us practice weβre probably a deeper team than we would be in games.β
PJC could start soon
Point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright averaged 26.5 minutes against Utah and Colorado last week, his third and fourth games back from a high ankle sprain, and Miller said he could re-insert him to the starting lineup βsoon.β
The UA has been starting freshman Kobi Simmons, who mostly came off the bench before Jackson-Cartwright was hurt on Nov. 30 against Texas Southern.
βIβm more concerned about minutes,β Miller said. βParker played more minutes against Utah and Colorado than he did against Cal and Stanford. He was more able to play those minutes. Heβs not at risk to get injured. But β¦ you want to make sure heβs effective and that you have his best interest. Itβs kind of like ramping him up, and being smart with that.β
Jackson-Cartwright said heβs fine playing off the bench if needed, and that he wasnβt quite 100 percent recovered from a process that is typically estimated at 4-8 weeks.
βI wish,β he said. βBut thatβs just not realistic. The healing process was sped up for sure and it didnβt take the normal time that it takes to heal. With that thereβs still some pain, and some stuff that I can do. Itβs getting close to 100 percent but I think itβll take a little bit more time.β
Blowing off Hurleyβs heat
While Miller said he doesnβt worry as much about who starts as much as fans might, he pretty much said the same thing about ASU coach Bobby Hurleyβs popular postgame video clip from last Thursday.
Thatβs the one in which Hurley enthusiastically reminded his players after they beat Colorado that if any team wants to visit the state and get a win theyβd have to go to β(bleeping) Tucson.β
βBobby is a great competitor and the challenge as a coach is to get your team motivated, have your team ready to play and to build a program and confidence is part of that,β Miller said. βThereβs a lot of different ways to go about that. I donβt think he meant that in a derogatory fashion towards our program or things here in Tucson as much as making sure that his guys believe in themselves.β
βI know how heβs wired β heβs a great competitor and thatβs what made him such a terrific player. Things like that happen. In todayβs world the behind-the-scenes things can really be misunderstood and I think this is a classic example of that.β
Jackson-Cartwright said all the UA players have seen the clip, which has toured the social media circuit.
βItβs just one of those things youβve just gotta brush off,β Jackson-Cartwright said. βIt doesnβt really affect anything we do basketball-wise. It was just a comment. β¦ We saw it, took notice to it. Weβll be ready to go on Thursday.β
Rim shots
β’ Arizona moved up one spot to No. 16 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Baylor was the new No. 1, while among Arizonaβs opponents this season, UCLA was No. 4, Gonzaga No. 5, Butler was 12th, Oregon 13th and USC No. 25.
β’ Cal forward Ivan Rabb was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week, after collecting 17 points and 20 rebounds at UCLA, then adding game-winning heroics on Sunday at USC. Arizona had nominated Dusan Ristic, who also lost out to a strong effort elsewhere in the conference a week earlier when Oregonβs Dillon Brooks won the award following his game-winning three against UCLA and other production.
