UA-USC postgame: On lineup changes, hot shooters and that Top 5 showdown

By this late in the season, Sean Miller usually has his starting lineup and role players pretty locked into position.

But with about seven guys he considers “starters,” Miller started a brand-new lineup Thursday against USC and says he will keep juggling things the rest of the way.

“The way we’re gonna do the starting lineup moving forward, because of how many players have been injured, is we have to look at it more on a game-by-game basis, what’s gonna allow us to get off to a good start and maybe be the best for us,” Miller said. “I think we’ll have a number of different lineups here down the stretch.”

Against USC, Miller started Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Kadeem Allen, Allonzo Trier, Lauri Markkanen and Chance Comanche, and Dusan Ristic’s ankle injury appeared to have only a little to do with it, since Comanche has played well over the last few weeks, and particularly while filling in for Ristic in Washington.

“Dusan is working his way back,” Miller said. “I think he’s about 100 percent but he missed some time in practices and Chance has played really well so he got the nod tonight.”

The lineup marked the first time all season that Rawle Alkins has come off the bench, but his production was typical: He had 12 points, four assists (with three turnovers), and four rebounds while making all five shots he took – including a pair of 3-pointers.

“Rawle is a great teammate,” Jackson-Cartwright said when asked about Alkins not starting. “I didn’t think it affected him at all. He came in and did his job. I think he would have done the same thing if he started.”

Said Miller, “Rawle’s one of our cornerstones. He’s one of our pillars. Hasn’t missed a practice; hasn’t missed a game. He’s very, very unselfish. It’s not one thing he does well; it’s the fact he’s so versatile and can do so many different things.”

Miller said Markkanen has been the most consistent of UA’s freshmen (though he’s been slumping from the perimeter recently) but said all three freshmen have been a very consistent group.

“As much as we’ve asked of them they’ve delivered,” Miller said.

Trier has made 8 of 11 3-point shots over his past two games, after making just 10 of 33 before that since he became eligible on Jan. 21, but he isn’t yet proclaiming himself back to normal.

He’s still only played 10 of UA’s 29 games so far, sort of in the “December” of his own personal season.

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“I think every game allows me to be more comfortable,” Trier said. “When you think about it, this late in the season, you’re starting to hit your peak and play your best basketball and I’m still a little early compared to everybody else. It’s hard to gauge. But I just gotta go out there and compete for my team and do what’s right every time I step on the court.”

UA’s other hot shooter these days is Jackson-Cartwright, who went 7 for 10 combined last week in Washington, and then made 3 of 4 on Thursday, for a three-game total of 10 for 14 (71.4 percent).

“The guy I’m most proud of is Parker,” Miller said. “He’s gone through a lot. A high ankle sprain for a basketball player, it’s not an easy injury for anybody but it really took him out of things for two months. He wasn’t shooting the ball well for a long time.”

Jackson-Cartwright said he thought he’s been in a good rhythm, but credited his teammate for finding him.

Of course, Miller was asked plenty about UCLA towards the end of the post-game news conference (he typically isn’t available otherwise to local media before the second game of a two-game home weekend).

When asked if he and the players were excited about the Top 5 matchup, he said:

“I hope they’re excited. I probably ruined their excitement a little bit after the game but that’s kind of my job. To allow them to be the most successful, they have to be really focused on task at hand. If you start to get too excited about the game and everything about it you end up coming unglued, or you have that anxiety we’ve seen in these big games when you’re not just yourself.

“And for us to have a chance to beat UCLA we really have to be ourselves. We have to be at the top of our game, we have to play great defense, great offense. Can’t be just the starting group that plays well. We need guys off the bench and that’s really what happened in L.A. We played a great game on both sides and no matter who beats UCLA that’s what you have to do.”

When asked what exactly he said that might have “ruined” their excitement, Miller said:

“For us, we have to be able to embrace the challenge, but at the same time recognize this isn’t an easy thing. We’re gonna have to play with incredible effort, incredible togetherness. We don’t have time to have breakdown defensively and with that they’re still gonna score.”

And, yeah, well, it is exciting. He continued:

“That’s what’s so exciting, to be able to play a team like them this late in the year for what’s at stake, that’s what we all expected when we came to Arizona. It’s fun for the fans and I think to a certain degree we enjoy the challenge but it’s an immense challenge. To play UCLA and to beat them have to play really great and that’s what we’re gonna try to do.”