Rawle Alkins missed over 10 weeks with a broken foot, which meant 10 weeks of anticipation and 10 weeks of hope for everyone else around the Arizona Wildcats, especially after that trip to the Bahamas went sideways.
So when UA coach Sean Miller announced Thursday that the sophomore forward would make his season debut Saturday against Alabama, pending a setback in practices before then, Miller put on the brakes a little bit.
βYou canβt expect him to all of a sudden just walk out there for the jump ball and be the best version of Rawle Alkins that he can be,β Miller said. βHeβs gonna take a little time. He knows that.β
Miller wanted to make sure not only fans knew that, but Alkins, too.
Alkins wonβt start Saturday, Miller said, and could take a while to fit fully back in.
βThatβs always a challenge and itβs a challenge for Rawle because he has high expectations,β Miller said. βIβve talked to him this week a lot, to make sure he understands he has to expect it. Itβs not going to feel completely normal.β
But there are a couple of things that Miller canβt deny here. One is that Alkins is the Wildcatsβ second-leading returning scorer from last season, a guy who opted to return to school even after playing well in the NBA combine and somebody who can immediately help in rebounding, defense, physicality and, in perhaps his most obvious quality, energy.
The Wildcats can use a little of all of those things after losing three games in the Bahamas and rebounding somewhat with wins over Long Beach State, UNLV and Texas A&M.
βWe are gonna be a better team with Rawle,β said center Dusan Ristic, the player UA selected to be interviewed Thursday. βHe brings toughness to our team, whether in rebounding, playing defense or just overall I would say heβs an overall player. You canβt say heβs just good at one thing. Heβs really good at doing multiple things on the court.β
Miller said itβs not just Alkinsβ physical skills in rebounding, defense and offense, but also his mental game that helps.
Alkins is βsomebody who really has a great understanding of how to pass the ball and make the simple play,β Miller said. βOne of the things, because of how heβs built, that you take for granted is heβs got a high basketball IQ. He knows how to make the right play, when to make the right play. Heβs very unselfish with how he goes about playing the game and those are all things that any team would love to have.β
Another truth: That Alkinsβ position is wide open and aching for him to return. The small forward spot has been inconsistent for the Wildcats so far, although UA has begun to get more from freshman Brandon Randolph there after he suffered a concussion on Nov. 4, and received the kind of game on Tuesday they might have expected from UNC Asheville transfer Dylan Smith, who had 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting in UAβs 67-64 win over Texas A&M.
βThose guys have all improved and progressed,β Miller said. βWe would not have beaten Texas A&M if they both didnβt do what they did. Brandon especially has proved to us he can score and he can make shots. For freshmen itβs as much what they do every day as much as it is in the games.β
But defensively, the Wildcats have struggled. Playing a schedule that Kenpom rates No. 71 so far, Arizona is allowing opponents to shoot 44.0 percent β with only the 44th most efficient defense in college basketball β and small forward has been part of that issue.
Miller said in the preseason that freshman small forward Emmanuel Akot was a potential stopper but Akot has struggled, in part because of knee tendinitis.
βHeβs making progress,β Miller said. βHe doesnβt have an injury. He just has tendinitis, and he has to get both of his legs stronger. β¦ Thatβs certainly affected him , but heβs a young player with a bright future.β
Having Alkins back, however, means the Wildcats wonβt have to rely as heavily on freshmen if they struggle or get hurt. Miller now has a full bench to choose from, meaning Randolph will likely slip into a sixth-man role and Smith and Akot could slide further down the rotation.
But all that isnβt happening yet. The Wildcats are likely to start Randolph or Smith at small forward Saturday, and play Alkins 10-20 minutes off the bench to see how it goes.
Then again, Miller said Alkins has actually lost body fat and weight while sitting out β something Miller said isnβt easy for somebody who went non-weight-bearing on the foot for over a month β so maybe it wonβt take long.
βThe opportunity for us here is when we get after Christmas and heβs both playing games and practicing regularly, heβll be able to hit his stride early in conference play as opposed to two or three weeks into conference play,β Miller said. βHeβs ready physically. Itβs just a matter of seeing that he doesnβt have any setbacks. Weβve given it a lot of time and heβs worked very, very hard.β
