Jordin Mayes is averaging 5.5 points this season. Photo by Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats point guard Jordin Mayes, suffering from a stress reaction in his right foot, could optimistically return next week, coach Sean Miller said Tuesday.

Miller basically ruled out Mayes from this week’s home games vs. Colorado and Utah, saying an appearance from Mayes is “probably improbable.” After that, who knows?

Could be next week. Could be as late as the Pac-12 tournament next month.

“It’s a matter of when his pain subsides, and we anticipate it will,” Miller said.

“As it subsides, he will be cleared to practice, and he’s able to practice and handle the discomfort that he has, then we’ll clear him for games.”

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Jordin Mayes, averaging 5.5 points this season, might be done for the year. Photo by Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats’ best basketball victory of the season came with distressing injury news.

Coach Sean Miller said after a 78-74 win at Cal on Thursday night — ending the Bears’ 17-game winning streak at Haas Pavilion — that sophomore point guard Jordin Mayes might have suffered a broken right foot.

Miller told reporters after the game that Mayes will undergo X-rays on Friday.

“We’ll take the win and we’ll cross our fingers and hope Jordin is OK,” Miller said in his postgame interview on 1290-AM.

Mayes — who broke the same foot over the summer, setting back his preseason conditioning — hasn’t been playing great and shooting to his standards, but he’s the only true point guard on the roster other than starter Josiah Turner.

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Jordin Mayes drives to the basket against Duke's Kyrie Irving in the NCAA Sweet 16. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The one thing anyone can say about Arizona Wildcats sophomore guard Jordin Mayes is that he has a sweet shot.

And yet …

“He gets no sugar,” coach Sean Miller said.

You probably know what he means by that, and it’s ironic that Mayes’ big night against Duquesne — 19 points in a 67-59 victory at McKale Center on Wednesday night — came on a day in which Arizona was being celebrated for having the nation’s top-rated recruiting class.

Mayes wasn’t one of those headline-making recruits, coming in last season with another middlin’ prospect — junior college power forward Jesse Perry — who has worked out pretty well. The top recruit in that class — guard Daniel Bejarano — already transferred out to Colorado State. Go figure.

“He came here, and no one asked me about him. He just did his job,” Miller said of Mayes, who averaged 4.9 points last season as a backup to MoMo Jones.

“Year 1 became Year 2, still no sugar.”

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Kyryl Natyazhko celebrates after Arizona's win over Texas in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

It doesn’t have to be decided this week, or next month, but Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller is going to have to make some decisions at center and point guard.

Those are the positions that are most up in the air as the Cats approach their exhibition opener Thursday night against Seattle Pacific. Somebody has to be out there for the opening tip, although Miller said that might not mean much at this point.

Junior Kyryl Natyazhko and freshman Sidiki Johnson are competing at center, which is the team’s biggest question mark.

“We’re not at that point where one player is a clear-cut leader,” Miller said.

“Both will get heavy minutes at that position. I would like to think that between the two of them, they can grow at that position and make us successful. Who is going to start, who is going to play more, it’s too early to tell and it’s not clear cut.”

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Jordin Mayes drives to the basket against Duke's Kyrie Irving in the NCAA Sweet 16. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Here is the lead to this week’s Pac-12 Insider column from the Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller, who gives us a healthy dose of basketball amid the start of football camps. Click for the rest of the Haller’s notes from the Arizona Republic.

By Doug Haller

In perhaps the biggest off-season of his career, Jordin Mayes wears a protective boot on his left foot. He walks with crutches.

The Arizona sophomore point guard had started experiencing pain in last season’s NCAA Tournament, but decided to play through it. Once the season ended, the discomfort never subsided. Eventually, a stress fracture was diagnosed, and Mayes had surgery earlier this summer.

“We’re taking precautions with it, but the recovery process is going real well,” Mayes said. “It’s feeling fine. I should get off the crutches and off the boot in (less than) two weeks. Then after that, I’ll get back on the court and see what I can do then.”

The start of the season isn’t believed to be in jeopardy: Mayes expects to be back on the court in September. Still, the injury came at a bad time. Even with MoMo Jones gone, transferring to Iona, Mayes will have to compete for minutes in a crowded Arizona backcourt. Shooting guards Kyle Fogg and Brendon Lavender join Mayes and freshmen Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson. Wing Kevin Parrom also will contribute.

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Hugs and smiles for everyone. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Sean Miller: ‘The toughest teams survive’

Arizona Wildcats sophomore Derrick Williams didn’t even know the shot went in.

He just drives to the hoop as Texas’ Jordan Hamilton crashes into his legs, flips up a shot with his right hand, braces for the fall and hopes for the best.

With the game hanging in the balance.

A berth in the Sweet 16 vs. Duke on the line.

And the shot goes in.

“Surprised it went in,” Williams said in the postgame interview. “Glad it went in.”

Then, Williams made one more shot go in — the free throw for a 70-69 lead.

And then Arizona forced a slashing J’Covan Brown into a wild shot. And then time ran out while Williams — of course — was right there to prevent Gary Johnson from attempting a last-second shot after grabbing the rebound.

All this after the Wildcats forced Texas into a turnover — a five-second violation — as the Longhorns tried to in-bound the ball. And they only did that after coach Rick Barnes, somewhat questionably, called timeout with 14.5 seconds left and his team up two points. Shouldn’t he have just waited for Arizona to foul?

Whatever. That’s Texas’ problem.

Hey, is this fun or what?

I mean, what’s been Arizona’s margin of error in the past two games? About half a second?

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Kevin Parrom (left) helped lead the overtime effort after Derrick Williams fouled out.
Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Nothing helps a team’s confidence, its chemistry, more than winning a close game on the road against a good team.

Not to mention winning in triple overtime.

With your star player on the bench.

The Arizona Wildcats, playing their craziest, most blood-pumping game of the season Saturday night, pulled out a 107-105 victory at Cal behind the New York swagger of point guard MoMo Jones and wing Kevin Parrom.

Arizona, back in the AP rankings for the first time in more than three years, is still climbing … and so much more seems possible than you might have dared to dream a few weeks ago. The Wildcats have won five in a row — three on the road — and are 20-4 overall. They lead the Pac-10 at 9-2.

“Sometimes in the long season that we go through, wins like this are very meaninful,” coach Sean Miller said in his postgame radio interview on KCUB 1290-AM. “Tonight, that’s certainly the case.”

Parrom scored 13 points through the overtime periods and had a career-high 25 points. Fellow sophomore Jones had 27 points, including 12 in the overtimes. He extended the game with a 3-pointer near the end of the second overtime.

Derrick Williams fouled out late in regulation with 12 points and 18 rebounds.

“I don’t think I have ever — nor has any of us — felt that we a one-man show,” Miller said.

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This was not one of those good losses. This was not losing a close game to Kansas in Las Vegas. This was not even losing to BYU in Salt Lake City and getting torched — again — by Jimmer Fredette.

This was a loss to an Oregon State team rated 196th in the nation by Jeff Sagarin — and that’s after it beat Arizona 76-75 on Sunday night in Corvallis.

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller has been saying that the Beavers (7-6 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) have been playing their best basketball of the season. He has a point. With sophomore guard Jared Cunningham — how does Oregon State have a smoother, more explosive guard than Arizona? — and sophomore post Joe Burton, I like OSU’s future.

But this is also an Oregon State team that lost at Seattle and at Montana. This is an Oregon State team that lost at home to Texas Southern and Utah Valley.

Let’s slow down here.

Texas Southern.

Utah Valley.

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Jamelle Horne (42) will have to rise above the competition from junior college transfer Jesse Perry next season/Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

When Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller spoke critically of senior-to-be Jamelle Horne last month, it seemed like a move designed to publically prod the enigmatic forward toward a better performance.

Maybe it worked.

Miller met with the media Tuesday afternoon — sort of a spring update on the program — and said this about Horne, who has been a starter for most of the past two seasons but with wild fluctuations in terms of effort and production:

“Jamelle has done everything we have asked him to do,” Miller said.

“He’s had a really good second semester academically. He played this year below 210 pounds. I don’t think that’s physical enough or big enough for what he wants to do and what we need him to do. Right away, he’s really jumped up in that area.”

Miller said Horne, having worked hard in the weight room, is at about 220 pounds.

“If you look at him, you notice the difference,” Miller said.

What everyone wants to see is a difference in attitude, too.

Last month, Miller said this about Horne:

“He has to do a better job of being a teammate. A better job of being about one thing only — winning. A better job of having a positive body language, regardless of whether things are going well for him.”

We’ll see.

The best thing Miller can do is keep the pressure on Horne. The coach can very clearly do that this season because he has more options. Arizona has depth. As coaches say, the prospect of sitting on the bench is a great motivator.

The Wildcats didn’t bring in junior college forward Jesse Perry to just sit on the bench.

Perry plays the same spots Horne does. Each is 6-foot-7. Each can play the small or power forward positions. It’s a little early to figure out lineup permutations, but Miller said they could play on the floor at the same time, but, more likely, Perry is directly coming after Horne’s playing time.

How will Horne respond?

“Like a lot of players, when does that light bulb go on?” Miller said.

“Sometimes it’s early. Sometimes it’s late. I do know this: A senior cares more about things than any other player on your team. It’s the last time. I think Jamelle is anxious to have a final year that we can all point to as being his best at Arizona.”

Each player in Arizona’s three-man recruiting class has a chance to be in the playing rotation next season. Freshman Jordin Mayes can play both guard spots and will back up MoMo Jones at point guard. Freshman Daniel Bejarano can play both wing spots and provide 3-point shooting (as can Mayes).

As for Perry …

“He really puts the ball on the floor. Versatile in his approach. He has a toughness about him. He is older. He can help us at a forward position right away. Not only does he have some toughness to him and age to him, but, like the other two (recruits), he is a very capable shooter,” Miller said.

“He rebounds the ball, gets to the foul line. Even though he’s not a 6-10 frontcourt player, he plays bigger than his height and gives us a much-needed player there.”

If Perry pushes Horne to be better, and Horne pushes Perry to be ready to make an impact right away, then Arizona is much better off. It’s that kind of competition throughout the roster that will drive practice and fuel better performances.

“To me, we have 10 or 11 players who are going to expect to play,” Miller said. “Not everyone is going win that race.”

Arizona, as expected, signed high school guard Jordin Mayes and junior college power forward Jesse Perry to letters-of-intent Wednesday.

Mayes, from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, was selected to the Los Angeles Times’ 10-player all-star team. Perry was a first-team All-American at John A. Logan Community College in Cartersville, Ill.,

Here is what coach Sean Miller had had to say about each in a press release:

–”Jordin Mayes has won back-to-back state championships and had prominent roles on each. He is the ultimate winner. First and foremost, he is an excellent three-point shooter and that, coupled with good size, gives him an opportunity to play both the point and off-guard positions during his career.”

–”Jesse Perry is a very productive basketball player. He has the unique ability to impact the game in many ways: he’s a 40-percent three-point shooter, has excellent offensive and defensive rebounding abilities and is a skilled passer. It’s that versatility and the fact that he is a bit older that gives him a chance to contribute immediately.”

And one more quote from Miller:

“These two signees are great additions to the Arizona family. Their backgrounds in solid man-to-man defensive programs put them in a great position to impact our team right away.”

More from the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:
Mayes not a McDonald’s All-American, but holds his own against them

Stoudamires give blessing for Mayes to wear No. 20 at UA

McCallum spurns Arizona … what’s next for the Wildcats?