CORVALLIS, Ore. β Well, looks like Bennedict Mathurin isnβt going back to the bench anytime soon.
The UA freshman continued his rapid rise this month, having collected 24 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 2 at Washington State and then drilling Oregon State for 31 points on Thursday in his first start of the season in place of Dalen Terry.
It may not be long before he starts getting mentioned more seriously as an NBA Draft prospect.
βHeβs starting to really develop into a special player,β UA coach Sean Miller said. βIt wasnβt that he was just red hot. I thought he really let the game come to him. His teammates found him and I was also equally happy with his effort defensively. As heβs out there, I think heβs more sure of himself as a defender.β
Mathurinβs stat line jumped out of the box score: In 30 minutes played, the freshman from Montreal had 31 points while shooting 10 of 12 from the field (6 of 7 from 3), making 5 of 6 free throws, collecting eight rebounds while blocking one shot and stealing another (though he did actually have one turnover).
βBenn has a lot of talent and as Iβve explained numerous times, you can almost see his development week by week,β Miller said. βHeβs a little bit more confident, more sure of himself. He has a beautiful-looking shot and as heβs worked, Benn deserves a lot of credit. Heβs worked on it constantly before practice, after practice. I donβt know if heβs missed a practice.β
It was hard to hear some Mathurinβs postgame comments β either because of the Zoom call, the distance between Mathurin and the microphone or maybe my connection with the Gill Coliseum wifi β but Mathurin said he has been working on his shot and improving steadily.
βI feel more comfortable every single game,β Mathurin said. βI feel like my defense improves every game so it gives me more confidence. β¦. I been in the gym a lot lately so Iβve been working on my shot, layups and jump shots. Iβm going to the gym and getting more confident.β
Asked if Kerr Kriisaβs broken nose might be healed or not by the time he becomes eligible on Feb. 6, Miller said he didnβt know.Β
βHe broke his nose, Jemarl (Baker) broke his thumb, (walkon) Matt Weyand had an illness and we kept him at home,β Miller said. βItβs what happens during the course of the season, especially in the month of January. You have to be able to play through it. Thatβs why itβs such a team sport. Youβre counting on players to step up.
βJordan Brown stepped up. Azuolas Tubelis continues to play very good basketball. And James (Akinjo) and Terrell (Brown) and Dalen (Terry) all combined for 19 assists and four turnovers. So we had a lot of quality play.
βAll that we can control is were we prepared? Were we ready?Β Do we feel we gave our best? We went three for three. The final scorer was indicative of that, although I know Oregon State had some issues.β
The Wildcats appear to have lined up some tentative possibilities to play a nonconference game on Monday at McKale Center but Miller said the team must get approval from the Pac-12, which has been working to move around a number of postponed conference games already.
βWeβe dealing with a number of things,β Miller said. βTalking to the Pac-12 office. Talking to our administration, making sure we donβt get in the way of anything the Pac-12 would try to do in terms of scheduling. So weβre not in total control of that.
βBut as Iβve explained, we want to play our full allotment of nonconference games. Itβs not easy to do.β
Miller said UA should know if it will be able to add the game by Saturday at the latest, though a decision appears likely to happen Friday. UA has played all its scheduled Pac-12 games so far except it will miss Saturdayβs game at Oregon because of the Ducksβ COVID-19 issues, but Oregon likely wonβt be ready to play again until at least Thursday.
