Sean Miller spoke with the media Tuesday morning to preview the week heading into games against Washington and Washington State. Of course Allonzo Trier's injury was a topic of discussion, but there was plenty more to talk about as well.
Here are some quick notes from Miller's press conference on Tuesday.
* By now Trier's injury is what it is and the question now is about how Arizona will approach things moving forward for the next month while the starting guard is out with his broken hand. At this point Miller said it will be Mark Tollefsen and Justin Simon who will be asked to do more in the immediate future because of their skill sets and size that allow them to make the move to the small forward position. In addition to that Gabe York will likely be moved back to the shooting guard position from that small forward position to make room.
Miller also said that Parker Jackson-Cartwright will get more minutes at the point so Arizona can move Kadeem Allen around to other spots. Because Arizona doesn't want to run itself thin Miller said he has even talked to Jacob Hazzard about being ready should the team get into foul trouble or if a situation arises where he could help.
"It has not been easy," Miller said of the continued injuries. "In my experience as a coach I have not seen anything close to what we've dealt with, but I believe part of the characteristics of this team is that we're resilient group."
* One player who Miller continues to not discuss and he would not elaborate about on Tuesday is Elliott Pitts. The junior guard continues to miss time for undisclosed personal reasons, but Miller would not elaborate on if Pitts would come back this week as there had been some rumblings of it. Miller did say that Pitts is the team's best defender and not having him available has made it difficult especially now that the team is in its current position.
"I wish I could comment more," Miller said. "He's someone we miss a great deal and a terrific kid, but his situation has not changed. ... I think Elliott is our best defensive player on the perimeter."
* The biggest hit for Arizona with Trier comes on the offensive end of the floor which is an area that the Wildcats have continued to improve this season and over the last month have been very effective at that. Now that Arizona will be without Trier, Miller said those points will have to come from somewhere else. He also wants to see the defense improve because there is going to be a natural drop off expected with Trier out.
* Miller has talked quite a bit about the offensive glass this conference season and it once again came up again as the UA head coach discussed Washington and what it does. He said that the Huskies are the best offensive rebounding team Arizona will have faced this season so far. It is something the team will work on this week in practice quite a bit and if UA can eliminate that element from what UW does Miller believes the team can be successful this week.
* In addition to Trier's injury the Wildcats are still working to get Kaleb Tarczewski fully back in the fold after his foot injury that kept him out for an extended time. He started against USC and played more minutes than the staff had anticipated with the four-overtime game, but for now everything is a full go for the senior center moving forward now but UA will remain cautious.
"It's important for us to recognize where he was and not ramp him up too much," Miller said. "For example he didn't do anything the last couple of days. But he experienced no pain, and that's really good. I think we're now beyond six weeks since the diagnosis of his injury, and hopefully we can get through seven or eight. Eventually we're going to get to a point where we'll have great confidence that he'll be with us from where he is until the end of the season."
Here are some quick notes from Miller's press conference on Tuesday.
* By now Trier's injury is what it is and the question now is about how Arizona will approach things moving forward for the next month while the starting guard is out with his broken hand. At this point Miller said it will be Mark Tollefsen and Justin Simon who will be asked to do more in the immediate future because of their skill sets and size that allow them to make the move to the small forward position. In addition to that Gabe York will likely be moved back to the shooting guard position from that small forward position to make room.
Miller also said that Parker Jackson-Cartwright will get more minutes at the point so Arizona can move Kadeem Allen around to other spots. Because Arizona doesn't want to run itself thin Miller said he has even talked to Jacob Hazzard about being ready should the team get into foul trouble or if a situation arises where he could help.
"It has not been easy," Miller said of the continued injuries. "In my experience as a coach I have not seen anything close to what we've dealt with, but I believe part of the characteristics of this team is that we're resilient group."
* One player who Miller continues to not discuss and he would not elaborate about on Tuesday is Elliott Pitts. The junior guard continues to miss time for undisclosed personal reasons, but Miller would not elaborate on if Pitts would come back this week as there had been some rumblings of it. Miller did say that Pitts is the team's best defender and not having him available has made it difficult especially now that the team is in its current position.
"I wish I could comment more," Miller said. "He's someone we miss a great deal and a terrific kid, but his situation has not changed. ... I think Elliott is our best defensive player on the perimeter."
* The biggest hit for Arizona with Trier comes on the offensive end of the floor which is an area that the Wildcats have continued to improve this season and over the last month have been very effective at that. Now that Arizona will be without Trier, Miller said those points will have to come from somewhere else. He also wants to see the defense improve because there is going to be a natural drop off expected with Trier out.
* Miller has talked quite a bit about the offensive glass this conference season and it once again came up again as the UA head coach discussed Washington and what it does. He said that the Huskies are the best offensive rebounding team Arizona will have faced this season so far. It is something the team will work on this week in practice quite a bit and if UA can eliminate that element from what UW does Miller believes the team can be successful this week.
* In addition to Trier's injury the Wildcats are still working to get Kaleb Tarczewski fully back in the fold after his foot injury that kept him out for an extended time. He started against USC and played more minutes than the staff had anticipated with the four-overtime game, but for now everything is a full go for the senior center moving forward now but UA will remain cautious.
"It's important for us to recognize where he was and not ramp him up too much," Miller said. "For example he didn't do anything the last couple of days. But he experienced no pain, and that's really good. I think we're now beyond six weeks since the diagnosis of his injury, and hopefully we can get through seven or eight. Eventually we're going to get to a point where we'll have great confidence that he'll be with us from where he is until the end of the season."
