UA

Arizona basketball: Sean Miller says NCAA was 'very fair' with Allonzo Trier

Bruce Pascoe
Arizona Daily Star
January 21, 2017: Arizona Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier (35) before playing against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at Pauley Pavilion.

TUCSON – Arizona coach Sean Miller said Monday the NCAA was “very fair and transparent” during what was an outwardly opaque four-month ordeal over Allonzo Trier’s positive PED test and defended decisions to stay quiet about it.

“It’s a process that had no history,” Miller said. “The NCAA did the best they could. They were extremely fair. They really had, I think, the student-athlete welfare at the forefront of a lot of things. It might not have felt that way to the outside. They were very communicative, very direct, very cooperative trying to hold to the standards that they need to hold to these types of issues to, but also being very fair and transparent at the same time.”

Miller also said he appreciated the time UA administrators put into the Trier case to make sure it was handled fairly.

Although Trier was conditionally cleared to play pending a clean drug test back in November, neither the UA nor NCAA would comment on him then or at any point until last week.

“There was just too many unknowns,” Miller said. “The No. 1 thing here is to protect the student-athlete privacy of a situation that was very complicated and to not at all harm him in any way. There are no secrets. Nobody’s hiding anything. It’s just a matter of trying to do right by the young man and if criticism comes on myself or somebody like Greg Byrne or our administration, we would much rather have the criticism pointed toward us than to do something to potentially harm a young person.”

BOIVIN: Why did Trier saga have to be so mysterious?

Did the swirl of speculation that grew out of UA's lack of transparency hurt Trier?

“No,” Miller said. “No. And I’m not gonna say anything further.”

Miller first declined to comment on what he termed "rumors" about Trier after the Oct. 14 Red-Blue Game and would not say why Trier was subbed out of the Oct. 21 Pac-12 media day. UA never categorized why Trier was not playing until last week.

As it is, there are still plenty of questions to be answered. Trier still has not said what drug he tested positive for, what his injury was and the circumstances in which he took it, other than to say it was given to him by somebody not affiliated with UA (which is not a defense).

Trier also was not made available for comment after the NCAA notified UA of his negative drug test on Friday, nor after Saturday’s UA-UCLA game, and Dusan Ristic was the only player UA chose to be interviewed at Monday’s weekly news conference.

RELATED: Trier sidelined after failed PED testQuestions remains about Trier's NBA stock

Miller said he’s ready to move on.

“The outcome came, and I’m looking forward to not looking back,” he said. “We’ve lived that past, and now, it’s about incorporating a student-athlete into what we do. Somebody who came back after his freshman year for all the right reasons, worked as hard as any player that I’ve coached. … He came back to be a better leader, to be on a better team and be overall a more complete player.

“He hasn’t had the opportunity to show those things. The leadership part, he has. Every day in the locker room, practicing hard, not knowing if he could play, I think you guys saw how he would have been during games. A lot of guys might have pouted or just sat quietly on the bench but he was the furthest thing from that. He’s always been engaged. And again, it’s great to see him get the opportunity.”

Miller said he will determine over the next few days whether or not to put Trier back in the starting lineup, saying he’s not going to keep him out if he’s one of UA’s best five players, even if he did miss 19 games.

MORE: Wildcats jump in Amway Coaches, AP Top 25 polls

UA rises in national polls

Arizona's road sweep at USC and UCLA over the weekend helped earn the Wildcats a jump from No. 14 to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25.

The No. 7 ranking is UA's highest of the season and the first time it has been in the Top 10 since the week before it lost to Butler on Nov. 25. UA was ranked No. 10 in the preseason and rose to No. 8 after wins over Michigan State, Cal State Bakersfield and Sacred Heart, then fell to No. 16 after losing to Butler and to No. 20 after losing to Gonzaga.

The Zags, however, are still undefeated and now ranked No. 3. Butler is ranked No. 11.

UCLA fell to No. 8 and Oregon rose to No. 10, giving the Pac-12 three teams in the Top 10 for the first time since Feb. 9, 1999.

UA is also ranked No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, up four spots from the previous week.

MORE: Wildcats shut down No. 3 UCLA in statement road win

Markkanen named Pac-12 Player of the Week

Lauri Markkanen’s Pac-12 Player of the Week award was not only his first but also the first of any UA player this season.

He has been, by far, UA’s most frequent nominee, but previously had some of his best efforts overshadowed by other players around the league. For example, he was a strong nominee after UA swept in the Bay Area during the first weekend of conference play, but Dillon Brooks also had a strong weekend against USC and UCLA, and hit a buzzer-beater to beat the then-undefeated Bruins.

“He earned it,” Miller said. “He’s had plenty of weeks I know he’s been a candidate, but the magnitude of the trip to USC and UCLA, and the quality of both teams playing that way I’m sure gave him the nod.”

Miller added:

“Lauri has had an outstanding season to this point and if you look at his statistics in conference play, he’s even better. And the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet he’s even better. That means defensively playing without fouling. He has quietly improved every day and it’s a big reason for our success.”