Brandon Williams only scored four points with three assists to two turnovers Sunday against Stanford, but his return wasn’t really about that.
It was more about the next few weeks. Williams wasn’t available for comment but Miller said he hoped to get Williams back to full speed even before the Pac-12 Tournament in two weeks.
Since ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is all but locked into a first-round game at this point, having Williams be Williams is obviously pretty critical for the Wildcats’ tournament lifespan.
“Hopefully (he’ll be there) before but a lot of it is just how he reacts to something he hasn't done in a long time,†Miller said after the game Sunday. “I think tomorrow is an important day and (we’ll see if) he doesn't experience pain. If he does, we will shut him down immediately. But if he doesn't then slowly, very slowly we’ll ramp him up and put him in a position on Thursday to maybe have a slightly bigger role than he had tonight.â€
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Chase Jeter needed time to progress from his back injury, too. Jeter has now played in seven games since missing the L.A. trip after injuring his back against Oregon State on Jan. 19, and it wasn’t until the California and Stanford games that he has appeared back to normal.
“I really think he went through about a 10-day period of time where he did the best he could but its timing was off. That’s why practice is important,†Miller said. “But he started to regain it, I think on our last road trip, and this week I think he's almost returned back to form.
“He can score over both shoulders but he went through a couple week period of time where he would only turn over one shoulder and tonight you looked at him and he can do both. Chase has great hands and the more that he plays, I think the more confident that he'll get.â€
Asked about ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 19-game winning streak over Stanford, Miller indicated some good fortune was involved.
“Like any streak there's always those moments where you just roll your eyes, whether the streak’s against you or for you,†Miller said. “A long, long time ago (in the 2009-10 season) Momo Jones banked in a shot from like 19 feet that almost began the streak.
“We've had single possession games, especially at Stanford where the ball could have bounced either way -- they missed, they make, we miss, we make -- but for whatever reason, we've been in those positions and we've come through or we've gotten a few lucky breaks.
“But it's like I said before the game the other 17 they don't help you win game 18. You’ve got to do it all over the all over again. I was glad that we were able to win today's game. It was an important game for us as we hit our stretch run.â€
Washington finally for the first time this season, giving the Pac-12 a representative in the poll since ASU was No. 17 on Dec. 24. The Sun Devils then lost at home to Princeton and have not returned.
FWIW, I had Washington at No. 24 on .
Washington’s Matisse Thybulle picked up the after putting up these eye-opening numbers in a home sweep of Utah and Colorado: He averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 steals, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.
Our full coverage from Sunday, plus news of Miller’s expected subpoena, are attached, along with PDFs of the box score and updated stats.