CHICAGO β The better his stats became at Arizona, the more Allonzo Trier seemed to fall on the NBA mock drafts during his career.
Yet Trier said at the NBA Combine that he doesnβt regret his three-year career at Arizona. Even if all three of his years were met with some sort of adversity β a broken hand as a freshman, and PED suspensions as a sophomore and junior.
βI do well with adapting and being out of my comfort zone,β Trier said. βI didnβt have to go to a school thatβs going to preach defense so hard and where coach (Sean) Miller is going to coach me so hard. And I know if you ask him he probably coached me as hard as any guys who walked through that building.
βWe had our battles but it wasnβt because we didnβt get along. Itβs more because weβre every similar in the way we think and the way we approach the game and thatβs one thing I love about him is his preparation is very much the same as mine as far as how I attack and prepare. Weβre very similar in that area.
βI could have taken the easy route. I could have gone to a smaller school. I could have gone to Washington. I could have (been told) `Hey, go shoot a lot of balls, score a lot of points and get out of there.β I already was a great scorer. I wanted to go to a school that was going to push me to become a better defender, and where I could learn more about the game and be part of a culture of winning. We didnβt win a national championship, but we were able to win a lot of games and have a successful time when I was there.β
So Luka Doncic says he isnβt sure heβll be done playing Euroleague ball, words that suggested to some that heβs trying to leverage himself out of playing for the Sacramento Kings (or maybe even the Suns) by staying in Europe next season.
But Suns GM Ryan McDonough said he didnβt see it that way.
βI know a lot about that situation,β McDonough said. βI think heβs in a little bit of a tricky spot as far as how he answers those questions. You have to put yourself in his shoes or in Real Madridβs shoes. Theyβre preparing for whatβs the biggest basketball event outside of the U.S. Theyβre playing in the semifinals and for him to answer NBA questions probably wouldnβt be the best optically for him. So I donβt take anything from that. I have no concerns that if we drafted him no 1 heβd be on our roster next year.β
While thereβs been speculation the relationship between new Suns coach Igor Kokoskov and Doncic could push Phoenix toward picking the Slovenian over Deandre Ayton, McDonough said there are ties just as strong with Ayton and even Dukeβs Marvin Bagley, who once played at Tempe Corona Del Sol.
βNo team will have a better feel for Lukaβs strength and weaknesses than we will on and off the court,β McDonough said. βHis skills, the personality, the competitiveness, weβll have all that information. But for us there are a lot of natural connections. You say nobodyβs seen Deandre Ayton more than the Suns, which is probably true, and the owner (Robert Sarver) went to the University of Arizona.
βBut Marvin Bagley is also from Phoenix and is one of the best prep school players of all time. And Luka, the connection with the coach, that is all true. But at the same time youβve got to get the best players. And for me itβs close. Itβs not just two guys. For me personally thereβs also Marvin Bagley and Mohamed Bamba. Weβre gonna work out between 5-10 guys and say, 'Look weβre wide open,' which we are.β
Trier tied for first overall in the βshuttle runβ with a time of 2.96 seconds, while Rawle Alkins was 11th among guards at 3.09.
Alkins, meanwhile, was seventh in standing vertical leap (32.5) and maximum vertical (40.5) among guards.
All of the stats and measurements can be found and sorted through here, as well as the box scores (Alkins played in Game 1, Trier played in Game 2 and both are scheduled to play in Game 4 on Friday afternoon).
Known sometimes as βBunniesβ during his UA playing days, Nick Johnson posted the highest max vertical (39.5) during a G League Elite mini camp earlier this week. Chance Comanche was first in the βreaction shuttle.β
Comancheβs coach with the G Leagueβs Memphis Hustle last season, Glynn Cyprien, said Comanche improved despite jumping into a tough situation.
βHe was really professional in that early on he didnβt have an opportunity to play a lot of minutes but he continued to work on his game and get stronger,β Cyprien said. βAnd as the season went on, the minutes increased because we needed that position. He got stronger, he got more confident and I think heβs got tremendous upside.β
The G League Elite stats can be found here.
Sarver attendedΒ Doncic's Euroleague semifinal, FWIW.
Dusan Ristic is now a proud UA alum.
Marquette associate head coach Stan Johnson had high praise for (reportedly) new UA assistant coach Justin Gainey.
