Suspended point guard Josiah Turner won’t see the court again this season for Arizona but head coach Sean Miller said the freshman may rejoin the team if he meets a list of criteria.
“When our season ends then we’ll be able to take the next step and get on the same page with Josiah moving forward,” Miller said at his weekly news conference Monday. “That shouldn’t be interpreted that he’ll never play at Arizona again but I know that he won’t play this season again.”
Miller suspended Turner definitely before the Pac-12 Conference Tournament for an unspecified violation of team rules. Turner was suspended for Arizona’s game at Florida for the same reason and was pulled from the starting lineup against Duquesne on Nov. 9 for being late to a pregame shootaround.
Miller said the two will discuss Turner’s future with the program when the season ends.
“It’s as much his choice as mine,” Miller said. “I’m not telling any player on our team that he doesn’t have the option to come back but it’s more about the path that Josiah wants to go from this point forward that will determine if he’s back at Arizona or whether he will choose to get a new beginning.”
Miller said that Turner’s suspension resulted from off-the-court problems, and earlier this year said that he has as much personally invested in Turner as any player roster.
“Obviously, I would have loved to have had a start-to-finish freshman season with no off-the-court incidents or suspensions,” Miller said. “They never help you become successful. But in terms of what’s going to make him become successful, this is the path I think will help him the most.”
Miller wasn’t sure whether his recruiting would be affected if Turner leaves, but said he has planned all year on adding one more player in the spring. If Turner leaves, the Wildcats will have two open scholarships after Sidiki Johnson was dismissed from the team in December.