Even though the Wildcats left McKale Center with only 39 hours before its tipoff with Utah on Saturday, Arizona coach Sean Miller expressed optimism that point guard Justin Coleman will play more in that game despite a dislocated shoulder he suffered in practice Monday.
Coleman played just four minutes in the first half of UAβs 64-56 win over Colorado on Thursday and, although he managed two assists in four minutes, did not play in the second half.
βWe didnβt know how bad it was. Could have been real bad,β Miller said. βI think in the levels of a dislocated shoulder, heβs at maybe the best level. Heβs already made tremendous progress. Heβs a really tough kid.
βThe only reason we played him tonight was heβs not at any further risk to hurt himself and sometimes you never really know until a guy gets out there. But once we got him out there and he started playing, I think it was in everybodyβs interests to just kind of let him keep getting better and my hope is that against Utah he can play more, almost grow his role back to what it was.β
Less than a minute after he came in with 15:31 left in the first half, Coleman threw the ball away in a move that looked like it might have been affected by his sore shoulder. But Miller said it was hard to tell if pain made a difference in his play.
βI listen to both Justins,β Miller said, referring to Coleman and UA trainer Justin Kokoskie. βNo 1, it's `Is he able to play?' and once heβs in there you have to listen to the athlete. Because sometimes when they havenβt practiced and theyβre not out there every day, the game feels funny.
βI think Justin did the best he could. It was great that he was able to contribute at all but my hope is that he can continue to contribute more with each passing day.β
Without Coleman, Miller had to play Brandon Williams for 33 minutes at the point, more than three times the amount Williams normally has to play there.
B-Will finished with 14 points on 6-for-17 shooting, six assists and two rebounds.
βBrandon Williams did an excellent job,β Miller said. βThatβs not an easy situation that he walked into, first Pac-12 game. Although heβs played the one quite a bit, heβs predominantly played off the ball with Justin at point guard so to kind of throw him to the fire like that, he did a really good job.β
In practice, Miller said Williams always plays point guard, while Alex Barcello also takes some time there so that the Wildcats can have three guys ready if needed. Barcello played eight minutes at the point off the bench Thursday.
Having Williams at point guard in practice is βfor his own development and to protect our team,β Miller said. βYou always want to have three guys who can play the position in case of an injury because it can really change everything. So him and Alex Barcello are the two others. Those guys did a good job tonight.β
In an era where freshmen (and/or those around them) can quickly get discouraged and transfer if playing time doesnβt happen right away, Miller said Devonaire Doutriveβs rise into his rotation Thursday was βkind of how things are supposed to go, where a young guy scratches and claws his way into the lineup, doesnβt give up on himself and stays with it.β
Miller again said Doutrive will be a βbig part of what we do this year,β and that Doutriveβs style of play has been a strong point.
βAs weβve watched him grow in practice, I thought there was a period of time where he could become important to our team because his style is so much different than anybody else,β Miller said. βHeβs an offensive rebounder. Heβs a tremendous athlete. He had a couple of turnovers (actually three), which is expected playing that many minutes as a younger player when you havenβtβ been playing much.
βBut heβs clever. He understands when to pass, when not toβ¦ His offensive rebounding and playmaking give us a different feel and a different look.β
The Buffs added to a tough night of ballhandling with the news that backup guard Deleon Brown is academically ineligible.
Our full coverage is attached to this post, along with PDFs of the box score and updated stats.
