SEATTLE β When Arizona opted Tuesday to self-impose a postseason ban, the school only issued a few general statements, including one from UA coach Sean Miller and none from any players.
Since the Wildcatsβ three-game week also meant UA did not schedule interviews before Thursdayβs game, no players have been available and only one was made available after the Wildcats beat Washington on Thursday: Forward Jordan Brown.
But if heβs the spokesman for now, the Wildcats are in line with focusing on the Pac-12 regular season.
βThatβs the goal, to play in the tournament,β Brown said. βBut weβve got a lot to compete for, a lot to prove and a lot of guys who want to go out there and compete.β
No doubt thatβs the sort of reaction UA coach Sean Miller would want to see, and hoped to see, but wasnβt completely certain he would see until he met with the Wildcats.
βI was very confident but until you go through it you never really know,β Miller said. βItβs not something that I recommend or wish that any coach has to do. It's not an easy day. But like a lot of things here, we're doing what we're supposed to do, we're doing the best that we can. And we're attempting to move forward.
βAs it applies to this year's team though, I don't think you'll see much of a difference in our approach to practice, to games. Our guys are highly motivated to be good players. We have a chance to compete for the regular season conference championship and our players have a chance to advance their careers, to make all-conference and do a lot of the things that they think about in the offseason
βSo those types of things haven't changed in in our approach. But we're gonna enjoy our time together. if there's ever a team that I've been around that is playing for each other, it's this group right here.β
Not only did Brown lead the Wildcats with 12 points and seven rebounds, but he also committed only one foul and drew two.
βI repeat myself, I know, but I want to reiterate this point, you forget that Jordan is a very young player,β Miller said of the redshirt sophomore transfer. βAlthough he was a part of Nevadaβs program, he had a smaller role there. He was a freshman on a great team. And then a year ago, although he practiced with us, he got no game experience.
βSo like some of our freshmen, every time that Jordan has the opportunity to play in a game he gets smarter, he learns from his mistakes. He's one of those guys who works hard at it every day, eager to become a better player every day. Youβre starting to see that in and around the basket. He is a very good low post scorer.β
Washington remains one of the few Pac-12 schools that still put students along a full sideline section, directly placing them behind (and well within earshot of) both team benches.
Maybe in some small part because of that, the Wildcats lost their first three games at Washington under Miller and won four of their first five games there under him by only single digits.
Then Thursday, with the place cleared out of fans, Arizona won by 27.
If that seemed like an advantage, though, Miller wasnβt about to go there.
βItβs almost like I would never admit that it's better without fans,β Miller said. βI don't think any of us can wait to have another day before we can have play in front of our crowd or packed house.
"Even on the road, that's part of the challenge of sports, especially college sports, being able to go on the road and win. I think it feels very good either way, but it's more difficult or challenging with fans for sure. (But) I think all of us just look forward to the day when that returns to sports in general.β
