LOS ANGELES — Arizona men’s basketball is ranked No. 1 for the sixth week in a row and its 17-0 start is the best in school history, but its Southern California road trip wasn’t completely positive.
Sophomore shooting guard Gabe York was more or less absent from Sunday’s action in Arizona’s 73-53 victory over USC. In 11 minutes of play, York shot 0-for-4 from the field and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. However, he did sink both of his free throw attempts and added an assist and a rebound.
After the game, UA head coach Sean Miller explained that York had tweaked his ankle just three minutes into the second half and attributed his lack of production to the slight injury.
“Gabe York hurt his ankle,” Miller said. “I think he’ll be fine, but we decided not to play him in the second half because of that.”
York has provided Arizona with a consistent offensive threat behind the 3-point line. He has shown tremendous improvement this season. York raised his average minutes played and points per game from 5.8 and 2.4 last year to 18.6 and 7.2 this year.
Arizona fans take over Southern California
The Wildcats swept USC and UCLA on the road for the first time since 2004-05. “U of A” chants weren’t rare in the arenas of their Los Angeles rivals as swarms of Wildcat fans invaded Pauley Pavilion and the Galen Center last weekend.
“It’s fantastic. We have some of the best fans in college basketball,” Miller said. “Especially in an arena like [the Galen Center] – where it’s not always filled and there is a lot of opportunity for our fans to come in [vocally] – it makes it a lot better for us. It’s a hostile environment, because I’d say 30 percent or more of the people here tonight were Arizona fans.”
Five-star class of ’15 recruit Tyler Dorsey commits
On Saturday, highly ranked junior shooting guard Tyler Dorsey from Saint John Bosco High School announced his intention to become a Wildcat upon his graduation.
Ranked as the No. 2 shooting guard in the class of 2015 and No. 7 in the 2015 ESPN top 60, he has been given a Scout grade of 95.
Many analysts project Dorsey, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound athletic guard, will only spend one year in college before moving on to the NBA.
According to reports, Miller has been actively recruiting Dorsey since he was in eighth grade, making Dorsey’s decision to commit in the middle of his junior year not entirely far-fetched. He represents Arizona’s first pledge in the 2015 class.
Commitments are not binding until players sign a National Letter of Intent.
Other top-tier basketball programs including Duke, UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky were attempting to recruit Dorsey before he chose Arizona.
Follow Evan Rosenfeld @EvanRosenfeld17
