After 24 games, the last five of which have been losses, the Arizona Wildcats took two days off to recover.
Physically and, maybe more so, mentally.
โWe had two days off just to kind of get away,โ center Chase Jeter said during Tuesdayโs weekly news conference. โWeโre gonna recoup back here today and try to get everybody on the same page and try to keep everybody positive.โ
UA coach Sean Miller said heโs reviewing both negative (last weekend) and positive (probably before Los Angeles) game video with his players in an attempt to teach and restore confidence.
โI think it's just making sure weโre meeting with a number of our guys and getting them back on track,โ Miller said. โConfidence is a problem when you lose. I donโt know if thereโs ever been a real confident team when things arenโt going well but the way to get back on track is to get back to the task at hand, have a good day of practice, string couple of good days of practice together and then approach the game and be the best that we can be.โ
MORE: Chase Jeter's value to Arizona Wildcats made clear during team's struggles
Among those who appeared to lack confidence last weekend: Brandon Randolph, who shot a combined 3 for 20 against Washington and Washington State.
Randolph remains the Wildcatsโ leading scorer in all games (14.1) but is now shooting just 30.9 percent in Pac-12 games, including a 26.5 percent mark from 3-point range.
โWeโre talking to him,โ Miller said. โBrandon is a very good player. โฆ Heโs a very hard worker. (Itโs) being consistent with how he shoots the ball and thatโs something that all young players learn.
โAllonzo Trier is a great example. Heโs a driver, a capable shooter (early in his UA career) but he worked so hard on his shooting and then he worked hard on how to be smart on the way he worked on his shooting. He had a routine. His footwork was identical on every shot that he shot. And he didnโt deviate from it and over time that works out.
โBrandon in that same process of learning now important it is to shoot the ball one way before and after practice and then shot selection is big, too. The more wide-open shots you take, the higher percentage that you can make and you forget how young of a guy he is, and the experience level playing against these different defenses.
"This is his first time through it. I think every time you face different types of defense and you get through conference seasons you learn and you grow. I think heโs very much in that learning and growing aspect. Itโs different to come off the bench on a talented team and be the starter, the player playing the most minutes. Youโre kind of the hunted on the other teamโs scouting report. Theyโre going to go to great lengths to make things hard for you. Thatโs also something heโs learning and weโre trying to help him with.โ
MORE: On Brandon Williams' knee, Ryan Luther's endurance, Brandon Randolph's confidence
Miller said Brandon Williams will make the mountain trip this week but will remain out with his injured right knee, saying again that he hoped Williams could return at some point this season.
"He is getting better," Miller said. "Itโs incrementally, not like night and day, but he is making progress which is a good sign for him. I donโt have a timetable on when heโll return. Itโs going to be sometime down the road, if at all."
Miller referred to the injury Ryan Luther suffered against Iowa State in the Maui Invitational as a โbroken finger.โ When it first happened, Miller called it a minor injury to his non-shooting hand and offered no specifics.
The categorization is somewhat similar to how UA called Derrick Williamsโ broken pinky a โsprainโ until the end of the 2010-11 season despite a heavy wrap on it. UA officials later said they were trying to protect Williams from opponents who would've gone after the injury.ย
Luther played through his injury, though he was less effective against Gonzaga and Auburn in Maui, and has worn tape on his hand.
โHe played through the injury really from the time that it happened all the way to the end,โ Miller said of Luther. โI donโt think he missed a day of practice but he was limited in what he had to do.โ
During his press conference Tuesday morning in Salt Lake City, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak discussed how the Utes are 1-13 against UA since joining the Pac-12.
This despite Arizona beat Utah in overtime last month, by one point at McKale Center last season, and even after the Utes erasing UAโs 15-point lead in the second half last season at the Huntsman Center.
"We've got to do whatever we can to get our second win in eight years," Krystkowiak said.
Krystkowiak also said the โeuphoriaโ of the Utesโ stunning comeback win at UCLA has worn off.
"I was blown away with the energy and attention to detail our guys brought to practice,โ he said, noting that teams coming off such a win normally feel like they're simply riding a "magic carpet."
