While fielding yet another barrage of questions about Kerr Kriisa’s upcoming debut on Thursday, Arizona coach Sean Miller tried to downplay expectations somewhat.
“All of us just have to have a little bit of a perspective on how difficult it is (what) we’re asking him to do,” Miller said Tuesday during his weekly news conference.
But at the same time, Miller made this much clear: Kriisa will be a key reserve right away, after serving an NCAA clearinghouse penalty that amounts to 70% of the UA’s scheduled games.
Asked if Kriisa might play in the 10-15 minute range on Thursday at Utah, Miller said he expected it would be “at least that” and noted that the Estonian freshman will play both guard spots right away alongside or in place of James Akinjo or Terrell Brown.
“He could sub in and play the point guard position. He could also be in the game where James, or Terrell, is the point guard,” Miller said. “He could really do both. I think that you’ll see a very equal split, and a blend, because that’s going to give him the most opportunity to contribute.”
However Miller mixes up it, the Wildcats are getting a newly fortified backcourt at precisely the best possible time.
Not only did Miller say Tuesday that wing Bennedict Mathurin is still not 100% after spraining his ankle last week, but he’s also been riding Akinjo and Brown hard entering a trip this week to two high-altitude arenas. Utah and Colorado often demand at least a subtle change to UA’s substitution patterns.
Akinjo has been averaging 35.8 minutes in Pac-12 games, the fourth-most in the league, so he hasn’t often taken a seat. But if Miller wants to rest him every four or five minutes at Utah and/or Colorado, it gets a lot easier to do so now.
While Akinjo, Brown and Kriisa all have the ability to score or distribute, Brown primarily is a driver who shoots carefully from 3 (8 of 15 in league play), Akinjo mixes up his scoring (shooting 43% of his shots from 3) and Kriisa is known more for his long-range shooting.
He just might not be able to show the best of himself right away, Miller said.
“I think you have to be patient with him,” Miller said. “It’s not to his advantage as a player, especially as a freshman, to come in here in the early February.
“But Kerr is a skilled basketball player. He has an energy about the way he plays, both on offense and on defense. He’s got very good quickness. He has the ability to shoot the 3-point shot, and also I think you’ll see he’s very clever with the ball in his hands. He has the ability to see the court and make his teammates better.
“He’s going to be a big part of our future. We’re elated to have him. In hindsight, we wish we would have had him the whole year, but these are the circumstances, and I think all of us are grateful that he’s able to join us this week.”
ESPN sues Arizona
ESPN has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents seeking for Arizona to release the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations involving the infractions case against the men’s basketball program, according to Courthouse News.
Filed in Arizona Superior Court of Maricopa County, the suit seeks for the UA to immediately provide access to the document and reimburse reasonable legal fees, after ESPN’s multiple attempts seeking the NOA were turned down.
The Star has also filed multiple public-records requests with Arizona to access the NOA but, as ESPN’s lawsuit cited, the school’s response to the Star said it was in “the best interests of the state” not to release the NOA.
The Star’s last public-records request included notice that under Arizona public records law, any promise of confidentiality the UA may have given the NCAA is not sufficient to preclude disclosure. Arizona still denied the NOA, and the Star has not filed a subsequent lawsuit.
The NOA contains the allegations levied after the NCAA finished its investigation into the program. According to the Athletic, there are five Level 1 (most serious) allegations and nine overall.
Since the NOA was delivered to Arizona in October, the school requested its infractions case be transferred to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. It has also self-imposed a ban on playing in the 2020-21 postseason, indicating the school considered a one-year penalty the floor of what the NCAA will ultimately hand it.
Part of Arizona’s argument against releasing the NOA, as detailed in ESPN’s lawsuit, is that the NCAA might add to the enforcement staff’s investigation via its Complex Case Unit.
However, the lawsuit said the UA has “not articulated how such an investigation would be hampered by the disclosure of the NOA” and argues that a public body “must demonstrate specific risks and harm to privacy.”
Mathurin still on the mend
Mathurin returned from his Jan. 25 ankle sprain to play 26 minutes against Stanford and 33 against Cal last week. Miller indicated Mathurin has sat out some practice work while he continues to recover.
UA wing Bennedict Mathurin played 33 minutes against Cal but has been sitting out some practice work while recovering from a sprained ankle.
“Benn is not 100%,” Miller said. “I think that he’s moving in that direction, but he isn’t quite there. The problem with ankle injuries is sometimes they can linger. Some of it is getting his ankle stronger. Some of it is letting him push through what he can. And some of it is maybe just, whether we want to do it or not just sitting him out of certain things so that that he can heal properly.”
Batcho status uncertain
Miller said he didn’t know yet whether freshman forward Daniel Batcho would be able to travel with the Wildcats to Utah after fighting an illness over the past week. When asked if Batcho has tested negative for COVID-19, Miller said he was “not able to answer any COVID questions” but that the team’s isolation from Batcho “has nothing to do with it.”
Batcho, who has been in the final stages of recovery from preseason knee surgery, was not present on Saturday when the UA beat Cal at McKale Center.
“We’re just being careful with Daniel because when anybody on our team gets sick, including a coach or a manager, our policy is to separate them from the group,” Miller said.
“I think that’s following, really, the world’s COVID protocols. It’s just the safe move for that individual but also the group of people that he’s around.
“So if he’s feeling better, he will accompany us. If he isn’t, then it just makes no sense because academically with the semester, in week five, missing class when you’re not going to play in the game…. I think we all look at that a little bit differently than if that young player would be a contributor.
“So we’re just not there yet with him. But I think he is feeling better.”
