Chase Jeterβs averages are up to 12.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, roughly 4-5 times that of his Duke numbers. He's also picked up 13 of UA's 25 fouls drawn so far this season.
Not surprisingly, UA coach Sean Miller has been pretty happy about Jeter's progression.
βFor the most part, Chase is one of the more intelligent players that weβve had,β Miller said. βOff the court, heβs an excellent student, a very mature guy. Heβs waited his turn, heβs paid his dues. Heβs also a decorated player; heβs no bum, a McDonalds all American in high school; he was very, very highly coveted. So just because things didnβt work out at Duke doesnβt mean he canβt play, doesnβt mean Duke was wrong. In todayβs world, once some players experience change, they blossom. I hope Chase is one of those guys who is that story. So far so good. Heβs really off to a good start. Itβs up to us to keep him there.β
If thereβs a transitive property applied to Millerβs high regard for Georgia Southern, then maybe Georgia Stateβs upset of Alabama on Tuesday was no surprise.
Led by NBA Draft prospect DβMarcus Simonds, Georgia State was picked to win the Sun Belt Conference over Georgia Southern this season. Simonds had 23 points and five rebounds for Georgia State at Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, while Malik Benlevi hit a game-winning 3 from the wing at the buzzer.
Alabama basketball blew a 22-point second half lead and lost on this 3 at the buzzerFinal: Georgia State 83, Alabama 80 pic.twitter.com/vzKx73CcWb
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) December 5, 2018
The loss was Alabamaβs second straight and dropped Alabama to 5-3 and No. 68 in Kenpom rankings, taking a little bit of luster off Sundayβs UA-UA showdown in Tuscaloosa. The Wildcats beat Alabama 88-82 last season at McKale Center.
Miller said the Wildcats will also face a βvery, very dangerous teamβ on Thursday with Utah Valley, which is 6-3 and riding a five-game winning streak.Β
MORE: Mark Pope left med school for a coaching journey that stops Thursday at McKale Center
Coached by former Washington and Kentucky big man Mark Pope, the Wolverines are coming off 17- and 21- win seasons, although they lost three starters from last season.
βUtah Valley is a very well-coached team,β Miller said. βMark Pope was a really good player and skill guy for as big as he is. The way he coaches maybe follows suit to maybe how he played: Theyβre smart, skilled. He knows really what heβs doing and theyβve got a very, very dangerous team.
βObviously, they have a number of wins to back that up and but they can shoot the ball from the 3-point line. They really run a lot of movement on offense. They have handoffs and cutting and they can really cut you up on offense with the way they move the ball, thatβs going to be a challenge. And for us itβs going from one style to the next. UConn really pressures with a lot of and Utah Valley doesnβt so to be able to kind of put that game behind us and move to a different style of defense and offense thatβs going to be a challenge for sure. β¦
βA lot like Georgia Southern, we have to have a focused approach and make sure we play our best.β
Our full advance coverage and scouting report on the UA-UVU game will be posted Wednesday night and in Thursday's print edition.