Oregon State forward Dearon Tucker (35) hacks Arizona guard Dalen Terry (4) stopping his drive in the first half of their Pac 12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 11, 2021.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Ira Lee out with ankle injury

Arizona senior forward was held out of Thursday’s contest against Oregon State due to an ankle injury he sustained during Wednesday’s practice. Lee’s status is day-to-day, a UA spokesperson told the Star.

Thursday marked the second game Lee has missed this season for an injury. He sat out of the Wildcats’ season opener versus Grambling State with a concussion.

Arizona forward Ira Lee (11) on the sidelines in street clothes watching the rest of the big men get their shooting hands dialed in as the Wildcats get ready to go against Oregon State at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 11, 2021.

Lee is averaging 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He only played a season-low one minute in Arizona’s loss to Colorado on Saturday.

He’s got the look

Arizona guard Jemarl Baker Jr. (3) in an Icecats t-shirt as the team warms up before their game against Oregon State at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 11, 2021.

Since UA redshirt junior Jemarl Baker was ruled out for the season with a broken wrist injury, the guard has worn a few stylish vintage UA T-shirts on the Wildcats’ bench. When the Wildcats took on OSU, Baker wore a navy blue Icecats hockey shirt that had a signature saguaro cactus graphic emblazoned on the torso.

The UA club hockey team plays at the Tucson Convention Center, and was nicknamed the Icecats from 1979-2011.

Baker also wore vintage 1997 national championship shirts the week Arizona played Arizona State.

Steve Kerr: Sean Elliott is top Cat

Before the Warriors lost to the Spurs on Tuesday, Golden State coach Steve Kerr declared former Arizona teammate Sean Elliott, now a San Antonio television analyst, the best Wildcats basketball player of all time.

Putting Elliott in the GOAT category isn’t a sizzling hot take. The Tucson native was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of Cholla High School and became one of the most decorated basketball players at the UA. Elliott was named a Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, a two-time All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year and John Wooden Award recipient. Elliott’s No. 32 jersey is retired by Arizona.

Lute Olson, for what it’s worth, agreed with Kerr.

“People asked me, ‘Who’s the best player that you’ve ever coached?’ I think Sean Elliott is,” the late UA coach said in 2018. “Because he could play any position that you wanted him to play. … He’s a special guy, and to get him right out of town is amazing.”

After San Antonio TV reporter RJ Marquez tweeted Kerr’s acclaim, former Wildcat star Damon Stoudamire quote-tweeted him to echo the compliment.

Tweeted Stoudamire: “Sean Elliott made me want to go to (Arizona) ‘cause he cooked everybody! The fans assured me I wanted to go, with the Steve Kerr chant after every made 3. (Arizona) coming back and beating Iowa in the (Elite Eight) made me wanna play for Coach O! In that order!”

Responded Elliott: “Honored that I was one of the reasons. You made the right decision, and had a great career because of it. Only a few were lucky enough to play at Arizona under Coach O.”

Welcome to the starting 5

Sean Miller shook up the starting lineup for the fifth time this season and rolled out Estonian freshman Kerr Kriisa, James Akinjo, Bennedict Mathurin, Azuolas Tubelis and Christian Koloko. Kriisa’s McKale Center debut was his first collegiate start. Kriisa ended the first half with six points on two made 3-pointers.

The big number

299

Thursday marked Sean Miller's 299th win at the UA, the third-most in program history behind Olson and Fred Enke. If Arizona beats Oregon on Saturday, Miller would pick up his 300th win in 405 games played, which would be the fastest of any UA coach. Olson didn’t garner his 300th victory until the 10th game of his 13th season at Arizona.

Miller is currently in his 11th season in Tucson, but still has plenty of ground to cover if he wants to catch up to Olson’s first-place mark of 589 wins with the Wildcats.

McKale dam

The Wildcats have won nine consecutive games against the Beavers in McKale Center. OSU's last win over the UA in Tucson came in 2010; UA point guard Nic Wise shot 1 for 11 from the field including 1 for 8 from 3-point range as the Beavers prevailed 63-55.

The only Pac-12 teams that have yet to defeat a Miller-coached Arizona team at McKale Center: Colorado and Utah.

He said it

“He really makes a lot of plays to help his team win. Diving on the floor for a loose ball, you don’t have to yell out from the bench, ‘Dive!’ He does it. He dives. He doesn’t need to be reminded, it’s just who he is as a player. … He sets screens, he dives on the floor. I think that as he gets a bit older and more experienced, he’ll continue to be a better defensive player on and off the ball. But offensively, he makes his teammates better and is a willing passer, he’s got great vision, and I would say one difference between Kerr and T.J. is Kerr is an overall better shooter than T.J. T.J. is an overall better defensive player and has amazing instincts. But they’re cut from the same mold.” — Miller, comparing Kerr Kriisa to former Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell

— Justin Spears

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Contact sports content producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter @justinesports