Because Arizona pounded Cal on Saturday, James Akinjo only needed to play "only" 33 minutes each while Terrell Brown played just 26, after both averaged more than 35 in UA's previous three games.
Starting Thursday, Estonian freshman Kerr Kriisa will be able to give them a breather even if the game is close.
Kriisa is expected to be eligible for the Wildcats’ game on Thursday at Utah, after sitting out the NCAA's 19-game penalty (17 plus two cancellations) for clearinghouse issues that are believed to surround arrangements he made to play for a Lithuanian club.
But as much as Miller could use Kriisa to help take some of the pressure off Akinjo and Brown in the backcourt, he cautioned that too much can’t be expected right away.
“It’s a very difficult situation for Kerr to play his first college game ever when everybody that he’s playing with and against are on game 15-16,” Miller said. “We’re going to be in February. We’re going to be on an away court. So first things first. For him to be able to settle into a role where he can come into a game and sub out James, sub out Terrell, and kind of get a good feel for being out there. ...
“I mean, I’m sure he’s incredibly nervous. The good thing for Kerr is he’s healthy. He’s been able to practice with us really the entire semester, other than when he went home to play for his national team and when he suffered his concussion.
"He practices with us. He goes to shootaround. He knows our plays. He knows our system. So he’s not starting from scratch there. We are just going to welcome him to our team because we are starving for a perimeter player and he’s that – he can play both one and the two. He’s an excellent shooter. He’s a very good player and I think it will take some time for him to get comfortable.”
Looking back at the Wildcats’ last four games that were played over a nine-day span, Miller said it wasn’t just the physical aspect that hurt.
“It’s playing your rival in the Pac-12 two times in five days. It’s very, very hard, a lot of emotion, a lot of energy you give to be ready for those games,” Miller said. “Especially the way the first game was played (UA’s 84-82 win in Tempe) and how it ended, it takes its toll on you. …
"But I’m happy for our guys. I’m proud of us that we bounced back and we really need some time. We need some time away. Our guys need to rest. Terrell and James are playing a ton of minutes, practicing every day and I think it’s going to be good that we don’t play our next game until Thursday.”
Miller didn’t appear for his postgame news conference until over a half-hour after Saturday’s game ended, having a lot to talk about with the Wildcats in the locker room. Arizona is scheduled to play at Utah on Wednesday and at Colorado on Saturday.
“We have a big trip coming up and (the talk was) to encourage our guys to stick with their COVID protocols that are still out there,” Miller said. “We’ve been able to get to the end of January here. It’s just making solid decisions and making sure everybody understands winning on the road and playing that trip with two flights is not easy.
"And the final part was to kind of review that game against Stanford. The same group went back out here today (and improved) and that’s how we have to be.”
While the Wildcats haven’t reported any COVID issues so far this season, they were without freshman forward Daniel Batcho on the bench Saturday because of what Miller said was an illness. Batcho has been out all season with a knee injury but had returned to practice, with a chance of playing late in the season.
“Because he’s not really able to play in games, if you’re not feeling well, it’s smart for Daniel and our team to allow him to be away,” Miller said. “I’m not speaking on COVID or whatever. I’m just addressing not feeling well.
“You can get sick and we just want to make sure that he’s healthy and keep him away from our guys but that’s it. We plan on bringing him on our next trip.”
Even though it was late January, the UA volleyball team took the McKale Center floor soon after the basketball game ended to prepare for its match with Washington.
The move of the volleyball season has meant the UA men’s and women’s teams have had to share McKale Center and the Richard Jefferson Gym in the middle of their seasons, while they normally do so while they’re in the preseason and volleyball is in midseason.
“We all work together pretty good,” Miller said. “We’re used to sharing it. The other day we had a gymnastics meet and we’re fortunate to have the Richard Jefferson Gym. That’s what it’s there for. If any of those sports have a game, then we defer and we practice at Richard Jefferson.
“(On Friday) we practiced over there but this morning we had our game-day shootaround in McKale. There is a lot going on with our facilities and everybody’s trying to be very smart with COVID.”
