Miller discusses line-up changes
Arizona could again be shaking up their starting line-up. After a difficult homestand that saw Arizona blow a big lead to USC and suffer bad home loss to UCLA, Sean Miller said he may alter the starting line-up.
The player on the chopping block could be senior Dylan Smith. Smith has missed 17 straight three pointers and has missed 19 of his last 20 three-point attempts.
The hard part is when he's been off, he's really been off," Sean Miller said at his weekly press conference. “He’s in a tough slump.”
Smith was 0-7 from the field against the Bruins and has not scored in double figures in his last five game, though he did have fie assists against Washington.
Miller confirmed that he is considering a line-up change.
“We could change the lineup, I mean, we're at that point, yeah,” Miller said Tuesday, during his weekly news conference. “Sometimes it relaxes guys when they don't have the pressure of starting. Sometimes you just change it up, mix it up, it helps everybody. So that could potentially happen. We're not there yet.”
Miller said the team took Sunday off and returned to practice on Monday. No decision will be made until later in the week, though Miller did mention that Smith will not drop out of the rotation.
“Regardless, Dylan is going to play, the guys who haven't started are going to play,” Miller said.
Miller has repeatedly praised Smith’s defense and prior to the four-game slump he had scored in double figures in five out of six games and 10 out of the last 13.
“We’re really working with Dylan to shoot the ball,” Miller said. “He’s obviously in a tough stretch but I go back to the Colorado, Utah homestand when he played really well and shot the ball well.”
Assuming Smith goes to the bench it would be the second change to the starting line-up for the Wildcats. Stone Gettings replaced an injured Chase Jeter in January and has not relinquished his spot.