For over three months last season, Allonzo Trier lived in NCAA limbo.
Sometimes, it was hard to breathe.
鈥淵ou become so magnified in the media and you鈥檙e not really a normal person because you鈥檙e a high-level college basketball athlete,鈥 Trier said during the Pac-12 Tournament last season, seven weeks after he was cleared to return from a previously undisclosed positive PED test. 鈥淏ut at that point, I was living in a glass house. Everyone was looking at me.鈥
Trier missed half his sophomore season, since the NCAA had required he test clean before he was cleared to return in January. He opted to come back to 蜜柚直播 for what he figured would be a full junior season.
Now, Trier 鈥 and his entire team 鈥 are stuck in a glass house.
There鈥檚 no telling at this point whether the FBI allegations involving 蜜柚直播 could turn into NCAA sanctions this season or in the future, or if there will be nothing at all that will affect the Wildcats on the court.
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And while the UA may still be the nation鈥檚 No. 1 team entering the season, there will be even more attention on what happens to them ahead on and off the court.
Trier has been there.
鈥淵ou gotta be strong,鈥 Trier said Thursday about what he learned last season. 鈥淵ou gotta learn to fight back. It鈥檚 not going to go your way. It鈥檚 not going to be easy. It鈥檚 going to be tough.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 how you respond to it that shows who you are as a person. I think we have a chance to respond to this by focusing on us as a team and coming together and really pushing each other to new heights.鈥
In a way, Trier鈥檚 absence early last season affected all the Wildcats.
They had to adjust without him on the court, deal with questions about him off it and watch him sit out games, his ever-striking competitive fire clamped to the bench.
Then they had to readjust when he came back.
It wasn鈥檛 easy for anybody on the 蜜柚直播 roster. This season won鈥檛 be easy, either.
鈥淚t鈥檚 some adversity for us. It鈥檚 nothing we鈥檙e new to,鈥 Trier said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna focus on what we can control now and that鈥檚 how much better we can get every day in practice. ... I think this will all bring us closer together in the end.鈥
The Wildcats have already run into adversity on the court, too: The same day that assistant coach Book Richardson was arrested on federal bribery and fraud charges, starting forward Rawle Alkins was lost for 8-12 weeks with a broken foot.
The best-case scenario for the Wildcats has Alkins returning just in time for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving weekend.
The worst case puts Alkins back just before Pac-12 play begins on Dec. 30 against ASU.
鈥淲e have an understanding in our program that when we鈥檙e faced with adversity or someone goes down, it鈥檚 鈥榥ext man up,鈥欌 Trier said. 鈥淪o that next man at that position, which happens to be Brandon (Randolph) and Emmanuel (Akot), we understand that they鈥檙e going to have to come around a little bit faster.
鈥淏ut with us pushing hard in practice, they鈥檙e going to be able to help us, and hopefully down the road when Rawle joins us 鈥 which he will 鈥 we will be that much better as a team.鈥
Maybe by then, the Wildcats will also know more about whether they can proceed ahead without fear of immediate NCAA sanctions.
While 蜜柚直播 coach Sean Miller declined to say whether he believed NCAA issues could hit the Wildcats this season, he made it clear that Trier will be one of the team鈥檚 key leaders.
He also made it clear he thought Trier could be playing on an All-American level this season.
鈥淚n my mind, he鈥檚 positioned himself to be one of the best at what he does,鈥 Miller said.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been through his fair share of adversity. He and I have talked a lot this offseason and our hope together is that he can have one of those seasons that are memorable, and one where he can string it together from start to finish, Day 1 all the way to the last game.鈥
