Arizona Wildcats basketball might stick with 7-man rotation
by Bruce Pascoe on Feb. 08, 2012, under Arizona Republic SportsThe University of Arizona might stick to a seven-man rotation for at least another week, with backup guard Jordin Mayes continuing to recover from a stress reaction in his left foot.
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Mayes injured his left foot against California last Thursday, and UA coach Sean Miller initially feared Mayes had re-broken the foot on which he had surgery in June. But Mayes had X-rays in Berkeley, Calif., and then again upon his return to Tucson, that confirmed there was no fracture.
Miller said it “improbable” but not impossible that Mayes would play this weekend.
“He doesn’t have any swelling at this point, which is a great sign,” Miller said. “The X-ray is negative, which is great news. His surgery (work) is 100 percent intact, which is even better news. But he did sustain an injury, so it’s just a mater of how long does it take. It’s like a sprained ankle — none of us really know how long it will take.”
Mayes remains in a boot cast, and Miller said he mostly just needs “rest and optimism,” because his pain level will dictate when he returns.
Without Mayes and Kevin Parrom, who underwent virtually the same surgery Friday that Mayes had in June, the Wildcats used just seven players against Stanford on Saturday.
UA has only two remaining healthy scholarship players — centers Kyryl Natyazhko and Alex Jacobson — and Miller indicated the good minutes he received from freshman forward Angelo Chol inside negated a need for anyone else.
Chol had 10 points five rebounds and six blocks over the two games last weekend, averaging 18.0 minutes a game after playing just 8.2 minutes over UA’s first nine conference games.
“We’ve given Angelo more of an opportunity, and he’s ready for it,” Miller said.
Chol said he knew that without Parrom and Mayes around, he had to make the most of his time.
“I’ve always been a little frustrated that I wasn’t contributing,” Chol said. “I felt I should do my part.”
Chol’s emergence means UA can downsize its lineup somewhat, moving Jesse Perry to power forward and Solomon Hill to small forward at times, but the Wildcats still have to rely on freshman Nick Johnson to back up at point guard without Mayes. Miller said Kyle Fogg can be an emergency third point guard.
Update: Arizona (16-8, 7-4 Pac-12) is coming off a 56-43 victory at Stanford on Saturday. The Wildcats were led by Kyle Fogg’s 14 points. … Colorado (16-7, 8-3) is coming off a 72-71 victory over Oregon on Saturday. The Buffaloes are led by Carlon Brown, who is averaging 12.9 points per game.
