Sean Miller and Rawle Alkins met with the media Monday now that the roster situation for the upcoming season has been figured out. Miller spent about 45 minutes with the media answering questions about all that has been going on with his team. Here is a rundown of the five most important topics he and Alkins spoke about.
* The big news came Sunday and it meant a chance for Alkins to discuss his return to Arizona and what went into his thought process for coming back for at least another year. Based on what the both of them were talking like it sounds as though the plan will just be for the season, but we'll see what happens. Either way Miller had lots of praise for Alkins and commended the way he went about the process in determining whether or not he would come back to school.
"Oftentimes when the season ends and this process begins with a college player how it's going to end up is with the process they choose and they're family chooses," Miller said. "How well they communicate with myself, with our coaching staff and how well and how serious they take the responsibility of their academics at Arizona to finish and continue to move toward their degree and leave here eligible. ... In Rawle's case all the way through we had great communication. It started right after our last game in the NCAA Tournament and it didn't end until really the last day or two. We stayed in contact in I think a healthy way ... I feel really, really good about returning for the obvious reasons.
"... How they went through this process is how I think we all would hope that it works. Everybody's different and just because the student athlete doesn't do what Rawle did doesn't mean they're bad kids. This process went I think as smooth as any that I've been in, and I'll use this as an example moving forward of how to go about it and that's regardless of the outcome."
For Alkins a big part of the reason he is returning is because of one part of his game that he heard needs work from NBA scouts and executives.
"They tell me that I'm one of these hybrid kids that once I get a consistent jump shot I'll be virtually unstoppable," he said. "That's what teams tell me and I think that I'm using that as motivation for this year, and I'll continue to be in the gym every night till the first game of the season. I'll shoot 1,000 shots a day."
* The other big news of the last 24 hours came Monday morning with the addition of Emmanuel Akot to the 2017 class after his reclassification from the 2018 class. The five-star small forward has signed and that meant Miller could address the newest Wildcats and what he will add to the program and team this year.
"Every recruiting situation is different and he was more about getting it right and less about the drama and the process," Miller said. "I think him being from Canada he started the clock a little bit earlier. He started to think more and more as the year went on about reclassifying and going to school earlier. ... As it became more and more apparent to him and his family that he would be able to graduate and qualify then we moved him up. I think any time you replace your senior year of high school with coming into a college program like ours certainly from a development perspective it's going to be sped up astronomically.
"For him I think that he's really going to gain a lot through our strength and conditioning program and beginning his college education."
Miller threw out Monday that Akot could be one of the solutions in the coming years that helps Arizona solve its point guard depth issue moving forward and the UA head coach feels the five-star wing's versatility will give him something to build off of moving forward now in college.
"He has a lot of talent," Miller said. "I think versatility strikes me with him as a player. He's not relegated to one position. He can play a lot of different positions. He's an adept passer. As a matter of fact one of the best passers his size that I have seen - that's an exciting quality. Defensively the sky is the limit. I think he's also somebody that's not afraid of competition and wants to come in here and compete and be a part of something that's special. And you rely on that competitive environment to bring out the best in him."
* The point guard spot is something that gets figured out as things move forward but for now there will be a group of four players who get their shot. Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Alex Barcello are at the top of the list, but Miller mentioned Monday that Akot and Allonzo Trier will work some at the position as well this year. He said, naturally, you can't play four guys there but he does believe out of that group he will have enough to get the job done.
"That's yet to be worked out," Miller said. "I think Emmanuel Akot can certainly do that. He's very young right now but his future might be at that position one day. Allonzo Trier can slide over there as a veteran and somebody who continues to work to become adept at passing and scoring. Certainly the thing about Allonzo is he has great command of our system and he's a great free-throw shooter. So a lot of times you want a ball in a guy like thats hands. But, Parker right now as a senior and somebody who has played that position for four years, if you look at his assist-to-turnover ratio, I'm hoping he can get a year of health from start to finish. He's working really hard right now.
"... I think that he has one more level he can be at as a player and we're talking to him everyday about getting to that level. He's bound and determined to do it, so certainly him and then Alex Barcello who as you know can play the point or with a point guard. A freshman that we really believe in. Depth wise it'll work itself out. You can't play four guys at that position, but I think the two best will be there and we'll go from there."
* There was of course another recent addition to Arizona's roster although Duke big man transfer Chase Jeter will have to sit out the upcoming season per NCAA transfer rules, but that doesn't discount how highly the coaching staff thinks of him. Miller wanted to be clear about something with the transfer center ... he doesn't have a bad back.
"Well, we're really excited about Chase," Miller said. "I think the first thing that I want to clear up on him is Chase did not have back surgery at Duke. He's never had back surgery, and I think there's been a misrepresentation that he had season-ending surgery or had surgery on his back which as you know is a big deal but he did not. He had a back injury that worked itself out. Right now he's a full go, 100 percent healthy. But we look forward to having him as part of our program this year.
"First of all, Chase is young. When he went to Duke he could have been a senior high school. ... We recruited him, and didn't do a good enough job the first time around but we became familiar with his character and his talent level. I'm here to tell you when you look at where he'll be in his career ... I think we're getting an excellent player who were expecting great things from."
* When it comes to the roster and the rest of the group Talbott Denny will indeed be back for another season as he was officially granted his sixth year of eligibility after tearing his ACL last year. That means he will take the other scholarship, Miller said, and the Wildcats are now at the 13-man limit for basketball scholarships meaning UA is out of the running for any other players in the class. Miller mentioned that the Tucson native wanted to come home to play for the hometown team and UA wants him to be able to do that so he will stick with the Wildcats for another year.
* The big news came Sunday and it meant a chance for Alkins to discuss his return to Arizona and what went into his thought process for coming back for at least another year. Based on what the both of them were talking like it sounds as though the plan will just be for the season, but we'll see what happens. Either way Miller had lots of praise for Alkins and commended the way he went about the process in determining whether or not he would come back to school.
"Oftentimes when the season ends and this process begins with a college player how it's going to end up is with the process they choose and they're family chooses," Miller said. "How well they communicate with myself, with our coaching staff and how well and how serious they take the responsibility of their academics at Arizona to finish and continue to move toward their degree and leave here eligible. ... In Rawle's case all the way through we had great communication. It started right after our last game in the NCAA Tournament and it didn't end until really the last day or two. We stayed in contact in I think a healthy way ... I feel really, really good about returning for the obvious reasons.
"... How they went through this process is how I think we all would hope that it works. Everybody's different and just because the student athlete doesn't do what Rawle did doesn't mean they're bad kids. This process went I think as smooth as any that I've been in, and I'll use this as an example moving forward of how to go about it and that's regardless of the outcome."
For Alkins a big part of the reason he is returning is because of one part of his game that he heard needs work from NBA scouts and executives.
"They tell me that I'm one of these hybrid kids that once I get a consistent jump shot I'll be virtually unstoppable," he said. "That's what teams tell me and I think that I'm using that as motivation for this year, and I'll continue to be in the gym every night till the first game of the season. I'll shoot 1,000 shots a day."
* The other big news of the last 24 hours came Monday morning with the addition of Emmanuel Akot to the 2017 class after his reclassification from the 2018 class. The five-star small forward has signed and that meant Miller could address the newest Wildcats and what he will add to the program and team this year.
"Every recruiting situation is different and he was more about getting it right and less about the drama and the process," Miller said. "I think him being from Canada he started the clock a little bit earlier. He started to think more and more as the year went on about reclassifying and going to school earlier. ... As it became more and more apparent to him and his family that he would be able to graduate and qualify then we moved him up. I think any time you replace your senior year of high school with coming into a college program like ours certainly from a development perspective it's going to be sped up astronomically.
"For him I think that he's really going to gain a lot through our strength and conditioning program and beginning his college education."
Miller threw out Monday that Akot could be one of the solutions in the coming years that helps Arizona solve its point guard depth issue moving forward and the UA head coach feels the five-star wing's versatility will give him something to build off of moving forward now in college.
"He has a lot of talent," Miller said. "I think versatility strikes me with him as a player. He's not relegated to one position. He can play a lot of different positions. He's an adept passer. As a matter of fact one of the best passers his size that I have seen - that's an exciting quality. Defensively the sky is the limit. I think he's also somebody that's not afraid of competition and wants to come in here and compete and be a part of something that's special. And you rely on that competitive environment to bring out the best in him."
* The point guard spot is something that gets figured out as things move forward but for now there will be a group of four players who get their shot. Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Alex Barcello are at the top of the list, but Miller mentioned Monday that Akot and Allonzo Trier will work some at the position as well this year. He said, naturally, you can't play four guys there but he does believe out of that group he will have enough to get the job done.
"That's yet to be worked out," Miller said. "I think Emmanuel Akot can certainly do that. He's very young right now but his future might be at that position one day. Allonzo Trier can slide over there as a veteran and somebody who continues to work to become adept at passing and scoring. Certainly the thing about Allonzo is he has great command of our system and he's a great free-throw shooter. So a lot of times you want a ball in a guy like thats hands. But, Parker right now as a senior and somebody who has played that position for four years, if you look at his assist-to-turnover ratio, I'm hoping he can get a year of health from start to finish. He's working really hard right now.
"... I think that he has one more level he can be at as a player and we're talking to him everyday about getting to that level. He's bound and determined to do it, so certainly him and then Alex Barcello who as you know can play the point or with a point guard. A freshman that we really believe in. Depth wise it'll work itself out. You can't play four guys at that position, but I think the two best will be there and we'll go from there."
* There was of course another recent addition to Arizona's roster although Duke big man transfer Chase Jeter will have to sit out the upcoming season per NCAA transfer rules, but that doesn't discount how highly the coaching staff thinks of him. Miller wanted to be clear about something with the transfer center ... he doesn't have a bad back.
"Well, we're really excited about Chase," Miller said. "I think the first thing that I want to clear up on him is Chase did not have back surgery at Duke. He's never had back surgery, and I think there's been a misrepresentation that he had season-ending surgery or had surgery on his back which as you know is a big deal but he did not. He had a back injury that worked itself out. Right now he's a full go, 100 percent healthy. But we look forward to having him as part of our program this year.
"First of all, Chase is young. When he went to Duke he could have been a senior high school. ... We recruited him, and didn't do a good enough job the first time around but we became familiar with his character and his talent level. I'm here to tell you when you look at where he'll be in his career ... I think we're getting an excellent player who were expecting great things from."
* When it comes to the roster and the rest of the group Talbott Denny will indeed be back for another season as he was officially granted his sixth year of eligibility after tearing his ACL last year. That means he will take the other scholarship, Miller said, and the Wildcats are now at the 13-man limit for basketball scholarships meaning UA is out of the running for any other players in the class. Miller mentioned that the Tucson native wanted to come home to play for the hometown team and UA wants him to be able to do that so he will stick with the Wildcats for another year.
