After a limited week of practicing following his shoulder injury a week ago, Arizona point guard Justin Coleman was scheduled to work out fully with the Wildcats on Monday.
UA coach Sean Miller said before practice that he expected Coleman would be back to normal by Wednesday at Stanford, after Coleman played 33 minutes Saturday but went 1 for 8 from the field and missed a late shot, one that Miller said he should have had someone else take in hindsight because of Coleman's injury.
“Every day that goes by, he gets healthier and I think becomes more of himself,†Miller said at his weekly news conference Monday. “I credit Justin for giving us all that he had. You look around the country and certain guys that sit out different games and then they bounce back. The fact that he didn’t sit out this weekend is a testament to his leadership and how tough he is, and how much he cares about winning."
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After crediting his offense for making up for defensive shortcomings against Utah on Saturday, Miller made it clear that defensive issues will be part of the Wildcats’ practices this week.
In a shortened week in which UA only has two full days of practice before a game at Stanford on Wednesday, Miller said the Wildcats have things of their own to work on as well as preparation for the Cardinal.
“We weren’t nearly as good defensively as we needed to be against Utah,†Miller said. “A lot of it is because Utah is an excellent offensive team and because of how good they are they really challenge everything that we do.
"We had way too many breakdowns. Sometimes it is scouting and concentration, details, things that are `Just do this when they do that,’ and we missed it. There were certain positions where we don’t have the gift of size and teams are trying take advantage of that. But we’ll learn a lot of that that from our film.â€
While Stanford has the gift of 7-foot size in part-time starter Josh Sharma, the Cardinal have been most productive from the perimeter – with their guards and frontcourt players alike.
“If they don’t start Sharma, they have two skilled frontcourt players†in Oscar da Silva and Jaiden Delaire, Miller said. “Sharma is more of your traditional big, a 6-11, 7-foot mobile center and we’re very familiar with him. But da Silva and Delaire, what’s different about those two players is when they’re in there together they’re very skilled similar to Ryan Luther. They can shoot the ball.â€
Luther was brought in to Monday’s weekly news conference, and spoke positively about his experience so far at UA despite a finger injury and a move from the starting lineup to the bench.
“It’s been awesome so far,†Luther said. “I’d just say probably everything I expected, maybe even more so, with a great group of guys and coaches and school in general. I love every part of it so far.
"I don’t really get too concerned about starting or not. I know either way I’m going to have a chance to impact the game and help my team win. So I’m just trying to have a good mindset and contribute in any way that I can.â€
USC's Nick Rakocevic was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 27.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg while shooting 69.7 percent combined during home wins over Stanford and Cal.
UA nominated Chase Jeter, who averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins over Colorado and Utah. Other top nominees included: OSU's Tres Tinkle (28 points, eight rebounds, four assists in road win at Oregon), and Utah's Sedrick Barefield (25.0 average points scored on 56.3 percent shooting in road win at ASU and overtime loss at UA).
No Pac-12 teams appeared the for a second straight week, while only ASU received votes -- and just one vote at that.Â
However, the Wildcats now own a win over a ranked team because Iowa State hopped in at No. 20 (though the Cyclones now have Lindell Wigginton back).
This was the AP ballot I submitted, FWIW:
1 Duke
2 Michigan
3 Tennessee
4 Virginia
5 Gonzaga
6 Michigan State
7 Kansas
8 Texas Tech
9 North Carolina
10 Florida State
11 Ohio State
12 Nevada
13 Auburn
14 Kentucky
15 Virginia Tech
16 Mississippi State
17 N.C. State
18 Houston
19 Buffalo
20 Oklahoma
21 Marquette
22 Iowa State
23 TCU
24 Indiana
25 Iowa