After the Arizona Wildcats survived some key foul trouble and a scare from Cal on Saturday, UA coach Sean Miller said his guys needed a “couple of days off.”
But this being February, with more zone defense and travel ahead to deal with this week in the state of Washington, that isn’t really possible. There’s too much to do.
So the Wildcats took Sunday completely off and were scheduled to have only a short and focused workout Monday before holding regular practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. They will then fly to Spokane, Washington, on Wednesday afternoon in advance of their game Thursday at Washington State.
“We took (Sunday) off, which was great, and we’re going to be really smart today,” Miller said at his weekly teleconference Monday, before the Wildcats were scheduled to work out. “It’s not about practicing very long. There’s a few things we have to cover but (it will be) in and out.”
Sophomore center Chance Comanche said he trusts Miller to find the right balance.
“Guys on our team are starting to feel it as time goes on, but coach knows what’s best for the team,” Comanche said. “So he’s not going to just kill us and not have us be ready physically or have our legs there for the next game. I think he’ll handle it the right way.”
Miller said this week’s schedule is also helping. The Wildcats were given a full five days after facing Cal on Saturday before playing the Cougars in Pullman, Washington, while they had to play Stanford last Wednesday, just four days after losing to Oregon and traveling home on Feb. 4.
“This week we have the normal days in between and we have to take advantage of it,” he said.
PJC staying on bench
While point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright started the first seven games of the season before suffering a high ankle sprain, he may be unlikely to return to the starting lineup anytime soon even as he approaches full health.
When Jackson-Cartwright missed six games in December, Kobi Simmons took over in the starting lineup and remained there until Allonzo Trier began starting last Thursday against Stanford.
For its two games last week, UA had Kadeem Allen starting at point guard, with Trier and Rawle Alkins on the wings, while Simmons and Jackson-Cartwright played off the bench with Comanche and Keanu Pinder.
When asked about Jackson-Cartwright’s status, Miller noted that having him in that reserve crew makes it a strong one that could help the Wildcats deal with fatigue down the stretch.
“Our bench (players are) important, whether you start or not,” Miller said. “This week was a great example: The minutes we were able to get form Parker and Keanu, Chance and Kobi, those are four quality players.”
“We’re not just a heavy starter team. We’re trying to do it nine deep and it’s nice, if you look at minutes played, we have a great balance, and part of February is about not wearing your team out. You want to be able to go on the road and in the last 10 minutes of the game you want to be able to finish strong and not be a worn-out group.
UA leads Pac-12
trio in rankings
The Pac-12 was represented in three straight spots near the top of The Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday, with Arizona moving up to No. 5, followed by UCLA at No. 6 and Oregon at No. 7.
Only one of those teams wasn’t a surprise to Miller, and it wasn’t the Wildcats.
“I would have predicted Oregon, they were a one (NCAA Tournament) seed a year ago,” Miller said.
“One of the deceptive qualities of Oregon that not a lot of people talk a lot about, especially by today’s standards in college basketball, is they have incredible experience.
“UCLA, we knew they had a lot of good experience as well, but obviously with their freshmen, T.J. Leaf and Lonzo Ball, those guys are incredible. The third, I didn’t know if it would be us. I wouldn’t have predicted a Top 10 ranking in mid- to late February. I would have certainly signed up for that if somebody presented it to me in August.”
Especially if he was also told of the adversity the Wildcats would face this season.
“I would rather be in the poll than not in it, that’s for sure, especially if you’re in the Top 10,” he said. “That’s a credit to this year’s team, it really is. The ranking in mid- to late February, there’s a lot that has been earned, and in our case the consistency from the beginning of the year until now, overcoming adversity, playing through injuries and the situation we had with Allonzo, I think we have a resilient group and a great group of guys to coach.
“When you get to mid-February with March being so close, now is when you want to hit on all cylinders. I think you rely a lot on that chemistry and that togetherness to continue to compete and improve, not stop and think about where we’re at, continue on that quest to be at our best.”
Ball named Pac-12 Player of the Week
UCLA’s Ball was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the Bruins’ wins over Oregon and OSU. Ball had 10 points and seven rebounds in the second half of UCLA’s comeback win over the Ducks. The UA didn’t nominate anyone.
