Except for forward Stone Gettings, whose concussion has kept him from even watching practice, the 蜜柚直播 Wildcats are feeling pretty good these days.
Physically, at least. Guards Nico Mannion (back spasms) and Josh Green (illness) returned fully to practice this week after being limited in advance of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 loss at Baylor, and UA coach Sean Miller said they both should be 100% Wednesday against Omaha.
The mental side of things might be a little iffier.
In their 63-58 loss at Baylor on Saturday, 蜜柚直播 shot just 26.9%, turned the ball over 16 times and had just two assists by those not named Nico Mannion 鈥 numbers that Miller still called 鈥渁stonishing鈥 during his weekly news conference Tuesday.
Miller dug into the minutiae, expressing concern about the way 蜜柚直播 struggled against Baylor鈥檚 post traps, how too many of the Wildcats鈥 turnovers were coming as a result of offensive fouls, and how they didn鈥檛 share the ball enough on some hasty possessions.
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Basically, Miller said, UA did not play a smart offensive game, especially for a team that was shooting 52.8% from the field, the second-highest mark in the nation.
鈥淲e went from like 100 to zero,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淵ou know, just laid an egg.鈥
During Saturday鈥檚 broadcast, ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes was even harsher, criticizing Mannion鈥檚 rebounding and Chase Jeter鈥檚 toughness, among other things.
Miller said he never listens to commentary when reviewing a game but apparently couldn鈥檛 avoid hearing reaction to Saturday鈥檚 broadcast.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e about the 15th or 20th person that鈥檚 brought that up,鈥 Miller said. He then referred twice to Dykes鈥 coaching record, which includes a decade on the men鈥檚 side as an assistant and scout, and a three-year stint as Arkansas鈥 women鈥檚 coach, which he stepped down from in 2017.
鈥淓verybody has their opinion, and if you look at his coaching record, I think that speaks for itself,鈥 Miller said calmly. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a very knowledgeable guy. So some of the things that I鈥檓 sure he criticized us on, we have to get better at.
鈥淎ll you have to do is look at his track record coaching, like a lot of those guys, and I think you鈥檒l see that there鈥檚 a lot of evidence to support that they know what they鈥檙e talking about.鈥
Freshman UA center Christian Koloko, shown in a Nov. 6 game against Northern 蜜柚直播, 鈥渨asn鈥檛 nervous鈥 against Baylor, says his coach. 鈥淚 liked his poise.鈥
Regardless of what Miller really thought about Dykes鈥 commentary, the fact was that in the big picture, the UA coach was fairly positive about his team.
While cautioning that Omaha is considerably better than its 5-6 record because of its brutal schedule so far, Miller said Wildcats were still 9-1 at this early point, with a loss to an 鈥渙utstanding team,鈥 and credited them for playing well enough defensively to give themselves a chance to win at the end at Baylor.
蜜柚直播 held the Bears to 30.4% shooting and trailed by just two points with 11 seconds to go.
And, as senior guard Dylan Smith noted, that sort of thing didn鈥檛 always happen a year ago, when the Wildcats lost 15 games.
鈥淚t shows the fight we had,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淚 mean, we could have laid down like last year鈥檚 team laid down in a lot of games. We鈥檙e a young team. We鈥檝e got a lot to learn. It鈥檚 just hard when you鈥檙e on the road in college, and (it鈥檚 your) first road game. I think they handled it pretty well, but there鈥檚 still some things you can get better on.鈥
Miller said it helped everyone that Mannion and Green were their normal selves when the Wildcats resumed practice Monday, but said not having Gettings back is hurting the team鈥檚 post play.
Gettings 鈥渉as a different style as a frontcourt player, which at times has been really important to our team鈥檚 offense, and Stone鈥檚 a physical player,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淛ust having him in there as an older guy, we could really benefit from.鈥
However, Gettings鈥 progress from his Nov. 29 concussion has slowed, making him unlikely to play against Omaha on Wednesday or even Gonzaga on Saturday. Gettings has not practiced nor even been around the team since Miller said he needs to stay away from noise, lights and activity.
鈥淪ometimes you can make a lot of progress and then to go from a few symptoms to zero sometimes takes longer,鈥 Miller said.
Once the concussion subsides, Miller said Gettings can return with a mask while his facial fracture heals. It鈥檚 also possible that Gettings will take a full month to heal: After this weekend, the Wildcats only play once more anyway until conference play begins on Jan. 4 against 蜜柚直播 State.
Miller said he would defer to UA team doctors, athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and Gettings before making plans for any return.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make the right call for him,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e done to this point, and there鈥檚 no reason to rush anything.鈥
With freshman center Christian Koloko playing well off the bench at Baylor in Gettings鈥 place, Miller said he wants to continue to keep the freshman 7-footer 鈥渋n a rhythm鈥 after not playing him in four games last month.
鈥淐hristian gives us a dimension where 鈥 you can鈥檛 just turn around and shoot over him,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淗e did that against some really good competition. I also liked his poise. He came into game and wasn鈥檛 nervous. He did what he was supposed to do, and he really ran the court well on both ends.鈥
