OAKLAND, Calif. β Arizona point guard Justin Coleman will play Saturday against California after missing a day of practice with a sore shoulder, UA coach Sean Miller told the Star on Friday.
Miller said Coleman mostly sat out Thursdayβs practice for precautionary reasons, after Stanfordβs Josh Sharma clipped him near midcourt late in Thursdayβs game, but fully returned to practice on Friday.
βHis shoulder did not pop out,β Miller said. βItβs just a very sensitive area and when it gets dislocated, I think it takes four to six weeks for that area to calm down if he gets struck really hard, which he did.
βSo I think it scared him more than anything. But the good news is because it didnβt dislocate again, every day that goes by he gets a little bit better and stronger. He practiced full tilt today and he should be fine for tomorrow.β
Sharmaβs arm came down hard on Coleman near midcourt, wrapping around his shoulder, but Miller said Coleman was not whacked below the waist at the same time.
βIt was an awkward play because you had a 7-footer running full speed the wrong direction,β Miller said. βIt could have been worse.β
After Ira Lee scored four points and pulled down a key rebound late in UAβs 75-70 win Wednesday, Miller said he wanted to play Lee and Chase Jeter together more often. Lee is averaging only 14.1 minutes, the least of UAβs four post players.
βIra over the last month has really started to pick it up and I think heβs making more positive plays,β Miller said. βHeβs more sure of himself and heβs really giving us great minutes off the bench right now.β
THE WILDCAST πΒ Could Ira Lee soon find himself in Arizona's starting lineup?
Leeβs free throws came as a result of Colemanβs injury. Under NCAA rules, if a player doesnβt shoot free throws because of injury, the opposing teamβs coach gets to choose among the four other players on the court, and Stanfordβs Jerod Haase picked Lee.
Lee entered the game hitting 81 percent from the line but had averaged just 1.5 free-throw attempts per game, and Miller said he guessed Haase picked him because he hadnβt shot often.
Miller said he expects Cal point guard Paris Austin will play Saturday despite missing the past two games because of an ankle injury.
Even though Cal is on a four-game losing streak, Miller said their start to Pac-12 play comes with βkind of an asteriskβ because of Austinβs absence.
βJust watching Cal, they are a much improved offensive team from a year ago,β Miller said. βI donβt think they get enough credit for who theyβve become offensively. β¦ Their big guys on this yearβs team are really skilled, so they can beat you from the 3-point line, they have some guys who can really put the ball on the floor and go off the dribble. If you look at their numbers, offensively theyβve really taken a major step up from a year ago.β