PALO ALTO, Calif. — Arizona forward Rawle Alkins will play against Stanford on Saturday after missing a game with soreness in his previously broken right foot, UA coach Sean Miller said Friday.
Miller said Alkins went through the Wildcats’ practice Friday and is “doing well,” after the team kept him out for precautionary reasons on Wednesday at Cal. Alkins missed the Wildcats’ first nine games of the season after breaking his foot on Sept. 26.
Alkins started feeling renewed pain on Monday and the fact that Alkins was able to shake it off quickly is a good sign for his long-term health, Miller indicated.
“He had some soreness in his foot, which we knew could happen,” Miller said at the Wildcats' team hotel. “When you get it, it’s important that we deal with that in the short term in a smart way and give it a couple of days to calm down.
"Then I think you find out if it’s more serious or not. If the pain doesn’t subside, then maybe we have an issue that’s bigger that we thought but it did subside and he’s all set.”
Miller said he would probably start Alkins after starting Dylan Smith in his place at small forward on Wednesday.
The return of Alkins gives the Wildcats a depth advantage over Stanford, which has won five straight games while mostly going only seven or eight deep. The Cardinal used just seven players in its 86-77 win over ASU on Wednesday.
But Miller was still wary of the Cardinal, which has a blend of size, experience and newfound athleticism. He said Stanford would probably have "two or three" more wins at this point if it had its entire roster available in nonconference play (when Stanford was just 6-7).
"In the six games they've played in the conference, they've been exceptional," Miller said. "We look at them as a team that's contending for first place."
While it's still early in conference play, the winner of Saturday's game will earn sole possession of first place in the Pac-12. The game is scheduled for a national CBS telecast with Clark Kellogg and Bud Nessler on the call.
