Arizona Wildcats' Stone Gettings has quickly proven decision to start him was the correct choice

Possibly because of a monster performance by Stanford’s Oscar da Silva in the Cardinal’s upset of Oregon, Arizona’s Stone Gettings missed out on the Pac-12 Player of the Week award on Monday.

But the grad transfer forward appeared to earn another award during Arizona’s sweep of Washington and Washington State last weekend: A long-term stay in the Wildcats’ starting lineup.

Gettings has started five straight games since the Wildcats beat Utah on Jan. 16 since Chase Jeter slumped and reported back pain, but he initially responded slowly.

Gettings averaged just five points and two rebounds over his first two starts, against Utah and Colorado, and UA coach Sean Miller said he was a “little tight” in them. But since then, Gettings had eight points and five rebounds at ASU and played a big role in the Wildcats’ weekend sweep of the Washington schools.

Gettings scored 13 against Washington on Thursday, and then collected 19 points and 12 rebounds in Arizona’s 66-49 win over WSU on Saturday.

“Stone is playing terrific basketball,” Miller said Saturday. “He played a great game against Washington and followed that up with an even better game here against Washington State.

“The thing I’m most pleased and proud about is he’s doing it on both ends. He’s not doing it just as an offensive player but he’s solid on defense. He’s in the right places and he’s helping us equally on that side as well.”

What’s more, Gettings is also proving more offensively than just a stretch-four shooter.

Miller put him in the lineup partly because the combination of his perimeter shooting threat and Nnaji’s inside efficiency posed a tougher challenge for opposing defenses, but Gettings has also shown craftiness and toughness inside.

That’s why he suffered a concussion and facial fracture in November, after all — a Penn defender collided with him after Gettings had faked him out under the basket.

“The one thing we’ve learned about Stone is that he’s a little bit better around the basket that he’s given credit for,” Miller said. “When you see a skilled player like him, you think about 3-point shooting and being able to space the court, which he does. But he’s always been able to score close to the basket better than he’s given credit for and most of his plays (at WSU) that’s what happened.”

The numbers themselves are nothing new for Gettings. He averaged 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds at Cornell in 2017-18, dropping 39 on Delaware and picking up 17 rebounds that season against Penn.

But this is Pac-12 competition, and for a team with plenty of other scoring options. The Wildcats don’t have to have Gettings score often to succeed but they do need him to be efficient with the opportunities he gets.

It’s a fact Gettings is well aware of.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

“I try not to force anything, for sure,” Gettings said. “I think I’ve been blessed. I’ve been given a great opportunity the past few weeks, and I’m just trying to make the most of it, to be honest.”

Arizona returns to AP Top 25

Arizona’s road sweep at Washington and Washington State earned the Wildcats a spot back in the AP Top 25 poll at No. 23.

The Wildcats have been ranked all but two weeks this season, dropping out on Jan. 13 after being swept in Oregon and on Jan. 27 after losing at ASU.

This week, Oregon dropped from 11th to 14th after losing at Stanford, while Colorado dropped from 20th to 24th after losing at UCLA but beating USC in Los Angeles.

In the computer rankings, Arizona is No. 8 in the NET, 10th in Torvik, 11th in Kenpom and 18th in Sagarin.

Mannion off Cousy list

UA freshman Nico Mannion was not one of the 10 point guards named to the Bob Cousy midseason list for the nation’s top point guard, though Colorado’s McKinley Wright and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard were.

Others included: Baylor’s Jared Butler, Duke’s Tre Jones, Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, Kansas’ Devon Dotson, Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn.

Pac-12 honors da Silva, Jaquez

While da Silva was named Pac-12 Player of the Week over Gettings and Cal’s Matt Bradley, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez was named Freshman of the Week over Mannion.

Da Silva torched Oregon for 27 points and 15 rebounds in the Cardinal’s upset of the Ducks, while collecting 22 points and eight rebounds in Stanford’s loss to Oregon State.

Jaquez averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in UCLA’s home sweep of Colorado and Utah, while shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting 15 of 16 free throws.

UA nominated Gettings for Player of the Week and Mannion for Freshman of the Week. Gettings averaged 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in Washington while Mannion averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 40.9% from the field.